I have an elaborate interest with Van Halen, or at least, an interest I am going to elaborate on.
When I was young and depended on the radio for music, Van Halen was a constant. I listened to Van Halen all the time, almost as much as I listened to ACDC or Black Sabbath. If I was pressed to list the most important rock bands of all time I would have included Van Halen in the top ten and would have negotiated with myself whether Van Halen or Guns N Roses were the greatest rock band to come out of the eighties. It was Guns N Roses obviously, but when I was young I was not entirely sure.
So, I held Van Halen in very high esteem, and I purchased three of their studio albums and had a copy of their greatest hits and enjoyed them thoroughly. But that was it. After I graduated high school and began listening to more David Bowie and European metal, I kind of forgot about Van Halen. Kind of.
Then something fun happened. While my younger brother and I were working at the bar as line cooks we were gifted tickets to see Van Halen at the Saddledome. Some secret Santa gift lottery amongst the bar management had the unforeseen consequence of the head of marketing and the head manager winning their own gift, so they decided they would give them to someone would appreciate it, and those Kelly brothers in the kitchen were rock and roll rebels, so they gave them to us. It was a great concert, this was the tour where David Lee Roth rejoined the group, so it was the perfect time for someone our ages to see them. Because I had been listening to Van Halen less and less at that point in my life, I got a wonderful reminder of how many great songs Van Halen have. It was really good time, it reinforced my love of Van Halen. But after a few years I kind of forgot about them again.
Van Halen is one of the most influential and best rock bands to come out of the eighties, so they deserve respect and to be mentioned, and since this year is bands I have never talked about before they are top of the list and I better think of something insightful to say; and hopefully I can.
The chronology of Van Halen screams the eighties, because they were such a fundamental contributor to the sound of that era, but technically their beginnings start in the late seventies with their first two albums, the self titled “Van Halen,” and the follow up “Van Halen II” being release in 1978 and 1979 respectably.
A strong start is a fair way to describe Van Halen’s entrance into the music scene. Their first album was a big hit and several of their best songs are on it. Furthermore, the first half of their first album is probably their best set of songs:
- “Runnin’ with the Devil”
- “Eruption”
- “You Really Got Me”
- “Ain’t Talking about Love”
- “I’m the One.”
That’s the first side of their debut album. I believe their best song is “Runnin’ with the Devil” and it is the first song on their first album. It is followed by their most famous, and I believe to be their best instrumental/guitar song “Eruption,” which is some of Eddie Van Halen’s best work. After that we get two more of their biggest hits, of which I strongly prefer “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love,” the Kinks cover of “You Really Got Me” while very fun, is not my favorite. Rounding off this first section is “I’m the One,” easily the least famous of this record side, but a very good rock song with a great guitar intro.
What a start.
“You Really Got Me” was Van Halen’s first single, but it was a cover song, so really, Van Halen’s first true single was “Runnin’ with the Devil,” their second official single. “Runnin’ with the Devil” has always been my favorite Van Halen track. I think a lot of people’s favorite Van Halen song is “Runnin’ with the Devil.” It is one of the most natural songs to love.
After what I believe to be a car horn echoes past, we open with a great bass intro, one of the most memorable opening bass lines in all or rock and roll. The chorus is sung by both David Lee Roth and bass player Michael Anthony and they are both awesome. Michael Anthony is kind of an under rated musician. Sure, the bass line in “Runnin’ with the Devil” is simple but the consistent timing to the rhythm is very impressive.
There is a lot of belief that Van Halen were early day rock and roll Satanist, and the popularity of a song called “Runnin’ with the Devil” contributed to this belief. I suspect, like most “Satanist” rock stars it is all tongue and cheek. Nonetheless announcing your outlaw life as parallel to the devil’s ways is fun and more importantly very rebellious. The spirit of rock and roll, rebellion. David Lee Roth sings about being an outlaw and how, once on that road, there was no going back. Freedom is a glorious but potentially dark thing, as there is nobody out there worry about the rebel now. I know some people like to hate on Roth because he has performed poorly during some live songs, but this is the early days of Van Halen and Lee Roth’s voice is powerful in “Runnin’ with the Devil.”
Lastly, we have to take a moment to acknowledge the greatness that is Eddie Van Halen. No one in the world was playing guitar like Eddie when he hit the scene. I am incapable to giving proper due to Eddie’s guitar tricks, because unfortunately, I do not fully understand them. I just really enjoy listening to his work and the combination of “Runnin’ with the Devil” followed by the instrumental “Eruption” is a perfect display of what Van Halen truly special. It has everything to do with Eddie’s guitar.
I never needed to write this out, everyone who knows anything about rock and roll already knows all about Van Halen and “Runnin’ with the Devil,” but looking at my song list in these reviews, I felt obligated to say something about this amazing track, even if all I did was gush over how great it is.
- King of Braves
