I still remember when this album first came out. It really revolutionized music. I have to say that for me it was less about Eddie Van Halen’s so well documented hammer on guitar technique that made this album stand out. No, for me the extremely hard edged sounds here and nearly punk rock elements were things that just weren’t common. Van Halen truly upped the ante. Perhaps one of the most intriguing things listening to this stuff with a fresh ear is how much the catchy hook was just about as important as the crunch and fiery guitar work. Whatever the reason this album is a classic and really deserves to be so.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2009  Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

After an odd siren effect the bass begins its droning run and then the group launch into this punky hard rocker. The verse are stripped down. They power it up for the choruses and guitar solos. As cool as this track is, it’s perhaps a bit pedestrian compared to some of the other material on show here. Of course, part of that feeling on this end might be due to playing the track in countless bands over the years – which can kill a song’s lasting power for me.

This is a killer guitar solo. You really can’t argue with that. It’s a powerhouse.

This might well be my choice for best track on the disc. This has a great melody and plenty of crunch. There’s a hard edged fire to this and it’s just incredible. Everything is just about perfect on this. The vocal hook is catchy and yet the track has a fury to it that’s awesome. There’s a mellower section that’s extremely tasty, too. Eddie Van Halen puts in some of his most expressive and tasteful guitar work on this, too. The “hey hey hey” singalong is quite punk rock-like.

At its core this is almost a poppy bubble gum kind of a track. Don’t believe me, listen to the song structure. The thing is, they take this vision and wrap it some seriously crunchy sounds and turn into something sublime. This is another highlight of the CD.

The guitar riff that leads this off is classic. This is another of the highlights of the disc. The combination of catchy vocal arrangement and crunch guitar line is simply awesome.

As odd as this is, it works. It’s a bluesy sort of tongue in cheek jam. I can tell it’s definitely very much a David Lee Roth kind of thing. It’s fun and a bit of a diversion.