Raised on Radio #20 : Van Halen
Jan. 5th, 2013 12:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23Van Halen's 1984 was a huge hit in my youth.
I still have mixed feelings about it, largely based on it being so overplayed. I can't deny I thought "Jump" was a cool song as a ten-year old.
Also as a high schooler in a small town where the group of punks, goths, skaters, and metalheads was so small that they were just one group, I did end up going back and found appreciation for the early work.
Interestingly, 1984 chartwise isn't their highest rankingl record. It only went to #2 (their next four albums all went #1) as there was no way to dislodge Thriller in those days. Still, with 10 million+ sales, it's truly a landmark cultural moment.
Regardless of what you think of Van Hagar, I suspect things all probably worked out for the best for them. The band was a true pop music force until the whole Gary Cherone change in 1998 (although VH3 did manage a #4 placing and "Without You" was a moderate hit). I suspect if DLR hadn't embarked on a solo career, Van Halen could have followed Roth's trajectory- on top of everything and then slowly fading away (1991's A Little Ain't Enough- peaking at #18- was his last real relevant album).
Then again, who knows? This year's Roth reunion album A Different Kind of Truth got 4 stars from Allmusic and generally positive reviews all the way around. Undoubtedly, the egos wouldn't have made it, but maybe the band could have had the same staying power.
In any case, the singles from 1984 are all pretty much standards. However, my favorite is the one that is probably the one that gtes played the least nowadays.
"I'll Wait" was the second single and the second most successful ("Jump" #1, "Wait" and "Panama" #13, and fourth single "Hot for Teacher" at #56)
This was one of my faves back then, so here it is now.
I still have mixed feelings about it, largely based on it being so overplayed. I can't deny I thought "Jump" was a cool song as a ten-year old.
Also as a high schooler in a small town where the group of punks, goths, skaters, and metalheads was so small that they were just one group, I did end up going back and found appreciation for the early work.
Interestingly, 1984 chartwise isn't their highest rankingl record. It only went to #2 (their next four albums all went #1) as there was no way to dislodge Thriller in those days. Still, with 10 million+ sales, it's truly a landmark cultural moment.
Regardless of what you think of Van Hagar, I suspect things all probably worked out for the best for them. The band was a true pop music force until the whole Gary Cherone change in 1998 (although VH3 did manage a #4 placing and "Without You" was a moderate hit). I suspect if DLR hadn't embarked on a solo career, Van Halen could have followed Roth's trajectory- on top of everything and then slowly fading away (1991's A Little Ain't Enough- peaking at #18- was his last real relevant album).
Then again, who knows? This year's Roth reunion album A Different Kind of Truth got 4 stars from Allmusic and generally positive reviews all the way around. Undoubtedly, the egos wouldn't have made it, but maybe the band could have had the same staying power.
In any case, the singles from 1984 are all pretty much standards. However, my favorite is the one that is probably the one that gtes played the least nowadays.
"I'll Wait" was the second single and the second most successful ("Jump" #1, "Wait" and "Panama" #13, and fourth single "Hot for Teacher" at #56)
This was one of my faves back then, so here it is now.
