Van Halen - Van Halen II (1979) - Song by Song

VOID THIS! please...

 

For a minute there I thought I was tripping!

 

When I first heard this I thought Dave was pissed and said "I'on't love 'em, I'on't need 'em! Can do without 'em!"

I thought the ending was pretty good, with the kiss at the end, and the barely-audible bit of laughter. I don't typically look at the the turntable or iPod while I'm listening to music though...!!

 

I think I may be! LOL

 

My ranking-

Light Up The Sky
Women In Love
Dance The Night Away
DOA
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Beautiful Girls
Bottoms Up
Outta Love Again
You're No Good
Spanish Fly

 

Glad every one seemed to enjoy the thread. That puts a smile on my face after a tough day. Cheers, friends.

 

yea, and I unintentionally added some comic relief! : )

 

Don't take my comment too literally. I just meant that it is a fun little, straight ahead rock tune. That's all.

 

And the exclamation point on this thread...read below. Great article

http://www.vhnd.com/2018/03/07/van_halen_sheraton_inn/

 

Am amazing recording...Thanks for putting this up... Love that sound, and fuzz guitar solo.

 

Good work by everybody here, after reading the thread in its entirety to this point, a great album in which I like every song. Still maybe my 3rd or 4rth favorite VH album.. This is probably the 1st or 2nd best VH album in terms of songs, but I prefer the vibe albums, aka FW & WACF.... Props to you guys who have the diligence and talent to learn EVH note for note. I've been playing guitar forever, and I don't play anybody else's licks particularly well or in great detail. It's never been an interest of mine to do so, but I love when I hear an interesting passage tonally, to have it explained to me technically. I tend to retain the things I may use. I like to know where a melodic idea came from more so than to do a pin point execution of somebody else's part. I do appreciate the discipline/talent to learn this stuff..

 

I read and enjoyed that article earlier. What struck me is what an awful, loud, annoying drunk Alex seemed to be back then. No wonder be had to quit after the 5150 tour and seems to now be into health and religion.

 

What about this alternate track listing? All the fast, rocking songs on Side 1, and the mid-tempo songs on Side 2. Each side of the album is distinctly different, yet each side still flows nicely. The way all the songs were interspersed with each other on the album didn't have a great feel to it, imo.

Side 1
Somebody Get Me A Doctor
Light Up The Sky
Outta Love Again
D.O.A.
Bottoms Up!
---------------
Total Time -- 16.25

Side 2
You're No Good
Dance The Night Away
Beautiful Girls
Women In Love
Spanish Fly
---------------
Total Time -- 15.35

 

As with all the other classic Van Halen albums, I like almost all the songs on this album.

"You're No Good", "Dance The Night Away", "Somebody Get Me A Doctor", "Outta Love Again", "Light Up The Sky", "Women In Love" and "Beautiful Girls" are the standout tracks here. All the songs are as great, collectively, as they are fun and different individually.

"DOA" and "Bottoms Up!" are their quintessential, two-chord, bare-bones, knuckle-dragging rockers devoid of any melody that I like the least (and I'm being kind here), and "Spanish Fly", though interesting, is pretty much a throwaway track, imo. If the song were more than a minute long and perhaps done on an electric guitar with a bright, vibrant tone I'm sure I would have a different opinion, but on the acoustic guitar it just sounds dull, muddled and flat. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings, Eddie. But if it helps you, that's just my opinion and what do I know, right?

At any rate, seven great songs out of ten ain't too bad overall, right? I think most bands (then and now) would kill to have a 70% success rate on any of their albums. The studio production sounds a little more refined and polished (and not as raw and electric) as on VH I, but that's just meant as an observation -- not a criticism (and certainly not a bad thing). Out of all the albums from the classic era, VH II is my second favorite after VH I. And of course it conjures up many great memories throughout the years -- as do all their albums.

 

I totally agree. While I like the sound of II, it doesn't have the warmth and raw energy as the debut, which, like you said, is not really a criticism. The sound on I was like lightning in a bottle, and you can't expect to capture that again.

 

Totally! Listening to the album, you can sense the electricity in the air. DLR was right when he said if you have VH I, it will melt all the other albums in your collection.

 

I thought he said that about any DLR-era VH album, not just their debut album.

 

Yes, Diamond meant that about all their albums with him.

 

May 8, 2018 : today is Alex Van Halen's 65th birthday !! ...

 

Couldn't think of what thread to put this in but I guess this one will do since it's from this tour.

Great show just posted on YouTube - Tucson, 10/2/79 -



'Outta Love Again' is insane - starts @ 48:19

 

The channel also several other great vintage shows and some tour rehearsals.

JTB's Groovy Record Room

 

Since this seems to be the place to post random Van Halen stuff, here's another one! Come see Romeo Delight this Saturday night at the 2nd annual Dave & Dave Unchained Van Halen Bash!

 

The 24/192 is really good, no compression and dynamic, sounds like a direct transfer.

 

Awesome. I love he thing about the prank where Eddie moved Daves table into his room after Alex and Dave threw his out the window.