Listening Post: Van Halen - OU812

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 - OU812 - 1988 (Buy it)

Remember that Pasadena rock band that stirred up the shit on Sunset Blvd in the mid 70s? Yeah. They're gone.
Van Hagar is a different animal. It's an arena band of a different color. The Yes meets Metal template continues and, in a way, Eddie, Alex and Mike are really just a backing band for Hagar. except that this backing band is comprised of dynamite musicians who write the songs as well. Does this make sense?
I'm sort of struggling to figure out what I want to say when what I really want to say is that while Van Roth is the reason these guys are successful, Van Hagar is the better band. The album is better produced, the rhythm section is an entity unto itself, the leads are where they belong, the harmonies are up to par and even exceed the past. This is a band that takes itself seriously, not a band whose lead singer insured his cock.
Van Roth is a rock band for chicks. Van Hagar is a band for dudes. All the fist-pumping, devil-horned way.
If I'm not mistaken this is the first VH album to break the 40 minute mark. 50, actually. Giving the fans their cd owning money's worth.
But, what a ride. The first three tracks alone culminating in the hellride that is AFU, (A track with more energy and power than anything on the first 5 Roth albums) is worth the price of admission.
The pallet cleansing 7 minute Cabo Wabo subsides and we are back in familiar territory. Source of Infection is so good that it makes me forget that I am listening to a glorified glam metal band.
OU812 really takes up where 5150 left off and leaves the previous incarnation in the dust.

Grade A
A Side: When It's Love & Finish What Ya Started
BlindSide: Mine all Mine & Source of Infection
Downside: Black & Blue