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van halen with roth on the mike.van halen's 3rd release keeps the string of great realeases going, in fact all releases with roth are worth the price(even if they did slip a bit with diver down later on) diver down being their only 4 star release and 3 with cherone being the worst at 3 stars)
Another great Van Halen masterpiece. Worth it's weight in gold to Van Halen fans.
its one of my favorite vanhalen cds. so pick up the cd already. later on i heard it. first off diverdown and 1984 and fair warning get so much more attention than this cd. into 1982. and fairwarning i liked like two songs off it.
diverdown in my opinion was just awful.
and so underated.
the boys are in there glory.
i was maybe 7 or 8 at the time.
and be ready to be in awe.
there are so many classic songs.
and maybe now that time has passed maybe this cd will finally get the attention it deserves.
and its before the tensions that started to mount in later of 1981.
The second half kicks off with the killer fanfare "Tora. David Lee Roth's vocals were killer on this album. The album was recorded in two weeks in early 1980 but the way that lead singer David Lee Roth, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, his drummer brother Alex Van Halen and bass player Michael Anthony played here it doesn't sound it. Next is the acoustic blues of "Could This Be Magic" with Eddie doing some killer dobro and the late Nichollette Larson suppylying some uncredited backing vocals towards the end of the track.
The opening rocker "And the Cradle Will Rock." had a killer keyboard riff which sounds like an electric guitar but was a distorted Wurlitzer piano cranked through a Marshall amp and stack and two killer Eddie Van Halen guitar solos in the middle. Van Halen's third album (their first with a proper title) called Women and Children First was originally released in March of 1980. Tora." before rocking out to the speed metal sounding "Loss of Control". When this album was released, it stormed right into the US Top 5 and was another Multi-Platinum hit for the band. "Everybody Wants Some" is next with Alex's superb drum intro and an awesome song and all I can think about is the claymated hamburger singing this song in Better Off Dead but a killer song nonetheless with stellar bass work from Michael Anthony and more guitar work from Eddie whom just rocks on this entire album.
Next is the bluesy Take Your Whiskey Home which may have started out as an acoustic piece at first and then rocks out. I first heard this album when I got it for Christmas in 1984 on cassette and the album still sounds great today. The album was also produced again by Ted Templeman and their first where the band wrote all of the songs on the album. The closing "In a Simple Rhyme" starts out as an acoustic piece before it rocks out then slows again then rocks for the solo then slows for the end like in beginning. "Fools" follows and is an awesome track which starts out with just Diamond Dave and Eddie's guitar before going into a full throttle rocker.
The first half closing rocker "Romeo Delight" is a killer and sounds like proto-thrash with its punkish drumming and metal riffs. After the song ends, there is a hidden 30 second instrumental at the end of the album. Highly recommended.
In "Fools", once they get to about 1:30 into the song, then the song improves. Women & Children First was the first Van Halen album to not have any cover versions of other songs.The album opens with the hit "And the Cradle Will Rock." which is probably the second best song on the album. "Have you seen junior's grades." Once again Van Halen combines some serious lyrics & yet they have the tongue in cheek. Some of the problem with this song & the previous one is the somewhat extended openings. would remaster ALL Van Halen albums). I love the way Eddie riffs on the song. This might be some of the reason that the album suffers some; their songs just aren't as concise. Tora." is a short solo instrumental by Eddie which was a staple on most of their albums.
This segues into "Loss of Control" is the shortest song on the album that has lyrics. "Take Your Whiskey Home" is the best song on the album. I think Van Halen was trying to change it up a little with this album; their first two albums were very similar & Women & Children First certainly breaks away from that. On Van Halen's first album no song cross the four minute mark; on their second album they crossed the four minute mark twice.
Next is "Fools" which is the other song that surpasses five minutes. On Women & Children first they cross the five minute mark twice with "Everybody Wants Some." being the first. By the release of this album the group Van Halen was a household name & headliners worldwide. "Loss of Control" is probably the weakest song they had included on any of their first three albums. The album went to #6 on the charts & had one charting single: "And the Cradle Will Rock." which peaked at #55. It borders on thrash. I do love the bit in the middle where Diamond Dave throws in a little male fantasy stuff.
Because of this they're not quite as innovative though I really don't mind that Eddie extends his leads a little bit. "Could This Be Magic." is filler & has Eddie reveling in some blues with Diamond Dave throwing in his diverse background. Though not quite as good as their first two albums, Women & Children First, nonetheless, is still a very good album. It starts off with Eddie playing a mean acoustic guitar & Dave singing. At about 0:45 they kick into the full band & rock out. "In a Simple Rhyme" finds Van Halen closing the album in fine fashion adding just a hint of pop to the song.
"Romeo Delight" kicks it up a notch but isn't one of the best songs on the album. The remastering is excellent (wish Warner Bros. "Everybody Wants Some." opens with Alex Van Halen's drums putting down a steady beat. With hindsight it's easy to see how this album was leading into the territory they would cover with Fair Warning. By this time you can tell that Van Halen has kicked much of their pop side to the curb. "Tora.
Even Michael Anthony throws in some bass riffs. but, once again, the booklet doesn't offer any information beyond the ordinary.
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