Van Halen - 1984

As I write this, today is January 9, 2014.  On this day in 1984, the album of the year(literally) was released.  Looking back, this was such a big event for me and my circle of friends.  I’m talking about the chart-topping, video friendly and teenage defining album by Van Halen known simply as 1984.

My listening habits and love of Van Halen had been building since my friend Mick introduced the VH album Diver Down in the Fall of 1982.  The sound of Eddie’s stunning guitar, Alex’s muscular drumming mixed with the high harmony vocals of bassist Michael Anthony along with the swagger of David Lee Roth was something that sparked in my teenage mind and gut(and somewhere lower than that).  I would pick up every rock magazine I could get my hands on. I was reading Hit Parader and Circus along with Modern Drummer and Musician magazines just to get a glimpse or article on something pertaining to the Mighty Van Halen. I had started to collect all of their albums. I wanted it all. These were my new rock heroes. 
When it was announced (in late 1983) that Van Halen would be releasing their new album in the new year, I was going to the record store every week, or day or moment I had a chance to find out. Originally, I had read in one of the many magazines that the band was releasing the new album on New Years’ Day 1984.  So, as soon as the calendar changed, I was at one of record stores that I would frequent in those days to see if that new album was in the bins. I don’t remember asking the record store clerks. I just kept checking day after day.  I do remember finding a copy of Billboard magazine with a full page ad for the 1984 album on the back cover of the magazine. I scooped up the magazine for that purpose alone. I tore out the ad and quickly hung it on the inside of the door of my high school locker. I wasn’t sure what the significance of the cherub smoking a cigarette was. I didn’t care. It was so incredibly cool.  I went to the record store and bought a cassette version of the album. I wanted it for mobile purposes to have with me at all times. I had a walkman that I would listen to many an album in the halls of the school between classes and this one was to be #1 on my listening priorities.
I’m not completely sure if I was driving the family station wagon home from the record store or if I got it home and threw on a pair of headphones. I do remember the opening synthesizer sound of 1984 permeating my brain and then swept through my whole body.    The sound of the synthesizer fades out and then fades back in with the opening notes of Jump.  For years, hard rock fans have criticized Eddie for featuring the sound that was practically foreign to the hard rock genre known for favoring the sound of guitar pyrotechnics.  I don’t remember feeling particularly betrayed by the sound of the synths.  If I did, it was momentarily.  The song was catchy and in the middle of the song, Eddie fills it up with one his signature guitar solos.  The band had released the video for Jump a week or so earlier.  So, the song was fresh in most people’s minds and it was the first glimpse of Van Halen on video that most people had ever seen. Apparently, there was some controversy over the band’s video for their cover of Roy Orbison’s Oh Pretty Woman (from Diver Down)and had been pulled a few years earlier. So, here was the whole band performing and hamming it up for the camera. I remember reading that the cost to make this video was very cheap to make. They set up the cameras and played. The playfulness of the band was palpable. Dave strutted with confidence. Mike smiled and played along. Alex slammed away on the drums and Eddie played his keyboards and guitar and won over a nation of new fans with the coolest chesire cat type grin.

“…..Might was well….”

Soon, It seemed that tons of people in my own class were now talking about Van Halen.  I remember being at a school dance and some guys were talking about the video and the band. As I hear my classmates talking about the song and the video, I hear one guy ask another, “What’s up with Eddie’s guitar and his smile and the band etc?”  I hear the other guy say, “I’m not sure. Ask Ferris. He’s the big Van Halen fan.”  I look back at that moment and think that may have been where I may have reached my first moment of “coolness”.  That was when I knew that rock music was what I knew and what I was passionate about.
The second (or third)song was Panama.  What was it about? I have no idea. Did it rock? Yes it did. It starts with the primal pounding of Alex’s drumming and Eddie riffing together.  It’s lyrically filled with all the little innuendos that the band was famous for in the early 80’s.  This was actually the 3rd single released from the album and the second with a video from the album.  Soon, my friends and classmates would be talking about that video as well

“Then I reach between my legs…..and….ease the seat back!”

