Van Halen was in a combative mood in 1991. Frontman Sammy Hagar had wanted to call this album simply “Fuck”, in protest against censorship, much as he had pointed the finger at the law with his 80s solo hit Array I Can’. t Drive 55. Al the end cooler heads prevailed. With the name By illicit carnal knowledge, the message has not been lost. In addition, he was emblematic of a band that decided not to have softened.  

In the six years after Hagar replaced original frontman David Lee Roth, Van Halen’s biggest hits were ballads: Why Can’t This Be Love, Love Walks In, When It’s Love. As Roth later quipped, referring to his own inner sensibility: “All of Sam’s words contain love. “And I’m talking about love!  »

But there were no ballads about FUCK. The blame fell squarely on dirty rock, with Eddie Van Halen abandoning his synthesizers and returning to the full histrionics of the guitar hero.

The results, however, have been mixed. While Poundcake featured a hard swing and an explosive intro with Eddie hitting the strings of his guitar with an electric drill, many of the other tracks were more sweat than inspiration. Worst of all is Spanked, a silly funk with lyrics that would make even Vince Neil blush: “All you bad boys, call her to the spanking line!” 

The closest thing to a love song was Eddie’s lovely instrumental song 316, named after his son Wolfgang’s date of birth. A lighter touch also worked wonders on Top Of The World, Van Halen’s feel-good classic with a recycled riff from their mega hit Jump. And in a twist, the album’s most productive song was the piano anthem Right Now, in which Hagar dove into an empowering message.

Included on this new expanded edition of the album are two trade edits of “Right Now” as well as an instrumental edit of “The Dream Is Over” that serves to highlight the genius that Eddie can bring to even the peak numbers of the regime. But the big draw for VH fans is never-before-seen audio and video from a December 1991 showcase in Texas, culminating in an adventure through Hagar’s solo hits There’s Only One Way To Rock.  

Unfortunately, during Hagar’s time with the group, it was all downhill from there.

A freelance classic rock editor since 2005, Paul Elliott has worked for primary music titles since 1985, adding Sounds, Kerrang!, MOJO and Q. He is the author of several books, including the first Guns N’ Roses biography and The Bodyguard’s autobiography . -to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for reissues of older albums by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss, and most recently works as a content editor for Total Guitar. He lives in Bath, where David Coverdale recently said: “How Roman of you!  »

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