One thing you have to keep in mind is that when this came out, the sound was actually incredibly cutting-edge. Everything about it. Nobody had ever heard that kind of guitar playing and arrangement before and it just changed everything. This was their very first album and it landed with a huge punch. I bet you would enjoy just about anything off of it. One favorite of mine that my younger sister love is called little dreamer. And that was on the radio a fair amount but I would say that's the only one on the album that wasn't a mega hit in some form or the other. But it's an incredibly beautiful song and it's a little slower but it still rocks out. And it talks about real life issues for people at that age.
@@TrollamollexHard to argue that! Definitely 1 million times better than their next two releases which were both half assed albums with amazing songs but also really bad songs! Thank god VH was redeemed with the fourth album fair warning and then followed by the masterpiece 1984!
You're too sweet, Maddy. Remember this was the mid-70s. The lyric is not about being too shy or hurt to love: it's about pure ego-driven lust. He'll sleep with her, but he regards her as lucky to have him even briefly. The song really is about the swaggering, charismatic, loner: seductive and emotionally unobtainable. His confident indifference makes him irresistible.....because people (women in particular) always seem to crave most what they cannot have
I agree, and as I insinuate in my comment, he had groupies in every city they played. He's probably referring to one or all of them. He might be kind and sensitive to a girlfriend or wife (Well, David Lee, probably not!)but fan/groupie - artist relationships call for no commitment by either party.
David Lee Roth continued with the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle after everyone else is settled down with a single partner. Eventually it caused a rift in the band that ended it for Roth.
Just got to the "You know you're semi good-looking" line and I am laughing my ass off at your reaction, but I think it's really cool that you caught that. It's all about that David Lee Roth attitude and this 1978 first album by them is, along with Boston's first album, considered to be one of the greatest debut albums in rock music history. This thing had so many of these songs on the radio constantly, and you heard it out at the lake and you heard it at parties and you bought the record album and play it over and over and it was just all over the place. It defined life for a lot of kids in junior high and high school at the time, and it really had a significant shaping effect on the direction of rock music.. Literally everything on this first album is a complete jem.
My take on the meaning of the middle eight lyrics beginning with “I’ve been to the edge” is that he was at the edge of love and has no time to mess with it, it being a place where he lost friends who fell in love and thus into ruin. If you want it, you have to bleed for it, baby.
OHH I was waiting for it. Semi good lookin. Fell out of my chair, when you caught it. . Its so cool that you pay attention to it all. Instruments and vocals, songwriting. Great channel. Be well.
I just Love your reaction to this!! Your HUGE SMILE is just infectious. And I’m sure you’re gonna get a million people that are gonna tell you what this song is about. I’m just gonna watch you k!!!💙💙
David Lee Roth dad was my grandmother eye doctor in Pasadena calif I used too take her too her eye appointments he's got pictures of his son in the waiting room
Roth's singing as a part, a character, in the song: You've got a girl who isn't bad looking, fresh on the streets, with a drug addiction, thinking they're untouchable... the sharks are smelling blood in the water. You'd better find yourself a "friend". It's a harsh, ominous song of living on the streets.
Full on "brown sound" introduced by EVH on this record. Saw these guys for Women and Children First Tour. Could not hear for three days. I was relieved when it finally came back in full. The house lights came up synchronized with the HEY HEY HEY!!! since this was their final encore number. What a show.
🔥🔥🔥🎼🔥🔥🔥 .. hot stuff here Maddy !! So ... Van Halen was MY band in high school.. I knew all their songs as I played their songs over & over. David Lee Roth was very bold with his lyrics The music is still just as exciting as it was 40 years ago .. they are truly Rock God's!! Luvvvvv this song 🎼🎼🎼💣💣💣💣🎼🎼🎼
I was a starry eyed 10 year-old KISS fan until I heard Van Halen. Van Halen changed the game for me. Soon after that I discovered Rush, AC/DC & Led Zeppelin % Pink Floyd. Heart was the first band I ever heard in my life and give them credit for turning me onto great music when I was about 6-7 years old. Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers all that stuff was always on in my house growing up.
Growing up in upstate New York, my family rented out rooms in our houses upstairs apartment. This gut named Mark who I thought was the coolest dude ever (I was 12 lol) said hey Doug come up here and listen to this new group called Van Halen. After listening to it I knew immediately that this group was headed for greatness. Never heard anything like it before.
He does say upfront that he ain't talking bout love. Saw them perform this in 1981 at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. They rocked the house that night!
Easily my favorite VH song!! HAAA Semi Good Lookin!! OHHHH MADDY ROCKING OUT!! Best Debut album with BOSTON, Boston!! You just reminded me how great the lyrics are on a lot of their songs!!!! Too busy in awe on the music!! Great Job again Maddy! Peace 🕊️☮️♾️😎
Maddy, If you want the REAL Van Halen, then this is the album to listen to. It's their 1st and rawest offering. Try Jamie's Crying, You Really Got Me, or Running with the Devil, and you'll see why they made it so big. Love your channel, Keep up the good work.
i've loved VH since i was young lad in the 80's and this is without equal my favourite song of theirs - that riff is an absolute killer 😎🤘 Respect & Peace ☘
I was 11 when I heard this and was blown the bleap away. We all had our first beer as vanhalen diehard fans and the rest is history. Sammy blows. I frigging miss evh.
Van Halen was mostly about how great the Guitar, Drums and Bass were and Michael Anthony's backing vocals. Lead singer David Lee Roth was all about having a good time and nothing serious. It was great Hard Rock 'N Roll you wanted to have a party with. This is one of the most iconic albums from the 70's. I always said, this is the predecessor to all the glam party bands of the sunset strip of the 80's. Though the early Van Halen era was so much better.
