1984
Van Halen
1984
Album Summary
1984 (stylized in Roman numerals as MCMLXXXIV) is the sixth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984. It was the last Van Halen studio album until A Different Kind of Truth (2012) to feature lead singer David Lee Roth, who left the band in 1985 following creative differences. This is the final full-length album to feature all four original members (Van Halen brothers, Roth, and Michael Anthony), although they reunited briefly in 2000 to start work on what would much later become 2012's A Different Kind of Truth. Roth returned in 2007, but Eddie's son Wolfgang replaced Anthony in 2006. 1984 and Van Halen's debut are Van Halen's bestselling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies.1984 was well received by music critics. Rolling Stone ranked the album number 81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 album chart and remained there for five weeks, behind Michael Jackson's Thriller, on which guitarist Eddie Van Halen made a guest performance. 1984 produced four singles, including "Jump", Van Halen's only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100; the top-20 hits "Panama" and "I'll Wait"; and the MTV favorite "Hot for Teacher". The album was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1999, signifying ten million shipped copies.
WikipediaThis may be my quickest review so far. Firstly, I pretty much detest all 80’s ’hair’ metal. Considering 95% of music this genre produced is nothing like metal it should instead be called ‘men in drag singing shitty lyrics’ rock n roll. Secondly, whenever I see track listings with song names like ‘Hot For Teacher’ and ‘Drop Dead Legs’ it literally induces vomit to rise into my mouth. Thirdly, this album includes both these descriptions and I hated every f@cking second of it. Well that’s not entirely true...’Jump’ is ok. I guess one out of nine ain't bad? There is sooooo much of this rinse and repeat crap rock music from this era I seriously do not see how anyone can distinguish between them. For example Poison, Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Motley Crüe, etc could all record this album and even die hard fans, I doubt, would know the difference. To summarise...this album and the genre it belongs too should be sealed in a large container and buried in a secret location...never to be found and/or opened again. 0 Stars!
Hard to find an album that's more 80's white America than this, so if that's your thing you've lucked out with this one.
Eddie is a decent guitar player but no guitarist is good enough to carry these songs. Jump is OK but the rest of the songs define obtuse. (And no Less Nessman, I don't mean rounded at the end.) At least the last Van Halen album we were sent had two well written songs - being the two songs they covered.
It's the best showcase of Van Halen's instrumental prowess as a band, the best showcase for Diamond Dave's glorious shtick, the best showcase for their songwriting, just their flat-out best album overall.
Van Halen est vraiment un groupe très sympa. J'ai d'ailleurs rencontré ses membres alors qu'ils cherchaient un sèche-cheveux dans les rayons de la fnac. Je me suis approché d'eux puis leur ai demandé "Vous cherchez un modèle en particulier ?" alors même que je n' étais pas employé par le magasin. Eddie Van Halen me fit un bras d'honneur et s'en alla faire la queue à l'une des caisses automatiques.
Love, love, love this album. Hey PJ Harvey, this is how to make music that people want to hear.
Okay, I actually... loved this?? Totally shocked me! But, there's just something about the fun excitement that some of these songs bring - like "Jump????" WOW! Makes me just wanna dance around. I never knew I was a Van Halen fan.
Cet album m'a renvoyé à l'un des jeux videos fétiches de ma jeunesse, Guitar Hero World Tour, où après avoir vaincu Ozzy Osbourne au terme d'un duel de solos endiablés dans un bar du Mississipi, j'affrontais l'equipe FUT de Eddie Van Halen, comprenant entre autres un Arjen Robben TOTW et un Christian Pander au pied d'argent.
This is such clichéd music. I tried to give it a fair shake but I had to fast forward through every single song. This review was done in about 9 minutes.
I really, really love this album. I always mowed to it but listening to it in this context really helped me to appreciate the musical brilliance that they brought to the table. Combining super heavy rock licks with the sort of new wave/synth pop sound feels really natural now but had to have been shocking when it came out. I really, really, like this album. RIP EVH.
I couldn't get the memory of dancing around to this in my living room when I was like five years old out of my head. Five stars.
I mean the big hits on this one are huge and the rest of the album hold up very well
Panama is one of the greatest rock songs ever written. Diamond Dave is magnetic and magnificent. Eddie just fucking rips and his guitar makes me unbelievably happy.
Classic of an era!! it'd be 4,5.. but the good songs are just too good!!
Yeah it's more mainstream (not that VH were ever the hipster's choice) and synth-heavy, but wow so good top-to-bottom. The band are in top form, and I confess to loving this album as a kid. My only regret is that by the time I saw them live they were in full Hagar.
