![]() ![]() Writing in Van Halen Rising: How A Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal, Van Halen biographer Greg Renoff notes, “So when rock fans dropped the needle on Van Halen, they didn’t hear lengthy, self-indulgent jams or lumbering, doomy dirges. Reinventing rock’n’roll for a new generation, they shed the metaphysical baggage of heavy metal and delivered something that was polished, easily digestible and just plain fun. Often grouped with bands like Black Sabbath and Grand Funk Railroad, it’s easy to overlook how compact Van Halen’s sound really was. But the group had more to offer than sheer force: I’m The One’s surprise doo-wop break blows the doors off the album. Eventually slotted into second place on Van Halen’s debut album, it was the perfect introduction Eddie’s brilliance.Įlsewhere, the group’s first single, a rendition of The Kinks’ You Really Got Me, is both homage and reinvention of rock’s legacy, while Ain’t Talkin’ ’Bout Love and Jamie’s Cryin’ laid down the style and sentiment of what would become 80s hair metal. Templeman had overheard Eddie noodling on a break, and championed the piece the guitarist shrugged off as “just something he plays live”. But Eddie Van Halen’s landmark instrumental, Eruption, almost didn’t make the album. Straight from the off, opener Runnin’ With The Devil brings the band’s power and showmanship to the fore with Roth’s wild, over-the-top vocals. Twenty-one days and $40,000 later – a fraction of the time and budget for most rock albums of the era – Van Halen’s debut album was complete. With the vibe intact, the band laid down additional guitar, as well as what would soon become their trademark three-part harmonies. But that human vibe, that intangible thing… that’s the thing for Van Halen.” With overdubbing, you can get everything musically perfect. “You can get lost in the studio if you’re not careful. “The album was done on the first or second take exclusively,” Roth later said. At Eddie’s request, they kept the overdubs to a minimum, ensuring the songs were light and tight as the band recorded live as a power trio, with Roth recording his vocals in a separate booth. “That human vibe’s the thing for Van Halen”Įnsuring that Van Halen’s debut album would capture the band’s raw energy, Templeman and Landee tracked them live. As bassist Michael Anthony recalled, the band was more than a little nervous and intimidated by the experience, but it didn’t take long to loosen up, and soon the studio felt like their basement rehearsal space. That August, Van Halen returned to Sunset Sound Studios, in Los Angeles, to harness the raw energy of their live act. As Landee later recalled, “We just knocked ’em all down in one afternoon – boom, boom, boom! They were the most prepared band I had ever heard or recorded.” But neither Templeman nor Landee were prepared for how fast the group worked. ![]() With Templeman’s help, Van Halen’s debut album began to take shape: they determined which songs would make the cut, and recorded a new demo. “They were the most prepared band I had ever heard” Days later, the band signed with the label they’d always wanted to be on, joining their heavy metal heroes Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. The next night, Templeman returned to the Starwood, this time with Warners president Mo Ostin in tow. Templeman would later equate that experience with seeing jazz greats like Miles Davis for the first time. “You’re not going to fucking believe it when you hear them. “We’ve got to go after these guys,” he told Landee. Before the band launched into their second set, Templeman was already out the door trying to contact his mixing engineer Donn Landee. The main draw, however, was the group’s virtuoso guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. As he recounted for Newsday, the low turnout didn’t affect the band’s performance: “Dave was playing to an audience of ten thousand, when there were about 11 people in there.” On 2 February 1977, Templeman headed to The Starwood Lounge in West Hollywood, joining a dozen onlookers that night. ![]() Since making the shift, he’d distanced himself from taking tips about local talent, but when Marshall Berle, the man responsible for signing The Beach Boys, reached out, Templeman listened. Templeman, who’d helped produce albums for Montrose, Captain Beefheart and The Doobie Brothers, had worked his way up from producer to Executive Vice President. But then they met Warner Bros exec Ted Templeman, and everything changed. By the time Van Halen’s debut album hit the shelves, they’d already become a polished live act, but had struggled through a chequered start that had seen them record a failed demo with KISS’s Gene Simmons at Electric Lady Studios, in New York, and been turned down by virtually every label in the business.
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