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1981
  Van
Halen's fourth album, released April, 1981. As the
band headed into Sunset Sound to record this
album, tensions in the band became apparent. Dave
was spending more time apart from the others, and
Eddie had spoken with several people including
brother Alex about leaving the band. Al convinced
him to stay in VH, and this record represents the
darkest material the band has recorded to date.
Eddie's playing on this record is some of his best
work, with fiery solos and heavy rhythm patterns.
Fair Warning marks a definite change from the
carefree lifestyle of the first three Van Halen
records. Execs at Warner Bros. feared the album
would be unsuccessful , since it did not sound
commercial enough, nor did it have any definite
"pop" tracks. Eddie also included more
guitar overdubs than in any previous record.
Fair Warning did not achieve the commercial
success of its three predecessors (it is the worst
selling VH album), but it did receive critical
acclaim. The album charted as high as #6 in US,
#49 in the UK. The album was also devoid of a hit,
as the only single released from he album
,"So This Is Love?" did not chart in the
Top 40. Still this album is some of the best Van
Halen material on record.
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Gold
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Platinum |
Multi-Platinum |
| 7/7/81 | 11/18/81 | 8/4/94
(2x) |
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Check out
our CD Covers page to download and print out these
CD-size covers:
Front
Back
Inside
CD
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Released
on 4/29/81
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| Copies
Sold: 3.4
Million (US) |
| Peak
Position (US): 5 |
| Weeks
on Chart: 23 |
| Recording
Time: 5
Weeks |
| Peak
Position (UK): 49 |
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| Producer:
Ted Templeman |
| Engineer:
Don Landee |
| Recorded
at: Sunset Sound Recorders,
Hollywood |
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| Reviews |
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| Singles |
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Mean
Street (4:55)
"Mean
Street" is a combination of two early songs from
the "Van Halen" demos. The main riffs came
from a song called "Voodoo Queen" and the
bridge was from another early VH original, "She's
The Woman." The intro is a myriad of tapped
harmonics, and a bass slap-like technique that Eddie has
continued to incorporate into his live guitar solo.
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"Dirty
Movies" (4:06)
"'Dirty
Movies'" is about a prom queen's transformation
into a porn queen, complete with typical DLR wit. This,
Ed's second instance of recording with a slide, was
recorded on a Gibson SG with a Les Paul Jr. neck. Eddie
couldn't reach high enough up the fretboard, so he had
Ted Templeman hold the guitar's lower horn while he
sawed it off with a hacksaw.
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Sinner's
Swing! (3:08)
"Sinner's
Swing" was a concert staple during the 1981-82
tour. Almost nothing else is known about the song's
history.
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Hear
About It Later (4:33)
"Hear
About It Later" was originally written on keyboard
by Eddie in 1980, and then turned into the guitar
screamer we know it as.
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Unchained
(3:27)
"Unchained"
is one of Van Halen's signature tracks and instantly
identifiable. It was one the most requested songs on FM
radio in the 80's. Eddie wrote the main riff at 4:00 in
the morning when he and Donn Landee were doing some
late-night overdubbing for "Fair Warning."
This track also represents producer Ted Templeman's only
vocal contribution to the band when he utters the
infamous line to Dave during the breakdown, "Come
on Dave, gimme a break!" He felt Dave was getting a
little too obnoxious during the song's interlude, and
jumped in during recording. The band liked the way it
sounded and they kept it.
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Push
Comes to Shove (3:48)
"Push
Comes To Shove," according to Edward, came about
partly because Dave wanted to cash in on the reggae
craze that was sweeping the nation in the very early
80's. Edward played the solo at least 20 different
times, but Ted wasn't happy with it. They called it a
day, and Ed returned to the studio that night and played
it again, the same way he had done earlier that day. The
next day he showed it to Ted and the producer loved it.
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So
This is Love? (3:05)
"So
This Is Love?" was the only single released from
this record, and it did not crack the Top 40. The solo
on this track was a compilation of about four solos put
together by Ed and recorded in one take. It remained a
concert favorite for years, as Eddie and Dave worked up
a little vocal/guitar intro for the tune.
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Sunday
Afternoon in the Park (2:00)
"Sunday
Afternoon In The Park" was recorded by Eddie on
synthesizer for his new bride, actress Valerie
Bertinelli, whom he married in April of 1981. This song
contained no vocals and leads right into the next song.
The song later became part of Mike's bass solo on tour
in 1991-1992.
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One
Foot Out the Door (1:56)
"One
Foot Out The Door" was a last minute inclusion on
the album. The track was recorded in one take, and the
boys literally did it with one foot out the door, hence
the title.
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