OU812

by

Van Halen

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4.5 Stars

1988 saw the release of Van Halen's eighth studio album "OU812." It was the band's second release with lead singer Sammy Hagar. Pronounced "oh you ate one too," the title was a response to David Lee Roth's first post-Van Halen album, "Eat `Em and Smile" (1986).

Compared to the classic first six Van Halen albums (with lead singer David Lee Roth), the early Van Halen albums with singer Sammy Hagar are far more commercial. While Van Halen had been becoming steadily more commercial since "Diver Down," (1982) the early Van Hagar albums are the bands most radio-friendly work. Therefore, while albums like "Van Halen" (1978) and "Woman and Children First" (1980) can be labeled "metal," or "hard-rock," "5150" and "OU812" can best be labeled "adult-contemporary" rock.

Depending on whom you ask, "OU812" is either one of Van Halen's best, or worst albums. To fans that accepted Sammy Hagar, "OU812" is a tight, pop-savvy, stellar collection of songs. To those that remained loyal to Roth and classic Van Halen, however, "OU812" represents Van Halen's full dissent into commercialism.

While I favor classic Van Halen and am a big Dave fan, I am quite fond of this album.

Although many fans would disagree, I feel "OU812" is an improvement over "5150" (1986). When Sammy Hagar first joined Van Halen most of "5150" had already been written. "OU812" is the first album Sammy Hagar wrote and recorded with Van Halen from scratch. Also, by the time the band recorded their second collaboration, they had been playing together for a few years. Therefore, compared to "5150," "OU812" seems to have more of an organic feel. Also, the production and the band, overall, sound better. On "OU812" drummer Alex Van Halen went back to playing on a real kit, as opposed to an electric one, as he had on "5150."

While Sammy Hagar is a great singer, on "5150" he sounds as if he were singing into soup cans. His vocal talents are more apparent on the follow-up, as he belts out the songs and his full capability is realized.

Lastly, while "5150" is a good album, its production was off-center and the CD was bogged down with synthesizers. "OU812" is more of a bare bones recording. While many of the songs do have synthesizers, they aren't overbearing, but rather just touch up the songs like a garnish.

Pop, commercial, radio-friendly, whatever you want to call it, it still goes without saying, of course, that Eddie's playing is phenomenal.

"OU812" opens up strong with the anthem rocker "Mine All Mine." The light underlining synthesizers add a nice touch. This song which concerns drug/alcohol addiction demonstrates Sammy Hagar's knack for writing meaningful lyrics that aren't pretentious.

"When it's Love" is a good, straight-forward love song. While some old-school Van Halen fans may cringe and dismiss it as "corporate," the song works because it is well written and sincere.

"A.F.U. (All Fired Up) (Naturally Wired)" is an infectious, fast paced rocker that keeps up the momentum. While not really an album highlight, it works well.

The mid-tempo, pop-savvy "Cabo Wabo," is one of Van Hagar's finest moments. Its melodic verse and sing-along chorus make for a concert staple and fan favorite.

"Source of Infection", with its rapid drumming and guitar intro, sounds like a return to classic Roth-era Van Halen. While the lyrics are sparse and don't make a lot of sense, this makes for a good semi-instrumental jam.

"Feels So Good," much like "When it's Love" will probably be off-putting to those that prefer a harder-rocking Halen. Still, this synth-led, mid-tempo number is undeniably catchy.

The acoustic "Finish What Ya Started" is another one of the album's highlights and remains one of Halen/Hagar's best collaborations.

The mid-tempo "Black and Blue" is a little sophomoric and shows how Hagar lacks the wit of Roth. Still, the song is effective and it keeps up the album's momentum.

The hard-rocking "Sucker in a 3 piece" is probably the album's most underrated song. It has an absolutely killer solo.

The album closes with a cover of "A Apolitical Blues" (written by Lowell George). Although it may seem odd to end the album with a straight-blues rocker, which is far different stylistically than the rest of the album, it works and doesn't seem to out-of-place. It actually makes for an interesting left turn.

"OU812' is not without its flaws. It's hard to hear Michael Anthony's bass. Also, the album sounds a bit thin at times. The album could do with a remastering and even a remixing.

Almost twenty years old, "OU812" has stood up pretty well against the test-of-time. The album works as well as it does because, despite its flaws, it's a tight, strong collection of songs. There isn't really any filler, everything works. Although Van Hagar would eventually tune out the synthesizers and rock-harder with subsequent releases, "OU812" is probably Van Hagar's best written album.