An amazing album - Van Halen at their top. It was despised by some people when it first came out, but with Sammy Hagar's entrance, the band grabbed the 80s sound by the horns and really combined their hard rock sound into it. They managed to walk a middle road where everyone could jam to it. There is a song for everyone on this album - not one bad song on it. There is a reason why it became classic rock as soon as it was released - they knew it would be seen as classic. 9/10
piriripiriripirirpiruuru pam pamparampamparamfuoo panama panama a panama panama a o o o o
A great album that showed Van Halen’s proficiency with the synth. R.I.P Eddie, lost a real O.G
VH. Dang, I love these guys. One of the most fun, energetic, innovative pop/rock/metal-esque (kind of sort of, at times) bands I've heard. It's hard to pen any praise of EVH because anything I have to say feels too, I don't know, pedestrian and trite. I'm a bumbling beginner guitarist who high-fives himself when I remember how to play a major scale properly or plays through a medium-tempo 4-chord song with only a few slips, then I put on any song with EVH on guitar and I feel like I've been transported to another semi-comprehensible dimension inhabited by some form of demigods and demigoddesses whose very beings are entangled completely with the Music of the Spheres. And, honestly, sure, there are countless amazing guitarists in all eras, but it's Eddie's genuine joy he shares when playing that is the most infectious aspect of his musicianship to me. Play on, Eddie -- I know you always will! This album has some of Van Halen's most memorable songs, among many memorable songs across quite a nice catalog of albums. Great one to have on this list.
Probably my favorite hard rock album. Between Roth's vocals and Eddie's guitars and keyboard, there is an unmatched level of thrill and hysteria. It's loud and exciting, with each track showing off in some new impressive way. So many tracks I love. "Panama" is of course a masterpiece, but "Jump" and "Hot for the Teacher" are also classics that you can't just ignore if playing in the background of a bar. This is songwriting that grabs your attention.
Phenomenal album. I knew the hits, but maaaan what killer songs with game-changing guitar chops.
You know, the synthesizer is such cheesy 80's fare but the greats did it well. Jump is no exception (though a little much on I'll Wait) - you can't help but get sucked in. Of course there's still room for some vintage Eddie (RIP) on the track. And more amazing guitar work on pretty much every track (listen to House of Pain). And then DLR is at his decadent best on this album. Those two just make the album what it is - Panama and Hot for Teacher are classics but they are really ridiculous songs with nothing to them except for the combo of EVH and DLR (to be fair Alex Van Halen's drum work on Hot for Teacher is awesome too). Drop Dead Legs is the best showcase of all the musicians - AVH does good work and Michael Anthony gets time to shine too. Stellar album for anyone who likes rock and even those who don't.
One of my bandmates pointed out that Van Halen was more successful with Sammy Hagar than with DLR. Does it really matter? The albums with DLR soar. Does anyone doubt the huge impact the VH brothers have had? While Eddie’s otherworldly skills could have overshadowed everything and everyone else, Alex’s licks, especially on Hot for Teacher, kept pace. On this album it always feels to me that they are competing and racing each other, as if to say Oh, yeah? Top this!
*Rock snob alert*. Not my favorite VH album. Not even close to their bast album with DLR. Panama and Hot For Teacher are rockers. I'll Wait is a great song, and one of the few VH songs where DLR actually sings. The rest of the album is "take it or leave it for me". My rating is for the three aforementioned songs, and for, musically and vocally, them being at the top of their game.
walked into this totally blind and 34 minutes later I have to give it a 10/10. I’m not too familiar with Van Halen. I’m familiar with the name but never looked into their discography. I can’t help but feel like I’m missing some context on the significance of this album. Like all rock bands, I’m sure listening to their previous albums will help me appreciate this more, but still for what it is I think it’s amazing. I love how fun, fast, and sassy it is. As soon as I heard that iconic and instantly recognizable synth in ‘Jump’ I knew this was going to be a great (although tragically short) album. I’m a big fan of synth rock and pop rock and this hits all the right spots. I’ll look into more of Van Halen’s stuff for sure. I’m a little worried that 1984 is the peak and everything goes downhill from there tho. Regardless, their self titled debut seems to have pretty high ratings so I’ll look into that one soon.
Iconic, loads of memorable hits, and for sheer instrumentalism alone it’s difficult to go under 5 stars here. No, these are not elegant compositional masterpieces, but there is nobody who can play or sound like classic Van Halen and this album is one of the best examples of that.
I knew most of the hits off this one, but I wasn't familiar with the deep dives, most of which are fantastic. I also had no idea how awesome of a drummer Alex VH is.
Really it should be getting a 4 because of how much synth was used on this album but then Panama and hot for teacher really pull this one up. 4.5?
Classic rock is classic. Also, Hot for Teacher makes me want to run through a goddamned stone wall.
