Diver Down

by

Van Halen

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Did Van Halen follow-up their 1981 masterpiece "Fair Warning" with another classic in the same vein? No. Although "Fair Warning" remains Van Halen's masterpiece and is a fan favorite, upon its release, it was a commercial disappointment, stalling at platinum status (it has sold over two million copies to date).

Van Halen made a far more radio-friendly, commercial album with 1982s "Diver Down." Of the twelve tracks, three are instrumentals, and five are cover songs. That leaves only four Van Halen originals. The reason? As producer Ted Templeman stated, once you record a song that's a hit, you're already halfway there. A lot of fans have complained with the format of this CD. And while it would have been nice to have a full-length album of VH originals as a follow-up to "Fair Warning," "Diver Down" is still a classic Van Halen recording. The original recordings, "Hang `em High," "Secrets," "Little Guitars" and "The Full Bug," are four of Van Halen's all-time best songs. All of the covers on this disc are better than the originals, and the instrumentals are cool and help with the flow of the album. Eddie's playing, which goes with out saying, is spectacular. Dave shines of course, and Alex Van Halen (drums) and Michael Anthony (bass) provide a stellar rhythm section.

"Diver Down opens with the Kinks "Where Have All the Good Times Gone," a mid-tempo, upbeat rocker. "Hang `Em High," an ode to Clint Eastwood, is fast and furious. It features one of Eddie's all-time best solos. "Cathedral" is a haunting, offbeat guitar instrumental, which adds a bit of spice to the album. The highly underrated "Secrets" is, without doubt, one of Van Halen's greatest songs. It simply shows the Van Halen/Roth chemistry at its absolute best. This low-key, tuneful song is wonderfully written. David Lee Roth's finest lyrics can be found right here:

"She ain't waiting 'til she gets older

Her feet are makin' tracks in the winter snows

She got a rainbow that touches her shoulder

She be headed where the thunder rolls"

The pace picks up for the fast-paced instrumental jam "Intruder," which leads perfectly into the Roy Orbison classic "Pretty Woman," one of Van Halen's most popular songs. Van Halen made a dance-pop smash with the mowtown classic "Dancing in the Streets." The melodic instrumental "Little Guitars (intro)" leads perfectly into the gorgeous "Little Guitars," one of Van Halen's greatest love songs. Much like "Secrets," with "Little Guitars," Van Halen manages to create a love song that is both sincere and has power. Unlike the schlock that Van Halen would be releasing a few years later with Sammy Hagar. "Big Bad Bill (is Sweet William Now)" is pure Dave kitsch and adds a great sense of humor to the CD. "The Full Bug" is a great, underrated, fast-paced, classic VH rocker. "Happy Trails" is a light-hearted vocal instrumental and is a great way to close the CD. While some fans might complain at its inclusion, along with "Big Bad Bill (is Sweet William Now), and call it filler, I actually am quite fond of them both. "Diver Down" wouldn't be the same without them.

Some fans might consider "Diver Down" to be one of the bands weaker albums, especially when compared to their first four albums. I would have to disagree with this assessment. Van Halen didn't set out to make a kick-ass hard rock album with "Diver Down." They set out to make a more commercial, light-hearted album, and they succeeded brilliantly. It may not rock as hard as "Van Halen" or "Fair Warning," but "Diver Down" is a gem in it's own right. If you are a fan of classic rock, the first six Van Halen albums are essential to own for any great collection. "Diver Down" is no exception.

Eddie Van Halen once referred to DIVER DOWN as his "least favorite album." Pointing to the profusion of cover songs and the fact that the mini-Moog riff that opens "Dancing In The Streets" was meant for an original VH tune he was writing, EVH noted, "I'd rather bomb with my own stuff than score with somebody else's." In that vein, I once read a review of this LP that said, "This is the product of an exhausted, bored band at a creative lowpoint."

True, true. Yet DIVER DOWN is not a terrible or even a bad album. It is merely mediocre by the standards of the Old (1979 - 1985) Van Halen. And considering that band gave us ridiculously brilliant albums like VAN HALEN I and 1984, that's a sliding scale.

First of all, the three main cover tunes ("Dancing", "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?" and "Pretty Woman") are well done, although "Pretty Woman" is technically way off, the result of the band playing it in the studio from memory rather than actually doing their homework (just like high school, Dave!). In fact, I like all of these songs better than their originals - VH truly made them their own. In keeping with old VH traditions, there are also two gag-reel songs, "Big Bad Bill" and "Happy Trails", which are as ridiculous as you'd expect them to be.

On the softer, more AOR-radio friendly side, we've got "Secrets" and "Little Guitars", two underrated and understated tunes you will never - ever - hear on contemporary radio. And the good old VH trademark of an instrumental song ("Cathedral") marks the first real foray by Ed into keyboards and is really a beautiful and evocative track. His next outing was the key-solo on "Jump", and we all know how that one ended up.

DIVER DOWN has a vaguely spaghetti-Western type of theme (I guess Dave was watching a lot of Sergio Leone in 1982?), most particularly on the oddly compelling song "Hang `em High", which is arguably the best track on the record. In addition, "The Full Bug" features an exuberant harmonica solo. This song rocks full-bore and will get you a speeding ticket if you listen to it while driving.

All in all, DIVER DOWN is decent three-star album from a great band playing with one hand occupied by beer, or possibly a groupie's bra. It has most of the things you'd associate with DLR-era Van Halen, the main difference being the lighthearted, almost disposable nature of the songs, which lack the hard, gritty resonance of earlier albums or of side 2 of "1984." It' a quirky, very distinctive, upbeat type of Big Rock with just enough edge to prevent it from straying into sugar-pop-rock territory.