Favorite Albums – Van Halen

I distinctly remember buying this album just as it was released in 1978. My friend, and drummer at the time, John Bryant and I took his orange pickup truck to Peaches Records and Tapes on Park. After buying the album, which I think cost about $9, we drove back to John’s house to listen to it with great anticipation. Obviously we had heard You Really Got Me on the radio and wondered just what kind of band, and more specifically guitarist, could put out that sort of sound. As we drove I took the album out of the sack (paper!) and held it out and said “this may change music as we know it”. Pretty funny now that I think about it.

We were not disappointed. From the first track “Running With the Devil” and it’s modulated car horn intro to the last notes of “On Fire” there wasn’t a mediocre song in the bunch. Running With the Devil was the first song I ever learned and the first one I played in front of a crowd at our school’s talent show. Yes, we won.

“Eruption” blew our minds, how could a person pay that fast and be musical at the same time. “I’m the One” had a groove that is hard to believe is 36 years old.

I played that vinyl disc until it wouldn’t play any longer. Back to back, with headphones and through small and large speakers, in the car (cassettes were a great discovery) and eventually a CD. I still like to listen today and the songs all sound as good as they did back then and hearing them in that old familiar order still brings back great memories.

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