"Me Wise Magic" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Van Halen | ||||
from the album Best of Volume I | ||||
Released | October 22, 1996 | |||
Recorded | 1996 | |||
Genre | Heavy metal, hard rock | |||
Length | 6:09 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Writer(s) | Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen | |||
Producer | Glen Ballard | |||
Van Halen singles chronology | ||||
|
"Me Wise Magic" is a song by Van Halen that first appeared on the compilation album Best of Volume I. It was recorded in 1996 during the band's brief reunion with original vocalist David Lee Roth along with another new track, "Can't Get This Stuff No More". The song reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for six weeks. It was the group's third #1 hit with Roth, and twelfth overall. A promo CD of "Me Wise Magic" distributed to radio stations prior to the release of Best of Volume I features a Buddha on the artwork; the line "A Buddhist riff for your inner ear" is a lyric in the song. Roth left the band following a tumultuous appearance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, before a planned video for "Me Wise Magic" could be filmed.
Eddie Van Halen's playing on the song and technique of using his whammy bar to raise and lower chords while still keeping them in tune is a result of recording with either his Steinberger guitar or modified Peavey Wolfgang signature model with a TransTrem tremolo system.
Preceded by "Test for Echo" by Rush |
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single October 26, 1996 – November 30, 1996 |
Succeeded by "Hero of the Day" by Metallica |
|