1984 released in 1983 and what was originally the last album to feature David Lee Roth. There's a new album now that has that title. However, I do truly believe that this is one of those albums that a serious Rock music collector must own. Even if you don't care for Van Halen, and I know there are a lot of people that don't, this song is Rock royalty in it's own right.
I don't mind the instrumental piece at the beginning of the album, which is also the title track. It does conjure images that could reflect George Orwell's book of the same time. Personally I think it's Eddie Van Halen dickering about with his keyboard and using it to create a vibe and feel for an album that uses way too much synth for my liking.
Nothing demostrates this more than Jump, which is probably the most well known song on this album, and also track two. I'm sure you've heard this song, and even more sure that I've covered it in another review. The keyboards are overkilled in this song and ruins Eddie's good name.
Thankfully that's followed up by Panama, which I have also reviewed before. As the first two full and rich songs on this album, they are also the only two to representing 1984 on the first Van Halen greatest hits package. However, for me this is where 1984 begins every time. This is really one of my favourite Van Roth songs.
Top Jimmy is a song I could really give less a of a care about lyrically. It's a cheeseball David Lee Roth typical special. However, the guitar peformance on this song is another story. The wildness and talented flair of Eddie is present in a way that truly adds to the song, instead of just being a bunch of neck shredding masturbation.
Have you ever seen a stripper dance to Drop Dead Legs? If not, you've never experinced this song as it was meant to be enjoyed. The lyrics "Ow! / Drop dead legs / Pretty smile / Hurts my head / Gets me wild / Dig that steam / Giant butt / Makes me scream / I get a nut nut nuthin / but the shakes over you / (Nothin) Nothin' else could ever do / You know that you want it (Woo!) / I know what you need / You know that you want it (Baby!) / When the night is through / Will I still be lovin' you? (Woo!) / Dig those moves / Vampire / Set me loose / Get it higher / Throw my rope / Loop-de-loop / Nice white teeth; Betty Boop / Play it cool, / Real heavy / I ain't fooled / Get it ready / Ooh, oh baby! / You know that you want it (oh, oh oh) / I know what you need (Ooh!) / You know that you want it (Baby) / When the night is through, (Ow!) / Will I still be lovin' you? (Uh!)", are very typical of this band. But they work with the music, and make for an album filler that really works and is garaunteed to see play, for the already obviously stated reasons. Also the solo that closes out the song is worth a good listen too.
As a drummer the first song on this album I gravitate towards is Hot For Teacher. It's not very often I give Alex Van Halen any type of props, and even though the work on this track is questionable on how complicated or impressive it is, I still dig it. Let's face it, if it wasn't for Alex's heavy handed drumming on this song it would fall flat real fast, and come off sounding as some cheap lounge song that you can hear David was trying to make it sound like. I think this is also one of my favourite guitar solos from Eddie as well.This song is just real heavy handed Rock and I love the moster balls it has showing the entire way through.
The synth is back with a vengeance at the start of I'll Wait. This song reminds me of songs like The Final Countdown, or Eye Of The Tiger, or something really inspirational from a 1980's fighting movie. It would work in Rocky or Bloodsport, during a train montage. All that said it's a good solid tune and only suffers from one problem. It came out to soon. I think Sammy Hagar would have done this song so much better. This is a song that I think would have done so much better for itself if it had come out later. Instead it's just a really solid album track.
Let's face it, David Lee Roth has two types of lyrics, partying and pussy (sorry, I liked the way that flowed). Girl Gone Bad opens up with a great little vibe that slowly grows and grows into another fun bouncey track that a very talented and high velocity erotic dancer could use to help tell their story on stage. "Ah, lazy eyes in the summer heat / Fresh from out of town / Now she's working on the street / Shake them poor boys down / Woo (Girl) Woo, Girl gone bad, ye-ah / (Girl) Girl gone bad / Found that girl with a lonesome john / When she should have been with me / Guess that woman fall in love / She don't work for free / (Girl) Girl gone bad / Yeah / Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! / Ooooooo-oh! / Ooooo-oh! / Oh! / Mmmmmmmmmmm... / (It's a big bad reaction) / (I'm coming down) / Ah / (Girl) Girl gone bad / Whoa! (Girl) Girl gone bad / Ow! Yeah (Girl) Girl, ooh, ooh, ooh / (Girl) Ooooh. Oh! Oh! Yeah! / Aw! (Girl) Say. Say. Uh!" Well maybe the music is a little too complicated for the stage, but the vocals help glamourize that Hollywood sex world life style. This is actually a lot better of a song than I make it sound. The album finishes with House Of Pain. My first complaint about this song is how Roth's vocals get buried in the mix. For the first time on the entire album it seems like Roth is trying to show he has other emotions. "Say you're gonna leave me / 'Cause I only tie you up / I always loved you tender / But you only like it rough / Woman bound for glory / Why you leavin' me again? / Gonna pack her bags and leave / This house of pain / Heartache's all around me / How many times we've tried / Said she tried to leave me / But her hands were always tied / If I had it all to do / I'd keep it just the same / Gonna fix it so you never leave / This house of pain". Then it's just a bunch of guitar masterbation until you hit, "Uh-uh. Uh-uh Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh / Uh-uh. Uh-uh Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh / Uh-uh. Uh-uh. Uh-uh-uh-Wow!" Then the song completes with more masterbation. It's a good solid way to end the album.
My biggest complaint about Van Halen, especially in the first phase of their major label career is the way Michael Anthony's bass tends to get lost in the mix. He doesn't lay down crazy patterns or anything like that, but his low end seems to blend and disappear into the mid range which is just wrong. Too much of pop production faux pas. Other than that this is a pretty damn good album from a band that I don't mind for the most part.
8/10 - content
6/10 - production
7/10 - personal bias
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