Van Halen (album)
| Van Halen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Van Halen | ||||
| Released | February 10, 1978 | |||
| Recorded | August 30–September 1977 | |||
| Studio | Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 35:34 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Ted Templeman | |||
| Van Halen chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from Van Halen | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| Robert Christgau | C |
| MusicHound | |
| Rolling Stone (2004) | |
Van Halen is the self-titled debut studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen. Released on February 10, 1978, the album peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200. The album became widely recognized as the band's popularity grew, selling more than ten million copies in the United States by 1999 and being certified Diamond.
Van Halen contains many of Van Halen's signature songs, including "Runnin' with the Devil", the guitar solo "Eruption", The Kinks cover "You Really Got Me", "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love", "Jamie's Cryin'", and the cover version of John Brim's "Ice Cream Man".
In 1976, Van Halen started recording demos for their first studio album. Although Van Halen recorded a demo in 1976 with Gene Simmons, no labels discovered these recordings until the following year. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen was not convinced of the quality of the material because they could not record the recordings with their own equipment. Simmons had to leave to tour with Kiss after recording the demos, and he said he would make an effort to get Van Halen a record deal after his tour with Kiss.
After recording the demos, Van Halen was offered several concerts. At a sold-out show in their hometown, Pasadena, the group's future manager, Marshall Berle, discovered the band. He and musical entrepreneur Kim Fowley paired them with punk rock band Venus and the Razorblades for a gig at Whisky a Go Go. After being well received by Berle at Whisky a Go Go, the band gained the attention of Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman of Warner Bros. Ostin and Templeman were impressed with the band's performance at the Starwood, and Van Halen proceeded to sign a contract with Warner Bros. The recordings of their debut album began in October 1977 and lasted only three weeks. Together with producer Ted Templeman, the album was mostly recorded live. "Runnin' with the Devil", "Jamie's Cryin'" and "Ice Cream Man" contain guitar overdubs. Overall, the album cost approximately $40,000 to produce.
...
Wikipedia