641 Van Halen - Van Halen II (1979)

 641 Van Halen - Van Halen II (1979)

Studio Album - Rock



About the Act:

Van Halen were an American Rock band from California. They started in 1973 with two guys called Something Van Halen, one called David Lee Roth (singer) and on called Michael Anthony. Over the years they had a few changes of frontman, and one change of bassist, until their final line-up in 2020 was three guys called Something Van Halen and one called David Lee Roth.

They created 12 studio albums, which have sold many, many copies. They have been phenomenally successful.

About the Album:

This was their second studio album. You might think that this was a given, as it is called Van Halen II,  but Van Halen III was their 11th studio album.

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

I listened twice, back-to-back, while washing up. There was a LOT of washing up to do, but also it's only just over half an hour. My first impression on the first listen was that it was pretty clichéd rock. By the end of the second listen I felt better about it. Musically, it's not far off what I expected. I have heard Van Halen hits. I thought it might be heavier rock than it is, but predictably it has a focus on the guitar hero that is Eddie Van Halen. 

It's reasonably varied and it has a short classical guitar track of the "look at me, I can play really fast" variety. The rest is songs. The playing is pretty good, to be honest, of ours guitar, but bass (I always enjoy good bass, as a bassist myself) an drums. The general themes are quite clichéd rock fare (and actually the first couple of tracks feel more so). Mostly about love, relationships, women, dancing and drinking, and one track about being a ne'er-do-well. There's nothing lyrically to upset the norm of rock, Beautiful Girls is my favourite. The singing is pretty archetypal rock singing with a penchant for little high squeals which are very high. There's a good number of little asides and comments which make for a more interesting thing.

It grew on me, like I said. The songs got more interesting later in the album. It's generally quite an upbeat (literally and metaphorically) album, so fairly feelgood in content, which is something I can appreciate. It is definitely on the commercial side, hence the poppiness of songs that are quite easy to remember. After a few listens I'm sure I would be singing along. 

7.3/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/3w93PGkmXAmEAdJVvmPbzI

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7D2ED43AD05FF153

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Halen_II



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990)

Image
 840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990) Compilation (double) - Girl Group (Soul/Bobby Soxer/Do-Wop) About the Album: This is a highly acclaimed compilation in 2CDs by Rhino Records. It's the sort of thing that in this country you might expect to see at 3.99 in a Garden Centre. My History with this Album: None Review: There are not many multi-artist compilations in this series for reviewing. There is not information about it on Wikipedia, but the reception seems to have been positive. It is choc-full of hits with a smattering of lesser-known songs, and it's hard not to imagine Grease or similar situations - girls with cardigans and white socks, listening to the juke box while sipping milkshakes in the drug store. On one level it's a fun collection of songs that you could use to feel nostalgic, or as the music for a themed party. On another level it's kind of like a cultural artefact. I feel honour-bound to describe it, even though if I drop
Read more

944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001)

Image
 944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001) Studio Album - World Music About the Act: Manu Chao is a French-Spanish musician of Spanish descent who grew up on the outskirts of Paris. In the mid-80s he was in a Spanish/English rockabilly group called Hot Pants. In 1987, with his brother and cousin he founded the band Mano Negra, combining punk and world music influences and playing on the Paris Metro. This band took off and had 4 studio albums. In 1995 Manu "went solo", forming the band Radio Bemba Sound System to be his backing band. The punk elements were less prominent, but he started to make music that "replicates the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures". He has been really popular in parts of Europe.  About the Album: This album was Manu Chao's second studio album as a "solo" artist. In Spanish, the name means "Next Station: Hope", after a real station on the Madrid Metro. The album reached top 10 slots
Read more

591 Harry Smith, Ed. - Anthology of American Folk Music (1952)

Image
 591 Harry Smith, Ed. - Anthology of American Folk Music (1952) Compilation Album - Americana About the Act: Harry Smith is not the performer here, he is the collector. He was a film-maker, occultist, and eccentric. About the Album: Harry Smith had a collection of early 78rpm records of various "folk" styles dated from 1927 when such things first started to be commercially available to 1932 when the Great Depression put a stop to the sales of folk records. In 1947 he approached a label, Folkway Records, about releasing a collection of them transferred onto LPs. This they did in 1952, without seeking copyright permission, making this technically a bootleg. It was released as three double-LP boxed sets, and sold very poorly. In the first year it sold 50 copies, 47 to libraries and colleges. It was reissued later, and gained traction and sold better. It now has a reputation for being one of the most influential compilations in the history of Americana, and is cited as being a ma
Read more