Tag: Van Halen

Feature LP

Wednesday, May 15, 2024: 6:30pm ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – Van Halen II (1979)

Van Halen II is the second studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on March 23, 1979, it peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and spawned the singles “Dance the Night Away” and “Beautiful Girls”. As of 2004, it has sold almost six million copies in the United States. Critical reaction to the album has been positive as well, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide praising the “feel-good, party atmosphere” of the songs.

  1. “You’re No Good” 3:16
  2. “Dance the Night Away” 3:06
  3. “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” 2:52
  4. “Bottoms Up!” 3:05
  5. “Outta Love Again” 2:51
  6. “Light Up the Sky” 3:13
  7. “Spanish Fly” (instrumental) 1:00
  8. “D.O.A.” 4:09
  9. “Women in Love…” 4:08
  10. “Beautiful Girls” 3:56

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

Feature LP

Wednesday, May 15, 2024: 6pm ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – Fair Warning (1981)

Fair Warning is the fourth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on April 29, 1981, it sold more than two million copies in the United States, but was still the band’s slowest-selling album of the David Lee Roth era. Despite the album’s commercially disappointing sales, Fair Warning was met with mostly positive reviews from critics.

The album was listed by Esquire as one of the “75 Albums Every Man Should Own”.

On US Billboard 200 the album peaked at #5 while single “So This Is Love?” failed to reach Hot 100, just peaking at #110 in the Bubbling-Under list.

  1. “Mean Street” 4:58
  2. “”Dirty Movies”” 4:08
  3. “Sinner’s Swing!” 3:09
  4. “Hear About It Later” 4:35
  5. “Unchained” 3:29
  6. “Push Comes to Shove” 3:49
  7. “So This Is Love?” 3:06
  8. “Sunday Afternoon in the Park” 1:59
  9. “One Foot Out the Door” 1:58

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

Feature LP

Monday, April 22, 2024: 9:30pm ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – Van Halen II (1979)

Van Halen II is the second studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on March 23, 1979, it peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and spawned the singles “Dance the Night Away” and “Beautiful Girls”. As of 2004, it has sold almost six million copies in the United States. Critical reaction to the album has been positive as well, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide praising the “feel-good, party atmosphere” of the songs.

  1. “You’re No Good” 3:16
  2. “Dance the Night Away” 3:06
  3. “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” 2:52
  4. “Bottoms Up!” 3:05
  5. “Outta Love Again” 2:51
  6. “Light Up the Sky” 3:13
  7. “Spanish Fly” (instrumental) 1:00
  8. “D.O.A.” 4:09
  9. “Women in Love…” 4:08
  10. “Beautiful Girls” 3:56

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

Feature LP

Monday, April 22, 2024: 9pm ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – Diver Down (1982)

Diver Down is the fifth studio album by American rock band Van Halen and was released on April 14, 1982. It spent 65 weeks on the album chart in the United States and had, by 1998, sold four million copies in the United States. In 2022, Diver Down was named #3 of ‘The 25 greatest rock guitar albums of 1982’ list in Guitar World.

  1. “Where Have All the Good Times Gone!” 3:02
  2. “Hang ‘Em High” 3:28
  3. “Cathedral” 1:23
  4. “Secrets” 3:28
  5. “Intruder” 1:39
  6. “(Oh) Pretty Woman” 2:53
  7. “Dancing in the Street” 3:43
  8. “Little Guitars (Intro)” 0:42
  9. “Little Guitars” 3:47
  10. “Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)” 2:44
  11. “The Full Bug” 3:18
  12. “Happy Trails” 1:03

David Lee Roth – lead vocals, synthesizer on “Intruder”, acoustic guitar and harmonica on “The Full Bug”
Eddie Van Halen – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, synthesizer on “Dancing in the Street”
Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums
Jan Van Halen – clarinet on “Big Bad Bill”

Feature LP

Monday, January 8, 2024 9pm ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – 1984 (1984)

1984 (stylized as MCMLXXXIV) is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984. It was the last Van Halen album until A Different Kind of Truth (2012) to feature lead singer David Lee Roth, who left in 1985 following creative differences. This is the final full-length album to feature all four original members (Van Halen brothers, Roth, and Michael Anthony). Roth would return in 2007, but Eddie’s son Wolfgang would replace Anthony in 2006. 1984 and Van Halen’s debut are Van Halen’s bestselling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies.

