Van Halen 1984 Song-By-Song Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Zoot Marimba, Feb 4, 2018.

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  1. Jeff Kent

    Jeff Kent Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mt. Kisco, NY
    For better or worse that's how they hooked up with Sammy, no? Same mechanic.
     
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  2. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    I believe that is the story that has been told on how they got together. Yes.
     
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  3. Oliver

    Oliver Bourbon Infused

    Fun to watch. That car is so TOTALLY Dave lol...
     
  4. Mike Reynolds

    Mike Reynolds Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Van Halen seems to write two types of songs; songs with melody (e.g.: "Atomic Punk", "Hear About It Later"), and songs without melody (e.g.: "Fools", "The Full Bug").

    "Panama" seems to me to be another song without a real melody, which is probably why it's not a favorite of mine. Like someone else mentioned, whenever I make a Van Halen comp disc, this song is never on there.

    Songs that have a melody and a groove tend to move me, and songs written in 4/4 timing just don't.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2018
  5. The Slug Man

    The Slug Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    PANAMA

    This is an all-time great. Yes, it's overplayed, but there's gotta be a reason for that. Fun riffing to play on guitar.

    Ahh, the summer of '84...
     
  6. izombie73

    izombie73 Forum Resident

    PANAMA

    Its really a take it or leave it song for me, couldn't care less either way. However, I think the song is fantastic in all of it's elements and the execution is spot on.
     
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  7. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    You know that saying about how one man can make a difference? This is where that can backfire horrifically.
     
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  8. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I like "Panama" which, strangely enough, is not about the canal. Correct me if I'm wrong.

    Having just watched the video, this is where Roth's campaign to take the band into DaveTV cartoon silly land was well underway. Not that I saw it that way at the time.

    It's a solid tune, and Ed can do no wrong by me in the Dave era.
     
  9. No Bull

    No Bull Forum Resident

    Location:
    Orlando Florida
    No melody. You are right. I love it though... Eddie just kills it on this track!
     
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  10. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    What? :eek:

    Along with Edward, Uli Jon Roth, and Frank Marino are my favorite guitar players. Each to this own. :)
     
  11. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Panama rocks!
    Starts out with a power pop like intro and then turns into an AC/DC type twisted boogie. Awesome!
     
  12. yarbles

    yarbles Too sick to pray

    Panama is that rarity, a song perfect in every way :edthumbs:

    Except when Sam The Nob-Jockey sings it :wtf:
     
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  13. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Oh my God, yeah man, that is SO BAD
     
  14. Charlie DJ

    Charlie DJ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas, Tx USA
    Diamond Dave was made for MTV....or maybe MTV was made for him. As a kid, I loved the schtick.
    Dave and Eddie were both charismatic which emphasized the good-time atmosphere of the record. If Panama wasn't their best, it hardly mattered. You still wanted to be at that party.
     
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  15. SizzleVonSizzleton

    SizzleVonSizzleton The Last Yeti

    Full blast top down!!!!!!!

    Panama seems both well constructed and utterly effortless while breezing by at a nice short 3 and a half minutes.

    And how could a helpless boy see that rock video and not drool and mutter......"THAT....LOOKS.......AWESOME!!!!!"

    I even watched the video today of them doing this on Kimmel when Dave cut his nose and even though Dave hits approximately 3% of the right notes I still had a three mile smile on my face.

    And for what it's worth I wouldn't put much stock in anything Dave has said about what this song is about. Or virtually anything Dave says; he sat front row in Bob Dylan's Myth Making 101 class and learned well. The truth may be in there, but you'll need an axe and a head start to find it.

    No Bozos!!!!!
     
  16. vamborules

    vamborules Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    Where does he take stuff from Hendrix solos? I don't hear that.
     
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  17. Standoffish

    Standoffish Smarter than a turkey

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Panama

    Party time! Like others said, this is a crank it up and roll down the windows song (preferably in a '78 Camaro when you're 16). And you gotta love the video when DLR "swims" while being dangled by a wire, wearing oversized sunglasses, and carrying a boombox.

    Really cool guitar riff. And I love when DLR comes in with an "ooo!" and Alex hits his drum hard at the same time - it kicks the song off with a thud and we're off and running.

    I have no idea what the lyrics are about (something about driving around the Panama countryside with your hand between your legs?). But that's just Dave being Dave!

    Eddie's guitar is great throughout. A deserved VH classic.
     
  18. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    This solo is loaded with Hendrix like stuff. The whammy bar dips, the partial 7ths chord double notes, some of the intervallic stuff is similar to Hendrix intervallic licks like in Voodoo Child (Slight Return). Of course, Hendrix got some of that from older blues guys so Eddie may have skipped Hendrix and got it from them.
    The way Eddie ends songs with a whammy bar dip and then feedback is straight out of the Hendrix handbook.
    I always thought some of Eddie's solo in Ice Cream Man was like the resurrection of Hendrix.
     
  19. BDC

    BDC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tacoma
    Panama is a vast improvement over Jump, but still a long way from top notch VH IMO. Still like most of DD better than this song.
     
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  20. Greenalishi

    Greenalishi Birds Aren’t Real

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Into is fine

    I disliked Jump at the time and don't really wanna hear it now. The solo on keys is kind of cool but that synth sound i dislike and the song is all about that key. I always thought it was taken from Rick Derringers song Jump, real similar. Eddie dug Rick too. But, who knows? Fine song really broke em to the pop level. Never dug it. I'd like to hear an all out live electric guitar no keys version of it.

    Panama is awesome. Never knew the AC/DC thing on it. Such a cool song one of many on this great record. Love the album cover too. Baby smoking, awesome.

    The Hendrix thing with Eddie is easy to me. Two top dogs. Eddie can't give to the other top dog. That simple to me.

    1984 is better than Diver Down or Fair Warning to me. A few of the songs are the best things they ever did i think.
     
  21. Rad Dudeski

    Rad Dudeski Forum Resident

    Location:
    -
    I'll Wait is one of my favorite songs off the 1984 album. If I remember correctly, Michael McDonald co write it.
    Second best is Panama and third is Jump.
    I had the 45 of Jump as a kid, wore that side out. I didn't play the flip side House Of Pain much.
    I have the repress of the original CD and like most of the songs except a couple.
     
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  22. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Can you not jump ahead of me?
     
  23. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    Yeah, "Panama" does have a bit of an AC/DC vibe going for it, doesn't it? I could almost hear Angus and the boys playing it...
     
  24. Tony Cruse

    Tony Cruse Tc

    Location:
    Essex, UK.
    Lots of drums and cymbals going off in Panama. Wonder how many tracks the on the studio tape the drum kit took up?
    I remember I had '1984' on Chrome cassette and nothing sounded better!
     
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  25. BryanA-HTX

    BryanA-HTX Crazy Doctor

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    "Jump"
    Is it true that "Jump" came out around Christmas/New Years '83? Of course, the song continues to get played anywhere and everywhere on the radio, and this and Panama were the two songs from 1984 that were on that compilation I routinely listened to as a kid (at least the DLR half). I've always liked "Jump", it's just a fun song! I never thought much of any suicidal implications that people like to put on it, I just thought of it as jumping around and having fun at a party. I still enjoy it, brings me back to being a kid listening to that CD.

    "Panama"
    Killer tune! This one's the other one that brings me back. I thought it was about being in some kind of expedition in Panama, but I guess the car sound should've gave it away.

    I got into the DLR albums in High School, and this one of the ones I played the most. Some songs were a bit more commercial, but I didn't really mind. It's DLR-era Van Halen dammit!
     
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