Music CD - Van Halen: 1984

	Music CD: 1984 Artist: Van Halen List Price: $11.98 Our Price: $7.10 Your Save: $ 4.88 ( 41% ) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
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Tracks: 1. 1984 2. Jump 3. Panama 4. Top Jimmy 5. Drop Dead Legs 6. Hot For Teacher 7. I'll Wait 8. Girl Gone Bad 9. House Of Pain
Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0093624774129 Format: Original recording reissued Label: Warner Bros / Wea Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Warner Bros / Wea Release Date: 2000-09-19 Studio: Warner Bros / Wea
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: One of Van Halen's Best Comment: Giving you the rundown of where I stand, I really enjoyed "Van Halen I" and "Van Halen II." "Women and Children First" was a good record. I did enjoy parts of "Fair Warning." I know a lot of people knocked "Diver Down," but actually, I kind of liked that record. That brings us to the subject at hand. While I don't feel "1984" is quite the record "Van Halen I" is, one could easily argue that "1984" is the closest they came to repeating the magic of "Van Halen I." '1984' is a brief but interesting keyboard piece. 'Jump' is a energetic song that starts the record on a high note. 'Panama' really rocks. 'Top Jimmy' was not my favorite, but I understand it was really popular. 'Drop Dead Legs' had its style. 'Hot For the Teacher' kind of goes against my nature, but I understand it was a major hit. 'I'll Wait' is different with a more relaxed tone, but it is still good. 'Girl Gone Bad' is alright. 'House of Pain' ends the record on a pretty good note. While "Van Halen I" will always be my favorite, "1984" is a really good record and should be in the collection of any Van Halen fan. It is also great to know that Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth are FINALLY back together. Customer Rating: Summary: Roth's swan song, perhaps mercifully Comment: Doing far more damage than their mega-selling debut, "1984" helped launch the mainstream explosion of the West Coast hair metal assault by proving that smooth pop hooks and synthesizers could be applied for plenty of crossover appeal without losing the so-called "edge" (though most of these bands were about as sharp as a dulled butter knife). By giving license to this sort of exercise in neon-washed mummer acting, this album can take a greater share of the blame than nearly any other. There's no denying the guilty pleasure appeal of a hit like "Panama," but "Hot For Teacher" is medicore even for a dunderheaded slab of energetic sleaze rock and "Jump" is sabotaged by their new found adoration for the synthesizer (the energetic performance is in stark contrast to the mechanical musical makeup). "I'll Wait" falls somewhere in between, sounding like a cross between "Jump" and their 1991 megahit, "Right Now." The filler between the radio wonders, though, are pretty tame. "Top Jimmy" has a pretty bad vocal performance (and a rather dull punk-ish melody), "Drop Dead Legs" drags where it tries to strut, and the mediocre leftover from their early days, "House of Pain," simply stumbles. Only "Girl Gone Bad" is worth hearing, but by then, you'll probably be too sick of this album to care anymore. Best cuts: "Panama," "Girl Gone Bad," "I'll Wait" Customer Rating: Summary: bye-bye roth, hello mediocrity! Comment: this was david roth's swan song with van halen, but what a swan song it turned out to be! forget what you know from the radio, as "jump" and "panama" are the worst songs on here. those were just done to appeal to the pop market. the great songs on here are "drop dead legs", "top jimmy" and "house of pain", all of which are among the best songs from any roth album. after this record, van halen sold-out, and hired some hack named sammy hagar to front the band, which was van halen in name only at that point. this is the last van halen album you'll need, as everything that followed it proved to be unlistenable pap! Customer Rating: Summary: Van Halen at their peak Comment: Even if this was going to be Van Halen's last album with David Lee Roth, it was going to be a great one. Not only is "1984" one of Van Halen's biggest achievements in terms of their being one of their best albums, it also made history for being one of the first truly successful '80s hard rock albums for featuring a synth-driven smash hit song. That song would be "Jump" known for its ultra-catchy keyboard line and fun-loving attitude. Overall, this is just an honest-to-goodness great rock record that, alongside Def Leppard's "Pyromania" and Motley Crue's "Shout At The Devil", would set the stage for plenty of hair-metal acts to follow. From the epic synthesizer introduction of "1984", leading into the classic "Jump", we are guaranteed a good time, Van Halen-styled. Following their biggest hit is the awesome anthem, "Panama", with some of Eddie Van Halen's legendary and unique guitar work. "Top Jimmy" is a song that's pure, three-minute rock fun, and "Hot For Teacher" is one of my all-time favorite Van Halen songs. It starts off with a jaw-dropping drum solo by Alex Van Halen, going into a mind-blowing guitar solo by brother Eddie. The entire song is pure, unadulterated energy. Between David Lee Roth's hilarious vocal performance to Eddie's second, heavenly guitar solo, this song is an absolute classic. "I'll Wait" is the third track on the album that seems to be lead mainly by the synthesizer. While that's not a bad thing at all, it certainly adds a new spin to Van Halen. "House of Pain" closes off the album by being one of those dirty-sounding (in a good way) F-minor rockers that makes for a great track. Alongside all these, the other two songs, "Girl Gone Bad" and "Drop Dead Legs" make for one excellent album. Basically, what I'm saying is that this is a great Van Halen album. If you don't have this yet, you're gonna love adding it to your musical library. Be sure to have a good time, and as they say...might as well jump! Thanks for the time, and peace. Customer Rating: Summary: One of the best party albums of all time Comment: What is it about Van Halen that exemplies raucous fun, including summer, cold beer, and hot babes? This kind of album would not be produced today, and would probably be dismissed as too corny and lacking in street cred. "1984" contains an amazing joyfulness, from the catchy "Jump" and "Panama" to "Hot for Teacher." Get it and enjoy. More Reviews
Editorial Reviews: 1984 was a successful record not only because it contained solid, catchy hard rock, but also because it incorporated synthesizers into the mix, the first metal album to do so to any serious extent. Although the advances in electronic music make this material sound dated now, it's still a highlight of Van Halen's career. Songs like "Jump" contain a pop element that gave 1984 mainstream appeal, and David Lee Roth turned the frontman role into an art form on songs such as "Panama," "Hot for Teacher," "Drop Dead Legs," and "I'll Wait." To a large extent, it was 1984 that set the standard for '80s pop metal, and David Lee Roth who set the standard (or takes the blame, depending on your point of view) for the aggressively good-time attitude most pop-metal bands took for their own. --Genevieve Williams