1984 was well received by music critics. Rolling Stone ranked the album number 81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 album chart and remained there for five weeks, behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller, on which guitarist Eddie Van Halen made a guest performance. 1984 produced four singles, including “Jump”, Van Halen’s only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100; the top-20 hits “Panama” and “I’ll Wait”; and the MTV favorite “Hot for Teacher”. The album was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1999, signifying ten million shipped copies.

1. “1984” 1:07
2. “Jump” 4:01
3. “Panama” 3:31
4. “Top Jimmy” 2:59
5. “Drop Dead Legs” 4:14
6. “Hot for Teacher” 4:42
7. “I’ll Wait” 4:40
8. “Girl Gone Bad” 4:35
9. “House of Pain” 3:19

David Lee Roth – vocals
Eddie Van Halen – guitars, keyboards, background vocals
Michael Anthony – bass guitar, synth bass on “I’ll Wait”, background vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums

Feature LP

Saturday, December 23, 2023 4pm ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – Woman and Children First (1980)

Women and Children First is the third studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on March 26, 1980, on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Ted Templeman and engineered by Donn Landee, it was the first Van Halen album not to feature any cover songs, and is described by critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as “[the] record where the group started to get heavier, both sonically and, to a lesser extent, thematically.”

  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” / “Growth” 4:40

David Lee Roth – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on “Could This Be Magic?”
Eddie Van Halen – guitars, electric piano, backing vocals
Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums
Nicolette Larson – backing vocals on “Could This Be Magic?”

Feature LP

Monday, November 13, 2023 9pm ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – 5150 (1986)

5150 (pronounced “fifty-one-fifty”) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on March 24, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records and was the first of four albums to be recorded with lead singer Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth. The album was named after Eddie Van Halen’s home studio, 5150, in turn named after a California law enforcement term for a mentally disturbed person (a reference to Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code). The album hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, surpassing the band’s previous album, 1984, which had peaked at number 2 behind Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, on which Eddie made a guest appearance.

  1. “Good Enough” 4:05
  2. “Why Can’t This Be Love” 3:48
  3. “Get Up” 4:37
  4. “Dreams” 4:54
  5. “Summer Nights” 5:06
  6. “Best of Both Worlds” 4:49
  7. “Love Walks In” 5:11
  8. “5150” 5:44
  9. “Inside” 5:02

Sammy Hagar – lead and backing vocals, guitar
Eddie Van Halen – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums

Music News

Wednesday, September 13, 2023 12pm ET: New Music Show

New music this week from: Rosanne Cash, Last Dinner Party, Slowdive, Jenny Lewis, Modern English, Everclear, Van Morrison, Charlie Mars, New Kids On The Block, Van Halen, Bully, Queens of The Stone Age, Vagabon, Bruce Hornsby, ZZ Ward, and more . . . .

Feature LP

Monday, August 14, 2023 7pm ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – Van Halen II (1979)

Van Halen II is the second studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on March 23, 1979, it peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and spawned the singles “Dance the Night Away” and “Beautiful Girls”. As of 2004, it has sold almost six million copies in the United States. Critical reaction to the album has been positive as well, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide praising the “feel-good, party atmosphere” of the songs.

