Van Halen II
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Van Halen II | ||
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| Studio album by Van Halen | ||
| Released | March 23, 1979 | |
| Recorded | 1978, Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, CA | |
| Genre | Hard Rock, Classic Rock | |
| Length | 31:14 | |
| Label | Warner Bros. | |
| Producer(s) | Ted Templeman | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Van Halen chronology | ||
| Van Halen (1978) |
Van Halen II (1979) |
Women and Children First (1980) |
Van Halen II is the second album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1979.
In an enthusiastic review of the album in Rolling Stone of July 12, 1979, Timothy White noted that "Van Halen is the latest rock act to fall out of a family tree of deadbeats whose ancestry includes slave drummers on Roman galleys, Ginger Baker's Air Force, and the street crews of the New York Department of Sanitation." This, more in recognition of the unhip status of hard rock in the mainstream media of the day, did not prevent White from ultimately giving in to the zest and charms of the album, as he added: "the LP retains a numbing live feel, with Roth's repertoire of deft 'Uh-huhs' and train-whistle exhortations ('Whoa-whoa whooooo!') occasionally segueing into impromptu snickers that are shared by the entire group ... Like the Stone Age, these flawless thud rockers will probably be around for a long time - and they deserve any notice they get. Dig it or not, I've had this amazing thirty-one minute artifact on my turntable for hours, and after almost one careful listening I'm utterly convinced that the members of Van Halen must have been up half the night creating it. What an effort."
The black and yellow guitar on the back of the album is buried with Dimebag Darrell. Eddie Van Halen placed it in his casket at his funeral because Dimebag had said it was his favorite.
[edit] Track listing
The original album credits all songs, except where noted to Edward Van Halen/Alex Van Halen/Micheal Anthony/David Lee Roth. However, it seems that after a dispute over publishing credits in the mid-1990s that credits for Van Halen original songs in the David Lee Roth era have been revised to exclude Michael Anthony. Thus, songs on the Greatest Hits, Vol.1 album appeared credited to David Lee Roth/Alex Van Halen/Edward Van Halen
1. "You're No Good" (Ballard, Jr.) – 3:12, while this song was originally credited to Clint Ballard, Jr., Edward got the idea of covering the song from a Linda Ronstadt recording. Therefore, the song is technically a "cover of a cover."
2. "Dance The Night Away" – 3:04†, the first single from the album, and Van Halen's first Top 10 Billboard hit. The song features the same E-flat riff used in later songs "Unchained" and "Panama." David Lee Roth stated in a 2006 concert in Pala, CA that the song was written for a drunken young woman whom he caught hiding from the police at one of Van Halen's early shows.
3. "Somebody Get Me A Doctor" – 2:51 - This song features an extended guitar solo by Edward Van Halen, which was performed in one take, with no overdubs. Eddie's perfomance in studio was followed by wild applause from all in attendance in studio, which can still be faintly heard on the album following the solo. The song was a live staple until the "1984" tour, and was resurrected to replace the bass solo during the "III" and "Best of Both Worlds 2004" tours, with Michael Anthony on lead vocals.
4. "Bottoms Up!" – 3:04 - Although this song was first put to tape on Van Halen II, it was played throughout the entire first tour in 1978 supporting the self titled debut. In the recording, during the call and response vocal lines by David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth begins laughing while delivering the line "c'mon, mon, mon, mon baby...," a trait for which Roth was well known during recording sessions.
5. "Outta Love Again" – 2:49 - According to Classicvanhalen.com, this song was written in 1973, before Michael Anthony had joined the band. The song was included, along with several other songs, on Van Halen II after being left off of the first album.
6. "Light Up The Sky" – 3:09 - Although this hard-rocker was never a single or a featured track on more than the "II: World Vacation" tours, Alex Van Halen pushed hard for this song to be a single. <ref=1>http://http://www.classicvanhalen.com/albums_vh2.shtml</ref>
7. "Spanish Fly" – 0:58 - An instrumental solo on nylon string acoustic guitar by Edward Van Halen, which was designed to be the acoustic "Eruption." The track is played in one take with a pick, even though standard nylon string technique calls for fingerpicking only.
8. "D.O.A." – 4:07 - The "D.O.A." in the title stands for "Dead or Alive," even though in most circles the initials stand for "Dead on Arrival."
9. "Women In Love..." – 4:05 - This song featured the first use of artificial tapped harmonics, a technique Edward would use again on "Girl Gone Bad," from "1984" and on "Aftershock" on the 1995 "Balance" album.
10. "Beautiful Girls" – 3:55† - The second single from the album, it failed to chart, although it was well known as a Van Halen song. The song exists in an almost complete form on the early Gene Simmons and Ted Templemann 1975 and 1977 demos, although the title was "Bring on the Girls" during those recordings.
† denotes a single
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Production
- Producer: Ted Templeman
- Engineers: Corey Bailey, Jim Fitzpatrick, Donn Landee
- Assistant engineers: Corey Bailey, Jim Fitzpatrick
- Remastering: Gregg Geller
- Project coordinator: Jo Motta
- Art direction: Dave Bhang
- Design: Dave Bhang
- Artwork: Dave Bhang
- Photography: Elliot Gilbert, Neil Zlozower
[edit] Charts
[edit] Album
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Pop Albums | 6 |
[edit] Singles
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | "Dance The Night Away" | Billboard Hot 100 | 15 |
| 1979 | "Beautiful Girls" | Billboard Hot 100 | 84 |
| Van Halen |
|---|
| Eddie Van Halen | Alex Van Halen | Michael Anthony | David Lee Roth | Sammy Hagar |
| Gary Cherone |
| Discography |
| Albums and extended plays: Van Halen | Van Halen II | Women and Children First | Fair Warning | Diver Down | 1984 | 5150 | OU812 | For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge | Balance | Van Halen III | Live: Right Here, Right Now | Best of Volume I | The Best of Both Worlds |
| Videos and DVDs: Van Halen - Live Without a Net | Van Halen: Right Here, Right Now - Live | Van Halen: Video Hits, Vol. 1 |
