Women and Children First (1980)
1. And the Cradle Will Rock...
2. Everybody Wants Some!!
3. Fools
4. Romeo Delight
5. Tora! Tora!
6. Loss of Control
7. Take Your Whiskey Home
8.Could This Be Magic?
9. In a Simply Rhyme
The third Van Halen release was a
perfect experiment of the type of record these guys needed to release.
After their first two records that were flat out simple, yet powerful,
the guys probably realized that they would need to modify things
slightly in order for the fickle public to maintain any interest. The
guys manage to make their sound a bit more constructed, the arrangements
a bit more careful, and the overall production goes up a tad in terms of
craftsmanship. Fortunately, the guys maintain their heady party
atmosphere throughout, and you never once forget that you're listening
to Van Halen.
The opening song is a prime sampler for such changes - the first single
And The Cradle Will Rock.. begins with an avalanche guitar riff
that upon first listen, you may not quite realize it's Eddie Van Halen,
simply because it's so different from his signature riffs that graced
the band's first two records. The same can be said for the overall feel
of the song in terms of its structure, yet as the song goes on, we
definitely can begin to tell it's the same guys we love - including
David Lee Roth with his tongue in cheek ode to juvenile delinquency.
This is the best thing on the album, but the whole package is nearly
flawless. Everybody Wants Some!! is a terrific sing along anthem
for the plastered pantheon of fans, that seemed to all of the sudden
begin to multiply ten fold.
Romeo Delight, Fools and the combat seasoned Loss of
Control (that sounds like it was recorded in an airplane radio
tower) all favor the band's strengths, and show off the band's
showmanship, which was just start to become noticed as the guys started
a spectacle tour which would rewrite the rules of what a 'rock and roll'
show was supposed to be. Seeing these guys in concert was an amazing
experience - even if it did bear more towards theater as opposed to
music in some cases.
What's probably the most pleasing aspect of the album is when they show
off a little bluesy, acoustic music near the end of the record with
Take Your Whisky Home and the rollicking Could This Be
Magic. Again, they were maturing - if you could possibly use that
word when talking about Van Halen. The only serious misstep is the
closer, In a Simply Rhyme which makes you wonder if the guys were
trying for a power ballad or something. What seems to be hilarious is
that you can almost hear them give up halfway through the song and try
to mould it into something else. Well, you live and you learn.
They were slowly becoming a household name.
Go back to the main page
Go To Next Review