  1. “You’re No Good” 3:16
  2. “Dance the Night Away” 3:06
  3. “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” 2:52
  4. “Bottoms Up!” 3:05
  5. “Outta Love Again” 2:51
  6. “Light Up the Sky” 3:13
  7. “Spanish Fly” (instrumental) 1:00
  8. “D.O.A.” 4:09
  9. “Women in Love…” 4:08
  10. “Beautiful Girls” 3:56

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

Feature LP

Friday 4/8/22 8pm ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – OU812 (1988)

OU812 (pronounced “Oh You Eight One Two”) is the eighth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1988 and is the second to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. Van Halen started work on the album in September 1987 and completed it in April 1988, just one month before its release.

Just like its predecessor 5150, OU812 hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the second of four consecutive studio albums for the band. Spurred by four Billboard Hot 100 top-40 singles (“Black and Blue”, #34; “Finish What Ya Started”, #13; “When It’s Love”, #5; and “Feels So Good”, #35), the album eventually sold over 4 million copies.

  1. “Mine All Mine” 5:11
  2. “When It’s Love” 5:36
  3. “A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)” 4:28
  4. “Cabo Wabo” 7:04
  5. “Source of Infection” 3:58
  6. “Feels So Good” 4:27
  7. “Finish What Ya Started” 4:20
  8. “Black and Blue” 5:24
  9. “Sucker in a 3 Piece” 5:52
  10. “A Apolitical Blues” 3:50

Sammy Hagar – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Eddie Van Halen – lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion

Feature LP

Thursday 12/9/21 1am ET: Feature LP: Van Halen – Best of Both Worlds (2004)

The Best of Both Worlds is the second greatest hits album by American rock band Van Halen, released on July 20, 2004 on Warner Bros. The compilation features material recorded with lead vocalists David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, but omitting Gary Cherone’s three-year tenure with the band. Prior to The Best of Both Worlds’ release, Hagar reunited with Van Halen, and the band subsequently recorded three new tracks to include on the release. All three new songs were released as singles.

Debuting at #3 in the US, the album coincided with a reunion tour, and certified Platinum. It is the last Van Halen album to feature contributions from Michael Anthony and Hagar.

  1. “Eruption” 1:43
  2. “It’s About Time” 4:15
  3. “Up for Breakfast” 4:57
  4. “Learning to See” 5:15
  5. “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love” 3:48
  6. “Finish What Ya Started” 4:24
  7. “You Really Got Me” 2:38
  8. “Dreams” 4:53
  9. “Hot for Teacher” 4:43
  10. “Poundcake” 5:20
  11. “And the Cradle Will Rock” 3:34
  12. “Black and Blue” 5:27
  13. “Jump” 4:04
  14. “Top of the World” 3:54
  15. “(Oh) Pretty Woman” 2:53
  16. “Love Walks In” 5:11
  17. “Beautiful Girls” 3:57
  18. “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” 4:08
  19. “Unchained” 3:29
  20. “Panama” 3:32
  21. “Best of Both Worlds” 4:49
  22. “Jamie’s Cryin'” 3:30
  23. “Runaround” 4:20
  24. “I’ll Wait” 4:42
  25. “Why Can’t This Be Love” 3:48
  26. “Runnin’ with the Devil” 3:36
  27. “When It’s Love” 5:38
  28. “Dancing in the Street” 3:45
  29. “Strung Out”/”Not Enough” 6:48
  30. “Feels So Good” 4:32
  31. “Right Now” 5:22
  32. “Everybody Wants Some!!” 5:10
  33. “Dance the Night Away” 3:10

Sammy Hagar – lead vocals on tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 on disc 1; 2, 4, 6, 8, 10–12, on disc 2, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Eddie Van Halen – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, bass on tracks 2-4 on disc 1
Michael Anthony – bass, except on tracks 2–4 on disc 1, backing vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion
David Lee Roth – lead and backing vocals on tracks 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 on disc 1; 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 13, 14 on disc 2
Steve Lukather – backing vocals on tracks 2–4, 14 on disc 1; 10 on disc 2