''Van Halen II'' is the second studio album by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
. Released by
Warner Bros Records on March 23, 1979, it peaked at number six on the U.S.
''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape chart and yielded hit singles "
Dance the Night Away" and "
Beautiful Girls." As of 2004, it had sold almost six million copies in the United States alone. Critical reaction to the album has been positive, with ''
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...
'' praising the "feel-good, party atmosphere" of the songs.
Background and recording
Recording of the album took place at Sunset Studio less than a year after the release of the band's 1978 debut album, ''
Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
''. Recording of the album began on December 10, 1978, just one week after completing their first world tour, and was complete within a week.
The band used a Putnam 610 console to record the album, similar to the console Eddie would later install in his home studio in 1983.
[ Many of the songs on ''Van Halen II'' are known to have existed prior to the release of the first album, and are present on the demos recorded in 1976 by ]Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; ; born August 25, 1949) also known by his stage persona "The Demon", is an Israeli-born American musician. He was the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, which he co-founded wit ...
, and in 1977 by Ted Templeman
Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. Among the acts with whom he has had a long relationship are the rock bands Van Halen and Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced ...
, including an early version of "Beautiful Girls" (then known as "Bring On the Girls") and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor."
Compared to the group's debut album, ''Van Halen II'' sees the group stretching out their sound and developing on directions only hinted before, and is often seen as lighter and poppier in tone; however, according to author Morgan Brown, it is evenly balanced between radio-friendly songs and "more intense, aggressive material". Eddie said: "I hate it when albums are happy-happy or heavy-heavy all the way through. We had a little bit of both on ''Van Halen II''".
" You're No Good" opens with solo bass guitar treated with a flanger
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and (usually) gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and ...
, followed by Eddie gently swelling guitar chords by using a volume control to mute their initial attack, a technique later used on "Cathedral" (from ''Diver Down
''Diver Down'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on April 14, 1982, by Warner Bros. Records. It spent 65 weeks on the album chart in the United States and had, by 1998, sold four million copies in the United St ...
'', 1982). The hit single " Dance the Night Away" sees the group fully embrace the bubblegum pop
Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a more specific rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, th ...
idiom, and features calypso rhythms in the intro and after the second chorus, whereas "Outta Love Again" is funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
ier than any of Van Halen's earlier material, with percussive vocals from David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...
and jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from ...
drumming from Alex van Halen
Alexander Arthur Van Halen ( , ; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie under the name "Ma ...
. A more challenging track, "Light Up the Sky" features cerebral, progressive elements combined with an adrenalized energy, leading Brown to compare it to a hybrid between progressive rock band Rush and the aggression of hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
.
The brief interlude " Spanish Fly" is a intricate solo performed on an acoustic nylon-string guitar
The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the modern steel-string a ...
, with chiming natural harmonic
In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...
s; it is followed by the loud "D.O.A.", which begins with a dissonant intro. Later, "Women in Love..." features themes of female bisexuality
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, ...
and an evocative intro with an ethereal guitar part played almost wholly on tapped harmonics, emboldened by double tracking
Double tracking or doubling is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or bigger sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument ...
to the point it resembles an electric piano
An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...
more than a guitar. During the song's outro, Eddie plays both power chord
A power chord , also called a fifth chord, is a colloquial name for a chord on guitar, especially on electric guitar, that consists of the root note and the fifth, as well as possibly octaves of those notes. Power chords are commonly pla ...
s on his lower guitar strings, and a drone on the open higher strings.
Artwork and packaging
The black-and-yellow guitar on the back of the album known as "Bumblebee" is buried with Pantera
Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...
guitarist Dimebag Darrell
Darrell Lance Abbott (August 20, 1966 – December 8, 2004), known professionally as Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal music, heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founde ...
, who was killed December 8, 2004. Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...
placed it in his Kiss Kasket at his funeral because Darrell had said it was his favorite. Eddie himself stated in an interview conducted in December 1979 by Jas Obrecht and published in the April 1980 edition of Guitar Player Magazine, that the guitar itself was not actually used on the tracking of ''Van Halen II'', as it had only been completed just in time for the photo shoots for the album.
However, the guitar was completed by Charvel, delivered to Eddie by Karl Sandoval in early October 1978 and was photographed in use on the 2nd European leg of Van Halen's 1978 tour. Despite this, there is no conclusive evidence that the guitar itself was or was not used for the tracking of the album. It is likely that Eddie had, in fact, taken the guitar apart and reassembled it just in time for the photoshoot, as there is evidence of swapped parts and a new guitar strap made from a lap-style seatbelt seen in the photos from the shoot.
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...
is shown in a cast in the inner liner notes, as he allegedly broke his heel on the third try of the spread-eagle jump used on the back cover photo.
In the liner notes, The Sheraton Inn of Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
, is thanked. On Van Halen's first tour, they stayed at the hotel and destroyed the seventh floor, having fire extinguisher fights in the hallways and throwing televisions out windows. They blamed the incidents on their tour-mates at the time, Journey.
Critical reception
In a 1979 ''Rolling Stone'' review, Timothy White writes, "Scattered throughout Van Halen's second album are various Vanilla Fudge bumps and grinds, an Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
-derived pseudobravado, a bit of Bad Company
Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...
basement funk and even a few Humble Pie
Humble Pie are an English Rock music, rock band formed by Steve Marriott and Peter Frampton in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first Supergroup (music), supergroups of the late 1960s and enjoyed success in the early 1970s ...
miniraveups," adding that the "LP retains a numbing live feel." ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' deemed the album "screaming macho rock howlings and power-driven electric guitar attacks."
In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
noted that the album is "virtually a carbon copy of their 1978 debut," though goes on to say it is "lighter and funnier" and "some of the grandest hard rock ever made." Erlewine praises Eddie's "phenomenal gift" and Roth's "knowing shuck and jive."
Commercial performance
It reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape chart and No. 23 on the UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
. ''Van Halen II'' was certified 5× Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
in 2004. About 5.7 million records have been sold in the United States as of 2004. In 2000, ''Van Halen II'' was remastered and re-released.
Track listing
Personnel
Van Halen
*David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...
– lead vocals
*Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...
– guitar, backing vocals
* Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
*Alex Van Halen
Alexander Arthur Van Halen ( , ; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie under the name "Ma ...
– drums
Production
* Corey Bailey – engineering
*Dave Bhang – artwork and design, art direction
*Jim Fitzpatrick – engineer
*Gregg Geller – remastering
*Elliot Gilbert – photography
*Donn Landee – engineer
*Jo Motta – project coordinator
*Ted Templeman
Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. Among the acts with whom he has had a long relationship are the rock bands Van Halen and Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced ...
– production
* Neil Zlozower – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
Further reading
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Halen 02
Album chart usages for Billboard200
1979 albums
Van Halen albums
Warner Records albums
Albums produced by Ted Templeman
Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders