Van Halen Album Covers and Questions We May Have Abou them....

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some DLR ad-lib vocals after the guitar solo in the video that are missing from the album version.

Ooooooh, I'm not the only one to have noticed this. When the video for "Jump" first debuted on MTV, that part where DLR adlibs was silent. A product of bad video editing, it just showed him yelling into the camera with no sound coming out of his mouth. Later, they dubbed some vocals in there to make that sequence not seem so awkward. So the "mix" that you're talking about is just the regular "Jump" with some crazy yelling tacked on for about two seconds.

I still swear up and down that I saw a version of The Cars' "You Might Think" video where at the end, instead of pulling off his face and a waterfall coming out of his head with the rest of the band rafting out on a bar of soap, Ric Ocasek just put his hand back down and lipsynched half-heartedly the rest of the song before just giving up and smiling as the music played out. RAW VIDEOS!

Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Monday, 21 June 2004 17:43 (nineteen years ago) link

HOT FOR TEACHER is the greatest song on MCMVXXXIV, sorry tk. The beginning drum bit alone is so great, and sounds so THICK. And the guitar when the drums kick out right before the groove - matchless. My junior high school yearbook quote is from this song - 'Aw man, I think the clock is slow...'

Was it illusion? (calstars), Monday, 21 June 2004 20:39 (nineteen years ago) link

Ok, "I'll Wait" is the shit. How did these guys actually pull off this synth shit? Was it some kind of magic in those suspended chords? David Lee Roth's tight multitracked harmonies? The bass throb? Fuck me, but this sounds the fucking band who should have (as Robert Christgau once said, I believe) been the biggest band of the 80s.

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 03:42 (nineteen years ago) link

I thought they were!
(Biggest American band, anyways)

Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 04:19 (nineteen years ago) link

Yeah, I was gonna say, if they weren't the biggest band in 1984 itself in America, who was? The other monsters of that year were all solo or clear bandleaders -- Prince, Brooooce, Madonna, etc.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 04:20 (nineteen years ago) link

U2 clearly ended up as such in the decade...

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 11:32 (nineteen years ago) link

U2 = Biggest American Band of the '80s? Well, after that trip to Graceland and all...

Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 11:35 (nineteen years ago) link

the secret was in the drums. They could have done anything they wanted and still sounded amazing just so long as 1) they didn't replace Roth with some third-rate seventies has-been and 2) they didn't mess with the drums.

J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 11:54 (nineteen years ago) link

Yeah, Alex's stroke of genius (I can't believe I just said that) was to take the snare wires off for that song, it's just a big hollow THWOCK.. and of course the Miami Vice style roto-timbale action for the breaks.. Cooper and Burnett here we come!!

Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 13:03 (nineteen years ago) link

Shit, I am going to have to dig this out now.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 18:13 (nineteen years ago) link

I dug it out last night, and Alex: I was JAMMING.

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 18:17 (nineteen years ago) link

I just imported all six remastered CDs onto my work hard drive this very morning. I play 'em on shuffle, just like I do with the Citizen Steely Dan box, and I'm never disappointed.

Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 18:17 (nineteen years ago) link

So say Greg Prato of AMG: "Van Halen's 1984 is arguably the best and most defining rock release of the '80s."

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 18:24 (nineteen years ago) link

Can someone please confirm that the drums at the beginning of "Hot for Teacher" are meant to sound like an idling "hog" and/or "chopper," perhaps the kind ridden by a chaps-wearing Diamond Dave to a strip club or aerobics class or place of worship?

Hammy (hammy), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 20:57 (nineteen years ago) link

I always thought they were just Alex VH's way of demonstrating his flashy rhythmic prowess.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 20:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Just dug out my cassette (remember those?) of 1984 and woke the infant with a rousing airing of "I'll Wait," and by gum I must say --- `TIS VERILY THE SHIT!!!

I really miss this band (i.e. Van Halen with DLR as a going concern).

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 21:42 (nineteen years ago) link

Those DRUMS!

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 21:42 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm sayin', man!

J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 21:55 (nineteen years ago) link

But grand as the drums are, is it still a weird second single from the album or not?

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 21:57 (nineteen years ago) link

I remember finding "I'll Wait" very creepy at the time (didn't know the term "stalker," but that was definitely the impression I got from the lyrics, and still do - anybody remember that movie The Fan, with Michael Beihn wanting to lust-kill Lauren Bacall?) (or was it Lauren Hutton?).

Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 22:48 (nineteen years ago) link

I've heard "I'll Wait" on the radio a couple times in the last year, it's not totally forgotten.

I'm not a big fan of it though. I'm with the John D ("Panama" & "Hot For Teacher," fuck the rest) crew.

CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 22:51 (nineteen years ago) link

No one's slighting those songs -- "Panama" and "Hot For Teacher" are both classics. But I'll put it out there: NOTHING else in pop sounds like "I'll Wait".

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:08 (nineteen years ago) link

NOTHING!

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:09 (nineteen years ago) link

"In The Dark" by Billy Squier?

CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:13 (nineteen years ago) link

NOTHING!

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:13 (nineteen years ago) link

But grand as the drums are, is it still a weird second single from the album or not?

I didn't think it ever was a single, was it?

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:15 (nineteen years ago) link

"I'll Wait" didn't have a video. I remember it being big news back in 6th grade or whatever when Kurt Loder or the other guy (this was B.T., "Before Tabitha") announced that Van Halen would not make a video for their single "I'll Wait".

wetmink (wetmink), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:17 (nineteen years ago) link

b-b-b-but they made'em for "Hot for Teacher" and "Panama"!!!

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:18 (nineteen years ago) link

My friend used to dive into the pool a la Eddie dangling from the wire in the "Panama" video...

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:19 (nineteen years ago) link

But I'll put it out there: NOTHING else in pop sounds like "I'll Wait".

http://www.na.rim.or.jp/~takasaki/rox/cdjkt/journey...greatest%20hits.jpg ?

CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:22 (nineteen years ago) link

I didn't think it ever was a single, was it?

Dude, read upthread! We've been talking about how it was a single for a while now!

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:22 (nineteen years ago) link

It was a single! Probably no one remembers that because it didn't have a video... which is probably why not many bands (or labels) subsequently made the decision not to make one after that...

Just dug out my cassette (remember those?) of 1984 and woke the infant with a rousing airing of "I'll Wait,"

Um... "woke the infant" isn't a euphemism, is it?

wetmink (wetmink), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:23 (nineteen years ago) link

"Reach down/Between my legs/Ease the seat back..."

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:24 (nineteen years ago) link

Would everyone please stop calling me "dude"?

I just don't remember ever seeing it as a single, but lo and behold....here's the sleeve:

http://svc003.bne009i.server-web.com/catalogue/leye3/images/9563.jpg

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:25 (nineteen years ago) link

if I ever direct a movie that features an "infant waking" scene it will be scored to "I'll Wait." I have no choice in the matter.

CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:26 (nineteen years ago) link

Would everyone please stop calling me "dude"?

Okay, sporto.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:28 (nineteen years ago) link

Alex, if ever there were an appropriate thread to call someone "dude," it would be one about Van Halen.

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:29 (nineteen years ago) link

Van Halen was anti/non video for awhile. The video for "Pretty Woman" was shot for something like twenty bucks, and I remember DLR saying that the "Jump" video only cost something like $600 or so.

Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:30 (nineteen years ago) link

And of course, when they finally went ahead and did a full-on story video video, they only do one of the best ever on the entire damn planet, namely "Hot For Teacher." Sharp.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:32 (nineteen years ago) link

Alex, if ever there were an appropriate thread to call someone "dude," it would be one about Van Halen.

Aahahahahahahaha...this is very true. I stand corrrected. They are, after all, LA to the BONE.

Is it me or does DLR's cadence on "I'll Wait" remind anyone of Anthony Kiedis?

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:34 (nineteen years ago) link

The video for "Dreams" is just footage from an airshow. It's pretty fucking sad.

CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:34 (nineteen years ago) link

Well. that's the Hager era, remember. As far as I'm concerned, Van Halen died with Dave's departure.

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:35 (nineteen years ago) link

agreed.

CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:36 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm kind of surprised a class action suit didn't FORCE them to change the name to "Van Hagar."

CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:37 (nineteen years ago) link

Imagine if the band had been named "Lee Roth"...

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:38 (nineteen years ago) link

What was their original name? Mammoth? Mastodon? Zinjanthropis? What was it?

Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:54 (nineteen years ago) link

pre-Roth it was Mammoth if I'm not mistaken. They were practically a Mountain cover band or something.

CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:56 (nineteen years ago) link

they almost called themselves Rat Salade! not a typo!

CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 22 June 2004 23:58 (nineteen years ago) link

Mammoth, I'm pretty certain.

deanomgwtf!!!p%3Fmsgid%3D4581997 (deangulberry), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 00:01 (nineteen years ago) link

Yet they only became so when DLR came on board...

Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 00:04 (nineteen years ago) link

four years pass...

I picked up a vinyl 1984 last weekend with an upside down back cover. Just glanced at discogs, doesn't appear to be a common error (unlike Workingman's Dead). Not valuable or anything at least.

a large tuna called “Justice” (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 18 April 2019 23:24 (five years ago) link


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