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No one knows metal better than Lucas Aykroyd, author of 1984: The Ultimate Van Halen Trivia Book and reviewer for the Georgia Straight, Classic Rock, and Exclaim! Here he picks the five best pop-metal LPs from the decade time forgot Click to view Top 5 Eighties Heavy Metal LPs.
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Best For Pure Exuberance (Van Halen, 1984) |
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 For fans of pop and rock, 1984 was one of the most upbeat, fun years ever, from "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins to Duran Duran's "The Reflex". But if you want the one pop-metal album that summed up the year's exuberant ambience better than any other, get Van Halen's 1984. |
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This was the sixth and final album for the Pasadena, California-based quartet with flamboyant lead singer David Lee Roth. It was the culmination of a journey that had seen them become America's biggest mainstream heavy metal band, taking the crown from a drug-addled Aerosmith. Every Van Halen record sold more than a million copies, and 1984 would move more than 10 million units in the United States alone.
Roth's long blonde hair, tight spandex trousers, high-pitched screams, outrageously funny stage banter, and flying leaps off the drum riser were oft-imitated by singers for would-be Van Halen rivals. Meanwhile, Eddie Van Halen had perfected a guitar technique that would cement his reputation as the greatest axeman of the 1980s, incorporating fretboard tapping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and dive bombs into a sound that was more dynamic than anything Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton or Jimmy Page could have dreamed of. Drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony made up one of heavy metal's most driving, explosive rhythm sections.
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1984's first single "Jump" brought together all these elements, but also introduced an inspirational-sounding dimension that had only appeared briefly on past Van Halen albums such as Diver Down: the synthesizer. Roth had long contended that Eddie should stick to his traditional six-string heroics, but this masterpiece, performed on an Oberheim OBX-A keyboard, would become Van Halen's biggest hit song ever, topping the US charts for six weeks. The propulsive synth riff, the throbbing bass line, and Roth's exuberant cries of "Jump!" really came to life in the MTV video, with the band mugging for the cameras and performing their hearts out on an unadorned studio set. Today, the song, with its "go for it" attitude, is a staple at sports arenas around the world. |
Criminally Underrated |
But there's much more to love on 1984. The hard-driving rock and roll licks of "Panama" (is Roth singing about a woman, or a car, or both?) were created by Eddie as a sort of response to AC/DC's powerful live performance, and this number remained a live favourite even after Sammy Hagar replaced Roth in the band for 1986's 5150. "Top Jimmy" and "Drop Dead Legs" are raucous character sketches, immortalizing an LA blues musician and a lady who reminds Roth of Betty Boop, respectively.
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 Tipper Gore, the wife of then-US Senator Al Gore, and her Parents Music Resource Centre took offence at what now seems like the comparatively harmless "Hot For Teacher" with its high-tempo blues boogie alluding to teacher-student hanky panky. The video for this song proved to be another MTV classic, with youthful clones of the Van Halen members amid classroom havoc. Another synth-driven number, "I'll Wait," charted at No 13 in the USA, and remains a criminally underrated pop classic with its meticulous orchestration and Alex Van Halen tom-tom fills.
1984's last two songs, "Girl Gone Bad" and " House of Pain" return to the grittier feel the band showcased on earlier albums like Women and Children First and Fair Warning. Running just over 33 minutes, this album doesn't waste a single note, despite a profusion of rapid, thrilling fretboard runs from Eddie Van Halen. Guitar World honoured 1984 as the number one album of the 1980s.
It is a record you can play over and over again, and you'll feel fit to conquer the world with a smile on your face every time you do. |
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