«1984» is Van Halen’s sixth album and it came out on January 9, 1984, through Warner Bros. Records. The band from Pasadena, California had five records behind it when it decided to change its sound, marrying the hard rock and the vocals of David Lee Roth with the synthesizers and the more pop-leaning elements of bands like Journey. Production was handled by Ted Templeman, while the keyboards were played by Eddie Van Halen himself.
“`Country: USA
Style: Hard Rock
For fans of: Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard
The record is one of the most characteristic examples of 80s hard rock. Eddie Van Halen’s guitars stay at the center, but here the synthesizers take a leading role in several tracks. Above all stand Roth’s vocals, which move from an ironic delivery to more melodic lines, and Alex Van Halen’s drums, which give the album a tight, danceable pulse.
The album opens with a short synthesizer piece, the title track «1984», and then «Jump» explodes, one of the band’s best-known songs. Also standing out are «Panama» with its heavy riff, «Hot for Teacher» with its fast drums and the calmer «I’ll Wait». The record closes with «House of Pain».
The album was something of a gamble: part of the hard rock audience viewed synthesizers with suspicion, considering them foreign to the genre. The band, however, used them without sacrificing the guitars, and the result won over even the most skeptical. «1984» sold over fifteen million copies worldwide.
It was Van Halen’s last album with David Lee Roth, as Sammy Hagar took his place shortly after, and for many fans this is where the band’s first, classic era comes to an end. Its tracks remain a constant presence on radio decades after the release. More on the album’s history can be found on its Wikipedia page.
