Van Halen "Fair Warning"

Never mind the gazillion selling “1984” step back to 1980 when Van Halen really hit their stride with their finest hour, “Fair Warning.” This is Van Halen at their absolute best. Many will say “Van Halen 1” is the top dog and it does indeed rank very high with skilled composition and masterful musicianship, but in my eyes, and I am the one writing this, “Fair Warning” is the hands down winner. If there was a contest that is.

Eddie Van Halen manages to infuse his wit and sense of humour into almost every mind-blowing guitar solo, challenging an entire generation of young guitar players to try a lot harder. Alex Van Halen fills the album with drumming that is instantly recognizable as only him. Michael Anthony continuing to play just what is needed on the bass to fill up the low end and give Eddie all of the space he needs to soar. That in itself is a philosophy and skill that takes years to understand and appreciate. Thanks Michael for allowing Eddie to be the King. And Diamond Dave, well what can you say? David Lee Roth may just be the world’s greatest front man ever. Even though he’s not a technically great singer, he is the Grand Poobah of style and entertainment, and charisma outweighs ability any day. Sorry Jim Gillette.

“Fair Warning” opens up with an impossible guitar intro by Eddie full of squeaky harmonics and tremolo bar drops. “Mean Street” kicks in with an undeniably punchy groove that really shows where this band is at. As with all of the songs on this album there is at least one wicked guitar solo. The “breaking it down” part of this song is lyrically a little heavier than most of the fun loving Van Halen songs that we all know and love.

“Dirty Movies” eases in with another punchy groove with odd guitar noise all over which eventually flows seamlessly into a super heavy riff for the verse. Michael Anthony lays down some serious low end bass thump throughout the entire song while Eddie effortlessly rolls out a barrage of sweet licks. “Dirty Movies” somehow makes you wish that your high school girlfriend got into the porn business.

“Sinner’s Swing” is another in a long line of classic Van Halen dirty boogie shuffle rockers. As expected, Eddie rifles off a speedy lesson in lead guitar technique that none of the rest of us will ever achieve, only to finish the lead with an aloof, “I was only fuckin’ around” run. David Lee Roth relaying the tale of an unsuccessful rapid courtship is most amusing.

The next song again displays brilliant guitar work from Eddie full of flangers and strange arpeggios. “Hear About It Later” has a very odd solo section that features not only Eddie but a punishing cow bell and way low bass from Michael Anthony. There is a slight sadness about this song that is so alluring.

Now for the greatest song in the entire Van Halen catalogue. A song that represents Van Halen perfectly. “Unchained” is the first Van Halen song that I ever heard and it got its hooks in me instantly. Both heavy and playful, “Unchained” pounds along and has the classic break-down that Van Halen uses so well. All I can say is put this on your turntable, crank it right up, and understand all that is Van Halen on fire.

“Push Comes To Shove” is a sexy little number that reeks of whiskey, hotel rooms, and regrets. An almost disco bass line slowly permeates the atmosphere like cheap perfume while Diamond Dave teaches us all a lesson about lost love. Dave really shines on this track. The song seems custom built for his oozing charisma and subtle sensitivity. Not to be outdone, Eddie plays some fantastically inventive guitar texturing and then finishes off with some neck bending soloing.

“So This Is Love” is more classic Van Halen in their usual fun-loving bashing way. For some reason, my favourite part of the song is the last note.

In the next track, Van Halen show off their willingness to do something strange, and strange it is. Alex Van Halen awkwardly pounds away slowly on his kit while some low toned space invader sound that I think is a keyboard proceeds to send Gary Numan all the way to Hell. I think the title “Sunday Afternoon In the Park” is strictly there to make the song even more uncomfortable.

“One Foot Out The Door” is a short little ditty that seems to just ooze out of the previous track. It pounds along with that same weird keyboard noise while Dave sings about darting out the back door narrowly escaping a right thrashing by a rather pissed off husband. One verse, one chorus, and one mother fucker of a guitar solo end this brilliant album by a band that has arrived with a vengeance. Few bands would stand a chance going up against Van Halen in 1980. “Fair Warning” has a darker side to it that only reared its head on this particular album. It sounds like a band that got to the top and saw a little too much and innocence was lost forever. Perhaps that’s just me being somewhat romantic.

If “Van Halen 1” was a brilliant youthful debut album, and “VH 2” and “Women and Children First” were a band trying to find their niche, “Fair Warning” is an aptly titled album from a band that is at the top of their game. Everything else is just gravy, great thick, rich, lumpy gravy. Mike Maggot.