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Van Halen II
Van Halen
Warner Brothers Records, 1979
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/08/2001
In all the time we've been online here at The Daily Vault, I
honestly can't believe someone hasn't tackled
Van Halen II, the follow-up to Eddie Van Halen and crew's
landmark debut set.
Maybe it's because only one or two songs get any regular airplay
from this 1979 release. Maybe it's because people fear hearing an
example of the "sophomore slump," or they're afraid this album
won't live up to the high standards that were set on
Van Halen. Maybe -- just maybe -- we've been so busy we just
haven't gotten around to it.
Does this disc live up to what David Lee Roth and company laid
out on their first effort? No -- and anyone who expected those
kinds of fireworks two times in a row has to be fooling themselves.
This disc comes close to those highs, but the band does fall a
little short. Frankly, with the experimentation they do on this
disc, I'd rather have them fall short and take chances.
What kinds of chances do Van Halen take? For one thing, there's
the ubiquitous guitar solo "Spanish Fly," on which Eddie Van Halen
proves he can work magic on any fretboard, electric or acoustic.
(If anything, hearing this made me want to hear Van Halen explore
the world of acoustic guitars a little more.) You also have the
band taking the risk of covering Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good"
-- a curious choice to follow up their take on The Kinks's "You
Really Got Me."
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