The song ends and I’m on the edge of my seat and waiting intently and intensely for the next song to start.  This song is Top Jimmy and still to this day is one of my favorites off this album.  It starts with Eddie’s trademark tapping and then Dave weaves the tale of “Watching this cool cat blow”

“They say he sang so good that the roof fell in and they didn’t even stop the show.
They don’t remember the place, but they remember the face
and now everybody wanna go”

I remember discussions about “who was Top Jimmy?” between my friends.  One guy says, “They’re talking Jimi Hendrix!”  By the time I had heard the album a few times, Hit Parader had published an interview with David Lee Roth and he confirms that the song Top Jimmy was about an LA rock, rhythm and blues band called Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs. They were part of the punk/roots scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  Once again, my continual reading of rock magazines put me in the know.
The next track is Drop Dead Legs.  There didn’t seem to be anything special about it. But, the song was catchy enough that you could sing along and Alex’s drumming is spot on and muscular as usual. It’s not till I look back at this album and I’m drawn in by everything on this album yet again.
Side two of the album starts with the song that had all my drummer friends talking. Hot for Teacher begins with an Alex Van Halen drum solo that still rocks me to my core.  Over the years, I’ve had fellow drummers say that the drum solo was played on a drum machine.  I think somehow that gets misinterpreted because Alex was playing Simmons electronic drums as his rack and floor toms.  Since that is the technology of the day, it does have a tendency to sound a little “electronic” and dated. But, when he kicks into that double bass hyper boogie groove that leads into the song, It’s all real and all Alex. 

“SIT DOWN, WALDO!”

The video for this song had everything a teenage boy would want to see in a Hard Rock video…..HOT CHICKS!!  It’s funny looking back. But, this video was a bit controversial because the band had child lookalikes that were in a classroom where the teachers were unlike any school faculty I had ever seen before.  If you’re not sure what I mean, watch the video.  There was such a buzz about the song, the video, the drumming.  My friend Mick was the first to say, “Dave, I figured out the opening to Hot For Teacher.”   He had and figured it out well. 
The next track was I’ll Wait. It was also the next single released off the album.  It charted well at #13 on the Billboard charts. The song pumps with Eddie’s new synth sounds and Alex’s strong backbeat. But, looking back, the song always felt like a filler track and not hit single material. I would guess the record company thought that since Jump was a number 1 single that another synth infused track would make a good follow up single.  I’ve always thought that some of the best songs on an album are the ones that the record companies don’t release as singles.
The album finishes up with Girl Gone Bad and House of Pain.  Both of these songs had brief histories in the band’s stage show.  Girl Gone Bad had been used as a brief instrumental intro into Somebody Get Me a Doctor in their live show and House of Pain was one of the songs included on their Gene Simmons produced demo years before they signed with Warner Brothers.
The history of this album is so much fun to reminisce about. I’ve seen various posts lately where people find it amusing that those of us in our 40’s still talk about the greatness of Van Halen in the 80’s. It was great to us. But, there are still young kids that appreciate what we did back then.  Mostly, I’m talking about young drummer Avery Molek who has made an online presence on YouTube who plays along to many classic rock and Heavy Metal songs and does them well. At the age of 6 years old, Avery recorded himself playing along to VH’s Hot for Teacher.  As I watched this 6 year old play, I thought to myself, “I couldn’t even play this song when I was 16 years old.”  He’s gone on to play this song live with country star Brad Paisley both on Good Morning America and made a special appearance at one of Brad’s concerts.

I couldn’t even play this when I was 16 years old.

Of course, this was the last album made by the original band of Dave, Eddie, Alex and Michael Anthony.  The year and a half after this album was released, was probably a rollercoaster ride of fame for the band.  But, in the summer of 1985, it was announced that Dave had left the band and was soon replaced by Sammy Hagar.  There are some that still argue about the pros and cons of the Dave vs Sammy era of the band.  I liked them all.  This band has always been a big thing for me. I still follow what they are doing.  But, Let’s just say my passion for this band is not what it was 30 years ago. 
Now, where has the last 30 years gone?