Women and Children First

Women and Children First is the third studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1980.

Background and recording

This is the first Van Halen album to feature all original band compositions. The opening track, "And the Cradle Will Rock...", begins with what sounds like a guitar, but is, in fact, a phase shifter-effected Wurlitzer electric piano played through Van Halen's 1960's model 100-watt Marshall Plexi amplifier.

The album was recorded live in studio with one take, no overdubs, except slight alterations on "And the Cradle Will Rock...". A few live mistakes can be heard on the song "Everybody Wants Some!!". There were chorus errors, and Dave was cutoff by Eddie's guitar on the Dave talk rap break with "I like". Which was for "I like the way the line runs on the back of your stocking"

"Could This Be Magic?" contains the only female backing vocal ever recorded for a Van Halen song; Nicolette Larson sings during some of the choruses. The rain sound in the background is not an effect. It was raining outside, and they decided to record the sound in stereo using two Neuman KM84 microphones, and add it to the track.

Only one single was released from the album, the keyboard driven "And the Cradle Will Rock..." Although the single was not a success like previous singles "Dance the Night Away" or the cover of "You Really Got Me," the album itself was well received and further entrenched the band as a popular concert draw. The song "Everybody Wants Some!!" was also a concert staple through the 1984 tour, and continued to be played by David Lee Roth after he left Van Halen.

The album contains a hidden track at the end of "In a Simple Rhyme," a brief instrumental piece entitled "Growth." A longer version of "Growth" was supposed to start the band's next album, Fair Warning, but this did not occur. "Growth" was a staple of the band's live shows with Roth and often used as the start of their encores. Several outtakes from these sessions exist, including an unreleased instrumental titled often referred to as "Act Like It Hurts," which was the title Eddie originally wanted for "Tora! Tora!" "Act Like It Hurts" also provided a riff for "House of Pain," released on 1984.

"Everybody Wants Some!!" was featured in the 1985 comedy Better Off Dead, during a sequence featuring a singing, guitar-playing claymation hamburger. A nod is given to Eddie Van Halen in the animation, as the hamburger's guitar sports a red, black, and white stripe design made famous by the guitarist.

The album version included a poster of a photograph by Helmut Newton featuring David Lee Roth chained to a fence.

Kerrang! magazine listed the album at No. 30 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".^[4]

Track listing

All songs by Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen.

1. "And the Cradle Will Rock..." – 3:31
2. "Everybody Wants Some!!" – 5:05
3. "Fools" – 5:55
4. "Romeo Delight" – 4:19
5. "Tora! Tora!" – 0:57
6. "Loss of Control" – 2:36
7. "Take Your Whiskey Home" – 3:09
8. "Could This Be Magic?" – 3:08
9. "In a Simple Rhyme" – 4:33 (Hidden track "Growth" begins at 4:19)

Personnel

Band members

• David Lee Roth – lead vocals
• Eddie Van Halen – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Alex Van Halen – drums

Additional musicians

• Nicolette Larson – backing vocals on "Could This Be Magic?"

Production

• Producer: Ted Templeman
• Engineers: Donn Landee, Gene Meros
• Remastering: Chris Bellman
• Project coordinator: Jo Motta
• Creative consultant and cover art concept: Pete Angelus
• Art direction: Richard Seireeni
• Cover photo: Norman Seeff

Certifications

Charts

Album

Billboard (North America)^[8]

Singles

Billboard (North America)^[9]

Notes

1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Van Halen Women and Children First review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/women-and-children-first-r20981/review. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Reviews: Women and Children First". Robert Christgau. http://robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=van+halen. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
3. ^ Fricke, David (26 June 1980). "Van Halen – Women and Children First". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20071002075509/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanhalen/albums/album/235992/review/5945525/women_and_children_first. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
4. ^ Galbraith, David (21 January 1989). "Van Halen 'Women and Children First'". Kerrang!. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd.. 
5. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Van Halen – Women and Children First". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=Women+and+Children+First&sa=Van+Halen&smt=0. 
6. ^ "French album certifications – Van Halen – Women and Children First" (in French). InfoDisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Certif_Album.php.  Select VAN HALEN and click OK
7. ^ "American album certifications – Van Halen – Women & Children First". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Women+%26+Children+First%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
8. ^ "Women and Children First Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/women-and-children-first-r20981/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-10-23. 
9. ^ "Women and Children First Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/women-and-children-first-r20981/charts-awards/billboard-single. Retrieved 2011-10-23.