This is, by far, the best and most successful Van Halen album. The Van Halen brothers with Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth were the best that they could become and it shows. "Jump", "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher" are three of hard rock's biggest classics and the album as a whole, a short one with only 33 minutes, is pure 1980s rock zeitgeist. The production is overwhelming, the instrumentation, mixing hard rock with glam and pop, is perfect and Roth's voice is amazing in every single track. One of the greatest rock albums of the 1980s.
It's not my fav VH album but it's hard no to love this. I was 12 years old when it came out and there wasn't anything much cooler than VH at that time.
There was peak Van Halen, and there was everybody else. This album is a testament to that. Great from start to finish.
Sadly I was too young, but fuck it would've been great to be around when Van Halen was THE soundtrack to fingering girls in the park. 5/5.
Solid album. Hadn't heard many of the songs, and glad I've heard them now. Thirty-three minutes packed with hard, awesome rock. Added! Will listen again & again (though I'm kinda tired of Jump...)
One of my favourite albums by one of my favourite bands. I love it all from Jump to Top Jimmy to Drop Dead Legs and all places between!
Cet album est fantastique. Il contient tout ce qui fait que Van Halen est Van Halen : Irrévérence, humour, rock, ainsi que ce qui le met dans une classe à part, le groove. Oui, ce band groove. Les 4 membres sont super solides. Aussi, ils sont très techniques, mais ils savent quand être plus retenus.
Wow, I think this is the first we've gotten from Van Halen, a band that I know extremely well. Alex and I listened to so much VH back in the day, we even made a movie pretending to be the band. Not sure why this band in particular connected with us so much...maybe it's their simplicity? There's not a whole lot of depth to their music, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. You know the lyrics on first listen thanks to David Lee Roth yelling and repeating them. The drumming and guitarwork is excellent, thanks to the undeniably talented brothers Eddie and Alex. The mere existence of Eddie Van Halen is an anomaly, especially for a band that frankly doesn't need unmatched, virtuosic solos abbreviating their stadium anthems. I'm not sure how many of these were chart-topping hits, but for me there's a run of six straight bangers--on an album with only 8 actual songs. That's absurd. The two biggest songs on here ("Jump" and "Panama") are two that I would rank lower than most people. Actually, I don't know if that's fair; maybe haters would hate those two the most. But what I mean is my nostalgia isn't impervious when it comes to those tracks, because while they are fun and exuberant they are simple to the point of feeling stupid. Looking through their discography, I think this is my second-favorite Van Halen album, behind their self-titled (which I do think is on the list too). It's not the most sophisticated album or band from this era, but there's a satisfying quality to their music nonetheless. For me, it's familiarity. This one's getting the nostalgia bump to a 5, though if I were to be more realistic and critical I'd give it a 4.5. Anything below that and I'd be lying to impress people. Favorite tracks: Top Jimmy, Hot for Teacher, I'll Wait, Jump, Drop Dead Legs, Panama. Album art: A baby with angel wings smoking a cigarette. Gotta be their most iconic, and their most interesting. I love this one so much. Look at the wee bastard. 5/5
It's a shredfest with synths. I don't listen to a lot of 80s rock but I can listen to this one anytime. After the spacey one minute intro the album doesn't let up until it's over. Lots of hits and even the non-hits are good. Favorite: Panama
More than half of the songs are in the good-to-great category. The rest are good enough that I wouldn't skip them.
Have you ever felt a guitar string snap back at you after breaking? They can cause major damage, including major bruising and deep cuts. It has to do with the amount of tension required to tune the string appropriately. The string is tightly wound through and around the tuning pegs, causing the notes we know and love to ring true. This album is tighter than that.
Van Halen knows who they are, what they want to do, and how to do that just right. So damn tight and fun and killer. The synths may take away for some people, but I really think it blends super well with their sound. Pure excellence.
I like my music cheerful fun and energetic. If Van Halen's Jump is wrong I don't want to be right. This album earwormed into my brain when I was at a young vulnerable age. Too late now to do anything about it. Reach down .... between my legs ...
Was dope. Not quit quintessential...but such a fun classic rock record
It's an iconic album. I love Eddie's sound and style; he was one of my heroes. Panama was one of the first songs I learned playing the guitar, and I still enjoy playing it. 5 Stars for this album.
Joya del Rock. Las puras guitarras de Eddie con el estilo que vino prácticamente a crear lo ponen en el lugar para tener 5 estrellas. Hay obviamente un par de rolas no tan buenas, pero incluso dentro de eso, son Rock en una excelente forma.
Pura energía y guitarrazos como pocos pueden entregar. Mi favorita fue Girl Gone Bad. 4.5 que suben a 5 porque también I'm hot for teacher.
