Van Halen/Fair Warning/1981

Van Halen has been in the news quite a bit as of late. This is of course, due in no small part to a balls out marketing push behind their newest album, “A Different Kind of Truth.” “A Different Kind of Truth” will be their first new album since 1998’s Gary Cherone fronted and ill-fated Van Halen III and also the first to feature original front man and notorious blabbermouth, David Lee Roth, in 28 years since 1984’s redundantly titled 1984.

Van Halen was one of the first rock bands I was introduced to as a kid. My sister, who is eight years older than I am, was a huge Van Halen fan. They were her favorite band. I can even remember her attempting, unsuccessfully I might add, to carve the Van Halen logo into a pumpkin for Halloween. Later, I had a friend in high school who was a huge Van Halen fan as well. He would loan me all of their tapes to copy, kinda like a primitive Napster only with liner notes and two sides. He would also loan me George Carlin tapes. Looking back now, I can’t figure out why I wasn’t a closer friend with him. He obviously had great taste. Of course anyone who was a kid in the eighties remembers Van Halen’s hilarious and groundbreaking videos on MTV. In 1984 every nerd in every high school in America was tormented with “Sit down, Waldo” thanks to Van Halen and their “Hot for Teacher” video.

Quite simply, Van Halen was the coolest rock band in the world.

I dig all of the Van Halen albums, even the Van Hagar era. I do like the six David Lee Roth records better, but that’s like saying you like blowjobs — everyone likes those. My favorite of the bunch is 1981’s “Fair Warning.” I guess this was their slowest selling record at the time and was looked at as somewhat of a commercial disappointment. I can see why. It’s certainly not a commercial release. There really aren’t any obvious singles or any standard FM radio fair. There also aren’t any cover songs, which Van Halen had kinda leaned on for radio airplay with their early releases. “Fair Warning” is just a slammin’ collection of pissed off and dirty rock tunes. It’s a little edgy for Van Halen — a band that is more or less considered “party-rock.” My crack Wikipedia research informs me that there was internal struggle within the band — perhaps an early butting of heads between Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth — and that friction is wonderfully reflected in the music.

The record kicks off with guitar wunderkind, Eddie Van Halen, performing slap bass on an electric guitar during the quick fade in to “Mean street.” Roth barks about “the living dead” and “being sick of these four walls.” Not anthemic party rock, but instead gritty tales of urban decay. “Dirty Movies” follows with a sweet seventies style Michael Anthony bass line, which provides the backdrop to a sordid tale of the girl next-door turned porn star, as evidenced by Roth, who during the break gleefully shouts “TAKE IT OFF! TAKE IT ALL OFF!”

Track three is another upbeat rocker titled “Sinners Swing!”. The backing vocals really propel the song. It also features one of Eddie’s best guitar solos on the record. Roth’s vocals are really fantastic on the record. He was never gifted with the greatest set of pipes — he sometimes seems to get by on charisma alone — but that’s okay, he got plenty to spare. “Hear About It Later” is also buoyed by hooky backing vocals and a memorable chorus. It’s a good tune, but probably my least favorite on the record.

The centerpiece of the album is the fifth track, “Unchained.” The song opens with a super heavy riff, in a dropped D tuning (long before Seattle made detuned riffage the norm, I might add) and features another memorable Roth-ian breakdown in the middle. “Unchained” would go on to become a staple in Van Halen’s set and continues to be one to this day. The funky “Push Comes to Shove” follows. This tune reeks of the seventies and is somewhat “disco-esque.” It may not appeal to every Van Halen fan, especially those who only like their rock bands to rock… all the time.

The upbeat and radio-ready “So This Is Love?” makes its appearance at track seven. This was the closest “Fair Warning” would come to radio success, as the song charted for a brief time. The dark and keyboard-heavy instrumental “Sunday Afternoon in the Park”, follows and serves, as somewhat of a harbinger of things to come sonically for Van Halen, as the bands experimentation with keyboards would continue to expand in the eighties. The song segues directly into the frantic, “One Foot Out the Door”, an upbeat and paranoia inducing number about a love triangle gone wrong that closes out the album.

Through the years it’s become kinda trendy to cite “Fair Warning” as your favorite Van Halen album. I guess its cool to like the underdog. However, it’s worthy of the praise. If you are only familiar with Van Halen’s chart busting 1984 album or their eponymous debut, give “Fair Warning” a try. It’s a little grittier and a little rough around the edges, but it’s a rewarding listen if you have thirty minutes to spare and can’t bear the thought of hearing “Jump” one more time. The band is in their prime and Eddie’s performance especially, is mind-blowing. What else would you expect? He’s the most influential and innovative guitarist since Jimi Hendrix. You’ve been warned. 8.5/10