Another terrific essay. For me, it's Fair Warning. DLR was a rock and roll genius. VH was never the same after he left. And yes, to hell with this fascist regime.
My favorite Van Halen fun fact: they were produced by Ted Templeman, who along with Jimmy Page really perfected the art of listenable hard rock production. As you probably know, Templeman was in Harper's Bazaar, which was in every way the opposite of Van Halen ("Feeling Groovy").
And he worked with the Doobies for years, as well. But you can definitely draw a direct line from his work on the first Montrose LP to his work with VH.
Another great column. (I could live without the dopey politics but having been in politics for forty years, I am pretty numb to it by this point.) More importantly, it brought back an unforgettable era.
Hahaha! My experience in LA (last half of 7th grade, first half of 8th) was actually pretty positive on the whole. First half of 7th (in Ann Arbor) has scarred me to this day, though.
Thanks, Steven — yeah, I'm not surprised. They went over well in the Midwest (as I found when I moved to Chicago in 1980), but I can imagine them being a tougher sell in NYC.
I have never been a Van Halen "fan" but your description of your discovery of them while at JB in LA and all that follows will imprint them in my mental diary. What a tale and then your activism in assisting with fire recovery from afar by posting links for people to offer their aid to this gargantuan task touches me deeply. We are all in this together, even as we are 3000 miles from each other!! Thank you for being you. xoxo
Given that I didn’t get on the VH train until Diver Down, that ride sped up quickly after I saw them touring on that record at Cobo Arena in 1982. I somehow how got a hold of VH and VHII in quick fashion and alternated those records on the turntable until I was fully immersed, and ready for the ubiquity of the band in 1984 (which led to another trip to Cobo for that tour). After Diamond Dave left the band, I never followed the band with the same fervor, but that probably had something more to do with moving on from my high school daze than anything else. As always, thanks for the great article. Keep on keeping on.
Thanks, my man! Do you know my friend Scott Sterling? He has some incredible tales of waiting out all night at Cobo for VH tickets, including running some guy off with a steak knife he'd stolen from his parents' kitchen drawer.
Wow! No, I don’t know Scott but that sounds like a helluva story. We typically bought our tickets at the Hudson’s in Eastland. Spending the night in line at Cobo must’ve have been wild!!!
'Running With The Devil' was the first song of theirs I heard, but VHII was the first VH album I owned (around the same time as you heard it). But 'Fair Warning' is my favorite. I have two sad VH tales...I had tickets to see them on their 'Diver Down' tour, but I got into trouble at school, got grounded, and my mom sold the tickets! By the time they came back through Cleveland, I had moved on from VH (I didn't like 'DD,' but it was still the mighty VH, and I was 13 and REALLY wanted to see them in concert. But I really didn't like '1984' and moved on from them).
Another VH story of mine (and definitely even more woeful)—my dad worked at GM with Andy Bertinelli, and we were all invited to Valerie and Eddie's wedding! However, my parents couldn't justify the expense of going to LA for a wedding. 🤦♂️
You're after my own heart Mr. Epstein! WACF was my first, so wonderful to see the DTNA video, I'm not sure if I'd never seen it or forgotten I have but damn, that's as good as it got man. As much as I love the debut it was savagely overplayed in my world so II, WACF and Fair Warning are the only albums I listen to on purpose anymore. I love all of II, "Spanish Fly" holy shit, it isn't a trick! The DOA riff slays me, as does Light up the Sky with I think the only true Alex break and it's perfect for the song. In college (Western Michigan U. in Kalamazoo, widely regarded as the Harvard of the midwest) me & my drunken dorm buddies had a weekly happy hour before an often times pukey cafeteria dinner. One of my classic 60 minute TDK SA mix tapes started off with "Bottoms Up" - every glorious Wednesday.
The best Alice Cooper Band albums, the best 70's Aerosmith and the Roth era Van Halen is as good USA album making rock got.
Way to weave the story back to a country of immigrants, nicely done. It's amazing how here we are in the so-called information age and it still hasn't dawned on about half the people living in this country that their heritage is either Native American, slave, refugee or immigrant. They don't even understand that they are not at all anti-immigrant, what they are is intolerant racists.
"Few folks today — myself included — would rank Van Halen II as the band’s best album. "
I would-- but for the purely subjective reason that I think VHII showed us just how good this band would/could be, even if they didn't know it yet.
Fair point!
Another terrific essay. For me, it's Fair Warning. DLR was a rock and roll genius. VH was never the same after he left. And yes, to hell with this fascist regime.
VH with Hagar was like the Oakland A's right after the first round of free agency.