Excellent album. It's amazing that I already had three of the tracks on this album liked but I never considered myself a Van Halen fan. Listening to the whole album maybe have proven that to be false. "Jump", "Panama", and "Hot for Teacher" are obviously amazing. Discovered I like "Drop Dead Legs" a lot too.
Hell yeah, this is 80s rock. Love love David Lee Roth, the percussion, and those guitar riffs. One of the things I've had on my bucket list is to learn the drums on Hot for Teacher. The drums really get you going right from the start. Damn good stuff. 🤘
First things first: Van Halen was never the same after He Who Shall Not Drive 55 replaced David Lee Roth. For further information, please refer to Nerf Herder's "Van Halen." Now that that's out of the way, anyone with at least one working earhole should recognize the greatness of this album. Not only are "Jump," "Panama," and "Hot for Teacher" my three favorite Van Halen songs, but they're seminal '80s rock tracks, period. All on the same album. They're worth 4.5 stars themselves, and we can just round up the rest of the way to five on general principle.
TRop Bon et trop classique, toutes les chansons sont bonnes et bien faite. C'est vraiment un top album ! 5
The best Van Halen album. Jump, Hot For Teacher, and Panama are all classic songs.
"Hot for Teacher", "Jump", and "Panama", along with incredible Eddie guitar and David Lee Roth vocals all throughout. What's not to love? 9/10.
Two quick stories that underscore why this album is such a goddamn easy 5 for me. Summer of 1984, my second concert ever at the second of back-to-back Van Halen shows in Omaha, NE. Your humble narrator was all of 14 years old and thrown into what could only be described as a bacchanal extravaganza. Between songs, someone threw a bra up on stage because of course they did. Without missing a beat, Diamond David Lee Roth dances right over to the bra, holds it up for the audience's pleasure, then turns to his wunderkind guitarist and says, "Hey Eddie. Valerie left this in my room last night. Would you mind giving it back to her?" Needless to say, the crowd lost their collective shit. Diamond Dave might have sniffed the bra, too. All Eddie could do was flash that famous smile of his that was all over the Jump music video. What was there to be upset about? Van Halen's music was EVERYWHERE that summer. Of course, behind the scenes, Eddie had just about enough of Roth's shit, and soon it was all Hummala bebhuhla zeebuhla boobuhla Hummala bebhuhla zeebuhla bop for Diamond Dave. Maybe "Valerie's" bra was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Which is just a travesty. In the summer of 2004, I had second row seats at a Van Halen concert. At least it was supposed to be a Van Halen concert. It was more like watching a horrible Van Halen cover band. Oh sure, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony were there, and whatever version of Eddie that could come crawling out of a bottle was there suffering through just an abysmal performance. And the lead singer was someone less charismatic than Diamond Dave. Van Halen had reunited, only with the wrong lead singer. Van Hagar opens up the concert by playing...Jump? Yes! For whatever your opinion is of Sammy Hagar as lead singer of Van Halen, that version had a slew of hits. They couldn't have opened with one of Sammy's tunes? It goes without saying that Sammy just butchered it, even throwing the microphone over to Michael Anthony for a verse. It didn't help that Eddie Van Halen was too busy searching for another bottle of wine instead of shredding his guitar. It's well known that this was a horrible time for Eddie, and I'm sure opening each show with one of your signature songs butchered by the wrong singer wasn't doing him any favors. The point is that Diamond Dave and Eddie Van Halen were magic together, and pretty much lost publicly without each other. Jump doesn't work let alone hold up without both of them. Jump was Van Halen's only song to top the Billboard Hot 100. It's got the insane Roth lyrics inspired by a guy threatening to jump off a building, along with Eddie showing off his guitar and keyboard skills. The rest of this album is loaded with hits, from Panama to Hot For Teacher to I'll Wait. I can't imagine how much bigger Van Halen would have become had they found a way to continue with Roth. All I know is few bands capture blissful magic like Van Halen did on 1984 in 1984.
The thing people don't realize about this record is just how revolutionary it was at the time it came out. For all of the knockoffs and wannabes in the later 80s, this album was a significant nexus between pop and hard rock. The history of the production of this album is also fascinating, with Templeman and Roth working in a WB studio, while Eddie the Van et al were working in EVH's home studio, which he built b/c he was so pissed about how many covers they forced him to do on Diver Down. Also, if you listen to that quiet little melodic line at the end of Jump (c-b-c-a c-b-c-g c-b-c-c), you'll hear what would eventually become Top of the World.
Man, 9 tracks and 33 minutes. Though 3 songs i might consider filler, they still have the eddie and alex sound that makes those interesting as well (with that dose of a synth sound... but not too overdone to not fit in). The rest are pretty much a greatest hits list. Stellar stellar album.