Imagine you’re 16 years old, sitting in your bedroom at home, and your older brother bursts into your room with a new album from an unknown band named Van Halen that just released their debut album. You’re getting into rock and roll so you flip it on and you hear the guitar playing of Eddie Van Halen for the first time in your life.
That obviously isn’t a first-hand account (I was born a decade after Van Halen was released) but it’s something thousands of young American men experienced in the spring of 1978. And I’ll be damned if I’m not incredibly jealous of the fact that they got to witness firsthand the brilliance of Eddie Van Halen, probably my favorite guitarist of all-time, at a time when absolutely nobody knew who he was. The fact that someone could go in completely blind and hear the guitar solo on “Eruption” without having any idea on how that minute and a half track would single-handedly change the way electric guitar was played for generations to come is incredible. It was a front-row ticket to a sea change in rock and roll history.
Van Halen is an incredible guitar album filled with incredible riffs, and to think it was the band’s debut makes it even more special. Eddie’s unique tones and techniques are littered throughout the album, from his rapid-fire tapping solos to funky arpeggio chord patterns that bloom with color in a way that is completely unique in rock history, and while he’ll always be the main attraction the rest of the band’s contributions shouldn’t go unnoticed. David Lee Roth’s vocals play a perfect counterpoint to Eddie’s massive riffs, the backing vocals from the band sit in the mix perfectly, and the rhythm section from Michael Anthony (bass) and Alex Van Halen (drums) are a steady foundation that allows Eddie to build his twisting cathedral of tone with his beloved Frankenstrat.
This debut would set off a historic five-album run for the band that would culminate with their magnum opus 1984 six years later. And in the process, rock and roll would never be the same. This is the album that started it all.
Standout Songs: “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”, “Runnin’ with the Devil”, “Eruption”, “You Really Got Me”, “I’m The One”, “Jamie’s Cryin’”, “Little Dreamer”
