|
1982
  Van
Halen's fifth record, released April, 1982. At the
conclusion of the "Fair Warning" tour in
December 1981, and after five years of constant
road work, the members of Van Halen were scheduled
to begin their first real vacations. To ensure the
band's commercial visibility, they recorded
"(Oh) Pretty Woman" in January, 1982.
Upon its release, the single began to shoot up the
charts and Warner Bros. demanded an album to
capitalize on the unexpected success. With little
new material prepared, and much to Eddie's
chagrin, the band worked up a number of cover
songs and recorded this album in just 12 days.
This album also marked the first time the band had
recorded anywhere but Sunset Sound. Amigo Studios
in Los Angeles was the only place available on
such short notice.
Released a month after it was completed, Diver
Down hit #3 in the States and #36 in the UK. This
became the band's most successful album thus far,
selling over 3 million copies, and becoming their
fifth multi-platinum release. Despite their
success, the band was increasingly at odds with
Dave, and all the members of the band consider
this the weakest Van Halen record.
| 
| |
Gold
|
Platinum |
Multi-Platinum |
| 6/30/82 | 6/30/82 | 10/22/84
(2x) |
| | | 2/22/89
(3x) |
| | | 5/21/98
(4x) |
| | | |
|
|  |
|
Check out
our CD Covers page to download and print out these
CD-size covers:
Front
Back
Inside
CD
|
|
|
|
Released
on 4/14/82
|
| Copies
Sold: 4
Million (US) |
| Peak
Position (US): 3 |
| Weeks
on Chart: 65 |
| Recording
Time: 12 days |
| Peak
Position (UK): 36 |
| |
| Producer:
Ted Templeman |
| Engineer:
Don Landee |
| Recorded
at: Amigo Studios |
| |
| Reviews |
|
|
|
| Singles |
|
(Oh) Pretty Woman, Dancing in The
Street
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where
Have All the Good Times Gone! (3:02)
"Where
Have All The Good Times Gone" was written by Ray
Davies and originally recorded by the Kinks. For the
solo section Eddie took a piece from an unreleased track
from the "Van Halen" sessions called
"Young And Wild.
|
|
|
|
Hang
'em High (3:28)
"Hang
'Em High" was originally recorded with different
vocals under the name "Last Night" in 1977.
One of the many songs recorded for consideration on
"Van Halen".
|
|
|
|
Cathedral
(1:20)
"Cathedral"
featured Ed on a 1961 Fender Stratocaster (using echo
and chorus effects) hammering notes on the fretboard
with his left hand while simultaneously rolling the
volume knob off and on with his right hand.
|
|
|
|
Secrets
(3:25)
"Secrets"
was originally titled "Lookin' Good" and Ed
wanted it to be included on "Fair Warning,"
but the rest of the band didn't like it at the time. Ed
used a Gibson 12-string/6-string doubleneck guitar to
record this track. Live he used a custon Kramer
doubleneck. Dave was inspired to write the lyrics after
reading several greeting and get-well cards. The cards
were written in the style of American Indian poetry,
with lines like "May your moccasins leave happy
tracks in the summer snows." Originally Ed played a
piano in the background, but it was later taken out.
|
|
|
|
Intruder
(1:39)
"Intruder"
came to fruition when Eddie went back into the studio
and improvised when more music was required for the
beginning of the "(Oh) Pretty Woman" video.
Most of the sounds he generated by rubbing a beer can on
his guitar strings.
|
|
|
|
(Oh)
Pretty Woman (2:53)
"(Oh!)
Pretty Woman," a cover of Roy Orbison's classic,
became Van Halen's biggest hit single to date. It also
was devoid of any guitar solo. They actually forgot an
entire verse of the song. It went unnoticed until it was
finished.
|
|
|
|
Dancing
in the Street (3:43)
"Dancing
In The Street" was originally a hit for Martha and
the Vandellas in 1964. Ed used a Mini Moog synthesizer
in conjunction with his echoed guitar for the music in
this song. He initially wanted the music to be for an
original song. However, Dave and Donn Landee talked him
in the using it for this cover tune. Eddie later
identified this song as his least favorite Van Halen
recording.
|
|
|
|
Little
Guitars (Intro) (:42)
"Little
Guitars (Intro)" was played on a nylon string
acoustic guitar much as was "Spanish Fly."
Amazingly, this piece has no overdubs.
|
|
|
|
Little
Guitars (3:47)
"Little
Guitars" was a spontaneous idea that Eddie came up
with during the sessions. The song name was inspired by
the mini Les Paul Eddie had built for himself. The song
was recorded and performed live with the same mini
guitar. The lyrics were inspired by the acoustic intro.
Dave felt it had a Mexican flavor to it, so he wrote
"Little Guitars" for a senorita. The line
"Can't Crow before I'm out of the woods, but
there's exceptions the the rule" is an American
saying that's been in use for many decades. It's basic
meaning is that a crow flying through the forest won't
make any noise; otherwise it will draw attention to
itself and could get eaten. It will wait until it's out
in the open before crowing, but there are exceptions to
this rule.
|
|
|
|
Big
Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) (2:44)
"Big
Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)" was a Vaudeville
classic. Dave got the idea to cover this Jack Yellen/Milton
Ager song after hearing it broadcast from a Kentucky
radio station one day while listening to his Walkman.
Edward used a Gibson hollow-body on this track, and Mike
used a large acoustic bass, while Al played drums with
brushes, a jazz standard. At Dave's request, the Van
Halen brothers' dad, Jan Van Halen, played clarinet on
this version.
|
|
|
|
The
Full Bug (3:18)
"The
Full Bug," according to Roth, is a slang term. It
refers to success. To succeed at something, you've got
to give it everything you have, make the maximum effort,
do everything possible, get the full bug. The guitar
intro and harmonica solo were both performed by David
Lee Roth.
|
|
|
|
Happy
Trails
(1:03)
"Happy
Trails," written by Dale Evans, was the theme song
to the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans cowboy TV show of the
50's and early 60's. Van Halen first performed this song
at their legendary 1976 Pasadena Civic Auditorium show,
well before they had a record deal. For several years
the band continued to perform this in concert as their
next-to-last song. The song was originally included on
the band's 1977 Warner Brothers demo tape as a joke.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Van Halen
Van Halen II
Women and Children First
Fair Warning
Diver Down
1984
David Lee Roth
Eddie Van Halen
Alex Van Halen
Michael Anthony