Happy 40th: Van Halen, VAN HALEN

40 years ago this week, Van Halen released their self-titled debut album, kicking off one of the most successful career in rock history.

When David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and Michael Anthony entered the studio to record their self-titled album, they played live and recorded 40 – count ‘em – 40 songs. This sounds like the stuff of myth and legend, but it’s actually true. Indeed, it’s documented in an interview done by Eddie with Guitar Player in 1978, and as he further confirmed during the conversation, “Out of these 40 (songs), we picked nine and wrote one in the studio--'Jamie's Cryin'.'”

You’ve got to admit: for something that was knocked out on the fly, that’s a pretty damned good song.

“The album is very live--there are few overdubs, which is the magic of Ted Templeman,” Eddie continued. “I would say that out of the ten songs on the record, I overdubbed the solo on only 'Runnin' with the Devil,' Ice Cream Man,' and 'Jamie's Cryin'' – the rest are live. I used the same equipment that I use onstage, and the only other things that were overdubbed were the backing vocals, only because you can't sing in a room an amp without having a bleed on the mikes. Because we were jumping around, drinking beer, and getting crazy, I think there's a vibe in the record. A lot of bands keep hacking it out and doing so many overdubs and double-tracking that their music doesn't sound real. And there are also a lot of bands that can't pull it off live because they have overdubbed so much stuff in the studio that it either doesn't sound the same, or they just stand there pushing buttons on their tape machines. We kept it really live, and the next time we record it will be very much the same.”

To close, we can’t resist offering up Eddie’s final remark to Guitar Player, offered in response to their query about his plans for the future:

“Man, just to keep rocking out and playing good guitar!"

We should all be so accurate at predicting our futures.