1984 Revisited

[=Marshall=]

I had to put the record on while reading this. Great review Rikk! 1984's sound is so brilliant, it is tight but still has a lot of air and ambience to it. I rate it right up there as the one of the best sounding records of all time. Zep's III is kinda similar in it's tight-but-loose sound IMO.

And I agree that Girl Gone Bad is the most amazing piece of work guitarwise from Ed, ever. Awesome licks, awesome solo, and the harmonic tapping technique reaches it's peak here. And Dave fits in the mood of the music like glue! One of my favorites! Gotta go blast it out the stereo right now!

[Terry]

1984...............

Title track..........wanking on a synth

Jump...........suppose as far as Van Halen songs with keyboards go, this is one of the better ones, although the dialectic nature of the lyrics and the instrumentation is really the only point of interest.

Panama.........solid effort


Top Jimmy........obscure


Drop Dead Legs........this track has never gotten old for me


Hot For Teacher........same with this one, though lord knows it should have as many times as I've heard it.


I'll Wait...........never cared for this one even when it was new. The meek nature of the lyrics, a throwaway guitar solo, etc. For me, one of the few classic VH tracks that borders on the disposable.

Girl Gone Bad........does seem to be a somewhat slapdash effort, comprised of a drum and guitar jam heard during Somebody Get Me A Doctor at the Us Festival, and the vocals feel rushed. But it has an intensity that sets it apart as one of my favorite tracks on the album

House of Pain........far and away the best track on the record. No shock that it was on of Halen's older tunes ressurrected for this effort.



MA's bass sounded better on this album than on nearly every other 6 pack effort, Fair Warning excepted.

For some reason, I really dug AVH's work on this record too, both in terms of what he played and how it sounded. Great drum tones and performance. Even the electronic drums aren't as grating as they were on 5150.

Was really Ed's last hurrah as far as guitar work went. His tone wasn't quite as clear on this one as on the previous 5, but it hadn't degenerated into that mid EQ slush that permeated all of Van Hagar's stuff. Dug his use of alternate tuning on Top Jimmy, the fade out multitracked guitar work on the end of Drop Dead Legs, and Hot For Teacher/Girl Gone Bad/House of Pain from start to finish.


Roth puts in a solid performance throughout. Interesting lyrics, solid vocals.


Definitely the best sounding record done at 5150 to these ears. Maybe that had something to do with Templeman producing and Ed having as yet to fuck around with the gear he was using.

Give it a 7 out of 10. Loses points for skipworthy tracks (title track and I'll Wait)

[secrets]

Originally posted by Terry
MA's bass sounded better on this album than on nearly every other 6 pack effort, Fair Warning excepted.

For some reason, I really dug AVH's work on this record too, both in terms of what he played and how it sounded. Great drum tones and performance. Even the electronic drums aren't as grating as they were on 5150.

Was really Ed's last hurrah as far as guitar work went. His tone wasn't quite as clear on this one as on the previous 5, but it hadn't degenerated into that mid EQ slush that permeated all of Van Hagar's stuff. Dug his use of alternate tuning on Top Jimmy, the fade out multitracked guitar work on the end of Drop Dead Legs, and Hot For Teacher/Girl Gone Bad/House of Pain from start to finish.


Roth puts in a solid performance throughout. Interesting lyrics, solid vocals.


Definitely the best sounding record done at 5150 to these ears. Maybe that had something to do with Templeman producing and Ed having as yet to fuck around with the gear he was using.

Give it a 7 out of 10. Loses points for skipworthy tracks (title track and I'll Wait)

Terry that is the most honest and accurate review of this album I've ever read.

I couldn't agree more.

[Rikk]

Originally posted by secrets
Terry that is the most honest and accurate review of this album I've ever read.

I couldn't agree more.

LOL. What wasn't honest about my review?

[secrets]

Originally posted by Rikk
LOL. What wasn't honest about my review?

Sorry Rikk! I liked your review too, I thought it was an interesting read just related to what Terry said, especially about the use of keyboards on title track "Jump" and "I'll Wait" which for me detract slightly from an otherwise excellent album.

I don't mind those songs but they just sound a bit dated to me.

I don't think EVH used keyboards that well on any VH track apart from "And The Cradle Will Rock" where he got an amazing sound by playing through a distorted guitar amp.

[dave_is_vh]

Drop Dead Legs has got to be Ed's best guitar solo ever. It kills me every time.

[Rikk]

Originally posted by dave_is_vh
Drop Dead Legs has got to be Ed's best guitar solo ever. It kills me every time.

Yup. It is pretty fucking incredible.

[tjvhou812]

dave says

[Terry]

Originally posted by secrets
Terry that is the most honest and accurate review of this album I've ever read.

I couldn't agree more.

Some like 1984 more than others, and that's cool, too.

When it first came out, I was playing it constantly from start to finish, but for me some of the tracks just didn't have the same endurance as the years went by, unlike, say Fair Warning or Women and Children First, which still get played from start to finish to this day (even though I'm tempted to skip And The Cradle Will Rock at times).

Diver Down is kind of along the same lines as 1984, in that a few of the tracks get skippped when I listen to it (Where Have All The Good Times Gone?, Dancing In The Streets), and not necessarily due to being overplayed on the radio either (a la Jump).

[DavidLeeNatra]

Originally posted by tjvhou812
dave says

sam says:



suck me again tjvhou812 !!! then back in the sheep pen...

[Rikk]

LOL!!!!!!!!

Where did you get that fucking pic??

[Bill Lumbergh]

Originally posted by Rikk
LOL!!!!!!!!

Where did you get that fucking pic??

In the BOBW liner notes.........under the pic it says Michael Anthony-Bass, Vocals

[DavidLeeNatra]

Originally posted by Rikk
LOL!!!!!!!!

Where did you get that fucking pic??

believe it or not...as I am a behind-the-enemy-lines-worrier, I was on an undercover operation on the ched-rocker-site...and there it is...

[tex36]

1984 was GOOD. Definitley not great. Had some high points but mostly lows. Ya'll need to pop in women and children first or fair warning to really appreciate the KICK ASS ATTITUDE this band had in their heyday. Even Diver Down has stronger songs than 1984. Listen to the Full Bug and you will experience the Van Halen sound that was lost from 1984 on. I have been to the concerts from 1980 through the 1984 tour. The Fair Warning tour was by far the most entertaining of all.

[secrets]

Originally posted by tex36
1984 was GOOD. Definitley not great. Had some high points but mostly lows. Ya'll need to pop in women and children first or fair warning to really appreciate the KICK ASS ATTITUDE this band had in their heyday. Even Diver Down has stronger songs than 1984. Listen to the Full Bug and you will experience the Van Halen sound that was lost from 1984 on. I have been to the concerts from 1980 through the 1984 tour. The Fair Warning tour was by far the most entertaining of all.

1984 IS a great album with a only a few weak points IMO, but I'd have to say you're right about Fair Warning and WACF, which are totally Kick Ass from start to finish and pretty much underrated.