Listening Post: Van Halen - Fair Warning

When I was about 15 or 16 my best friend in the summer vacation town of Bar Harbor was a guy named Pete. I met him while we were both prep cooks at the town's greasy spoon. Pete was a metal guy all the way. Used to listen to Pantera before anyone knew who they were. He took me to see Ozzy at the Blizzard of Oz tour stop at the Bangor State Fair, (Randy Rhodes was 5 feet from me and a little band named Def Leppard was the opener). Pete also had a pair of pants tailor painted with white stripes to emulate Eddie Van Halen's guitar. While I was immersing myself in Queen, Pete was learning to shred. I never even gave the Pasadena boys a chance.
Let's remedy that now, shall we?



Van Halen - Fair Warning - 1981 (Buy It)

From the first crunchy sounds of Eddie Van Halen's guitar we know that this is a different sort of VH record. It's more progressive. It's more assured. It takes chances and risks.
Of course it was their worst seller.
It's a shame, really, because after two records that are carbon copies of the same roller rink rock idea, and one that sounds like the stadium version of the previous two, Fair Warning is a breath of fresh air.
David's sleaziness is match note for note by Eddie's guitar.
Fair Warning isn't a friendly album. It's a stinky album. It's a dense album. It's a short album. And it's a great album.

Grade B+

A Side: Mean Street & Unchained
Blindside: Sinner's Swing
Downside: Push Comes to Shove (We don't need creepy grooves from the party boys)