Fair Warning is SO badass…
My favorite Van Halen fun fact: they were produced by Ted Templeman, who along with Jimmy Page really perfected the art of listenable hard rock production. As you probably know, Templeman was in Harper's Bazaar, which was in every way the opposite of Van Halen ("Feeling Groovy").
And he worked with the Doobies for years, as well. But you can definitely draw a direct line from his work on the first Montrose LP to his work with VH.
Another great column. (I could live without the dopey politics but having been in politics for forty years, I am pretty numb to it by this point.) More importantly, it brought back an unforgettable era.
Am curious as whatever happened to the cute girl.
If you're cool with a South African fascist taking over the US treasury, you MUST be pretty numb!
Wonderful read, my man
Thank you!
Well done! Our middle school years (the living definition of PTSD) sound pretty similar…
Hahaha! My experience in LA (last half of 7th grade, first half of 8th) was actually pretty positive on the whole. First half of 7th (in Ann Arbor) has scarred me to this day, though.
Excellent piece. I am the age of the Van Halen members but as a New Yorker it took time for me to get them.
Thanks, Steven — yeah, I'm not surprised. They went over well in the Midwest (as I found when I moved to Chicago in 1980), but I can imagine them being a tougher sell in NYC.
I have never been a Van Halen "fan" but your description of your discovery of them while at JB in LA and all that follows will imprint them in my mental diary. What a tale and then your activism in assisting with fire recovery from afar by posting links for people to offer their aid to this gargantuan task touches me deeply. We are all in this together, even as we are 3000 miles from each other!! Thank you for being you. xoxo
Thanks, Toni! See you in a few weeks!
Given that I didn’t get on the VH train until Diver Down, that ride sped up quickly after I saw them touring on that record at Cobo Arena in 1982. I somehow how got a hold of VH and VHII in quick fashion and alternated those records on the turntable until I was fully immersed, and ready for the ubiquity of the band in 1984 (which led to another trip to Cobo for that tour). After Diamond Dave left the band, I never followed the band with the same fervor, but that probably had something more to do with moving on from my high school daze than anything else. As always, thanks for the great article. Keep on keeping on.
Thanks, my man! Do you know my friend Scott Sterling? He has some incredible tales of waiting out all night at Cobo for VH tickets, including running some guy off with a steak knife he'd stolen from his parents' kitchen drawer.
Wow! No, I don’t know Scott but that sounds like a helluva story. We typically bought our tickets at the Hudson’s in Eastland. Spending the night in line at Cobo must’ve have been wild!!!
Really enjoying your teenage memories!
Thank you!
'Running With The Devil' was the first song of theirs I heard, but VHII was the first VH album I owned (around the same time as you heard it). But 'Fair Warning' is my favorite. I have two sad VH tales...I had tickets to see them on their 'Diver Down' tour, but I got into trouble at school, got grounded, and my mom sold the tickets! By the time they came back through Cleveland, I had moved on from VH (I didn't like 'DD,' but it was still the mighty VH, and I was 13 and REALLY wanted to see them in concert. But I really didn't like '1984' and moved on from them).
Another VH story of mine (and definitely even more woeful)—my dad worked at GM with Andy Bertinelli, and we were all invited to Valerie and Eddie's wedding! However, my parents couldn't justify the expense of going to LA for a wedding. 🤦♂️
D’oh! Yeah, Fair Warning is their high water mark for me, as well. Such a heavy, nasty record!
Great piece. Though I’ve recently renewed an appreciation for VH overall, “Dance the Night Away” remains my favorite song of theirs, hands down.
It still holds up beautifully, doesn't it?
You're after my own heart Mr. Epstein! WACF was my first, so wonderful to see the DTNA video, I'm not sure if I'd never seen it or forgotten I have but damn, that's as good as it got man. As much as I love the debut it was savagely overplayed in my world so II, WACF and Fair Warning are the only albums I listen to on purpose anymore. I love all of II, "Spanish Fly" holy shit, it isn't a trick! The DOA riff slays me, as does Light up the Sky with I think the only true Alex break and it's perfect for the song. In college (Western Michigan U. in Kalamazoo, widely regarded as the Harvard of the midwest) me & my drunken dorm buddies had a weekly happy hour before an often times pukey cafeteria dinner. One of my classic 60 minute TDK SA mix tapes started off with "Bottoms Up" - every glorious Wednesday.
The best Alice Cooper Band albums, the best 70's Aerosmith and the Roth era Van Halen is as good USA album making rock got.
Way to weave the story back to a country of immigrants, nicely done. It's amazing how here we are in the so-called information age and it still hasn't dawned on about half the people living in this country that their heritage is either Native American, slave, refugee or immigrant. They don't even understand that they are not at all anti-immigrant, what they are is intolerant racists.