范海伦 (1978)

Van Halen is the debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on February 10, 1978, by Warner Bros. Records. Widely regarded as one of the greatest debut albums in rock music, the album was a major commercial success, peaking at number 19 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. It has sold more than 10 million copies in the United States, receiving a Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and making it one of the best-selling albums in the country.

Van Halen contains some of the band's most well-known songs, including "Runnin' with the Devil", "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love", "Jamie's Cryin'", their cover version of the Kinks' 1964 song "You Really Got Me", and the instrumental "Eruption"; written and performed by guitarist Eddie Van Halen, it is widely regarded as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time and helped popularize two-handed tapping. In 2020, the album was ranked number 292 in Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Background

Van Halen recorded demos of 10 songs in November 1976 during sessions at Village Recorders in West L.A. and New York’s Electric Lady studios, produced and financed by Gene Simmons of Kiss. However, the resulting three-track demo tape attracted little interest from record labels, and Kiss’s manager Bill Aucoin even declined to manage the band. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen was not convinced of the quality of the material because they could not make the recordings with their own equipment. Simmons left to tour with Kiss after recording the demos, but said he would try to secure Van Halen a record deal afterwards.

After recording the demos, the band 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 the Whisky a Go Go. After being well received by Berle at the Whisky a Go Go, the band gained the attention of Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman of Warner Bros. who both attended the band's performance at the Starwood on February 3, 1977. Van Halen proceeded to sign a contract with Warner.

The recording of this debut album with producer Ted Templeman began August 29, 1977. The tracks were recorded quickly during sessions between August 31 and September 8, 1977. It was mostly recorded live, but "Runnin' with the Devil", "Jamie's Cryin'", "Feel Your Love Tonight" and "Ice Cream Man" contain guitar overdubs. Eddie also overdubbed his solo for "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" with an electric sitar. Work on the album ended October 4 with the final mixing of "Little Dreamer" and "Eruption" (titled simply "Guitar Solo" on studio documents). Overall, the album cost approximately $54,000 to produce.

"We didn't have a ton of material," recalled bassist Michael Anthony, "so we basically just took our live show and all the songs we knew and went for it. The whole album only took a couple of weeks. Ted Templeman wanted to make a big, powerful guitar record, and he had all he needed in what Eddie was doing." Jenna Scaramanga of Guitar World wrote, "Van Halen didn’t have much in common with The Clash or the Sex Pistols, but the Californians’ brand of ‘Atomic Punk’ had the same urgency as the London punks."

The subsequent tour began March 3, 1978 at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago with the band opening for Journey and Ronnie Montrose in the United States. They later opened for heavy metal band Black Sabbath in Europe and the United States.

Packaging and artwork

The cover photos for Van Halen were taken at the Whisky a Go Go, a Los Angeles club at which Van Halen often performed during late 1976-1977. The guitar pictured on the cover is Eddie Van Halen's signature Frankenstrat (before he added the red paint), a highly customized Stratocaster-style guitar built out of replacement parts.

The liner notes thank radio disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer and Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, the latter usually credited with discovering Van Halen although Bingenheimer deserves credit for introducing Van Halen to Simmons. "A lot of people stick me on their [thanks list], even though I don't deserve it," Simmons remarked. "One that I did deserve to be on was that first Van Halen record – the guys still owe me a couple thousand bucks! But I love 'em."

Release and reception

Van Halen has received universal acclaim. In the United States, Van Halen reached number 19 on the Billboard 200; their debut single, a cover of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me", spent eleven weeks, three of which in the Top 40, on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 36.