David Lee Roth (vocals) the original singer of Van Halen would write lyrics about getting some a lot... 😂 He was actually dating model/ singer/ actress Apollonia when she filmed Prince's movie 'Purple Rain' in 1983/ '84. Roth said that he wanted Van Halen to play rock music w/ a groove so that people could move and dance to their songs... and that brought in a lot of women to their shows. They would play cover songs and Roth loved disco music at the time, so that was a part of Van Halen's sound. Eddie Van Halen (guitar) and Michael Anthony (bass) also provided the band's vocal harmonies... In 1978, Van Halen released their debut album and it sent shockwaves through the music scene and set the tone for 80's rock... Eddie Van Halen was quickly recognized as a guitar hero. I suggest the Van Halen songs - 'Dance the night away' ... "Jamie's crying' " ... 'Hear about it later' ... 'And the cradle will rock' ... "I'll wait" 🔥
when I was wee, I had this album on vynil and I played it so much I think I wore it out. My favorite song (this and 1984) from the DLR era. I like Sammy Hagar's as well.
You're not wrong! I interpret the lyrics the same way. As for guitar work, Eddie was so far ahead of everyone else at this point it wasn't even close! Great reaction.
The singer David Lee Roth was very flamboyant, known for being fun-loving, not really wanting to be tied down or have anybody cramp his style. So the lyrics here were pretty indicative of his personality the whole time he was in the band. Many of the other songs with him were pretty evasive about love also compared to other bands. He's said in interviews that "He wasn't talking about love!" It was almost as if he was avoiding it for some reason. And thinking back, I can't ever recall hearing about him linked to anybody romantically for any real length of time...Maybe somebody here knows more about his personal life than I do. But this was the impression I always had of him.
You gotta remember he is a rock star, in the late 70s, before AIDS appeared. He is singing to/about a girl, but no one girl in particular. She is interchangeable with the girl from the night before, and the one he'll say the same things to tomorrow, the groupie de jour. He is really writing about girls, plural. Sure, its misogynistic, but I refer you back to the pre-AIDS 70s rock star bit...
I love this song, you are right I think, the lyrics could relate to a groupie. they are pre booked girlfriends for each city and they aren't talking about love either, trust me. It's a sad way to live for everyone involved, been there. In that "situationship:, nobody wins in the end, he may be laying the groundwork or reminding an individual of their "status". I loved your reaction, forgive my inner thoughts, lol. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my loose interpretation.👍👍 Keep up the excellent content!😃
Really enjoy your channel. Would love to hear more VH reactions. Unchained and So This Is Love, Live from the Oakland Coliseum in 81 are really energetic performances!!!
This is rock history.......legends of Rock for 40 years and more.......with inside, one of the greatests rock musicians of the century (Eddie Van Halen RIP)....incredible live performance,great Song, great arrangement, and a lot of fun......you have many Song to listen........try a Live version.......right Now, Year to the day, judgement day, Poundcake, Hot for Teacher, Panama etc. Etc.
I was a teenager in high school when this album came out and it was a game changer in the world of rock music, not a bad (or filler) song on the entire album. The whole album just blew away everyone who heard it, this type of playing had never been heard before. I was under the impression that this song was about a prostitute, but I could be totally off the mark with that. I got to see them in 1981 and they rocked the hell out of the place. RIP Eddie Van Halen.
Knowing Diamond Dave, he is talking about his friends getting 'tied down', going through a bunch of drama, losing their 'freedom'. He's telling her you can/should hang out, but don't even go there, not happening to me. Not saying I agree with it, but that's DLR for you. Heck, he could have been singing about Eddie and his hurricane marriage to Valerie Bertinelli lol. It's funny because I can picture Dave walking to 'the edge' and looking down and thinking "nuh uh man, not me bro, I'm outta here, who's drivin' man. lets go" Thanx Maddie.
"You know you're semi good looking"
Best. Line. Ever.
As a semi-good lookin woman, this line stings 🦂
Jeff Spicoli had Van Halen play at his birthday party!
One thing you have to keep in mind is that when this came out, the sound was actually incredibly cutting-edge. Everything about it. Nobody had ever heard that kind of guitar playing and arrangement before and it just changed everything. This was their very first album and it landed with a huge punch. I bet you would enjoy just about anything off of it. One favorite of mine that my younger sister love is called little dreamer. And that was on the radio a fair amount but I would say that's the only one on the album that wasn't a mega hit in some form or the other. But it's an incredibly beautiful song and it's a little slower but it still rocks out. And it talks about real life issues for people at that age.
It's their best album, maybe it doesn't have their best songs, but it's definitely the best overall album.
@@TrollamollexHard to argue that! Definitely 1 million times better than their next two releases which were both half assed albums with amazing songs but also really bad songs! Thank god VH was redeemed with the fourth album fair warning and then followed by the masterpiece 1984!
You're too sweet, Maddy. Remember this was the mid-70s. The lyric is not about being too shy or hurt to love: it's about pure ego-driven lust. He'll sleep with her, but he regards her as lucky to have him even briefly.
The song really is about the swaggering, charismatic, loner: seductive and emotionally unobtainable. His confident indifference makes him irresistible.....because people (women in particular) always seem to crave most what they cannot have
I agree, and as I insinuate in my comment, he had groupies in every city they played. He's probably referring to one or all of them. He might be kind and sensitive to a girlfriend or wife (Well, David Lee, probably not!)but fan/groupie - artist relationships call for no commitment by either party.
Amen seen em in the day, he was the original gigolo. Me and every other girl are it up. And he knew it!
David Lee Roth continued with the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle after everyone else is settled down with a single partner. Eventually it caused a rift in the band that ended it for Roth.
Eddie Van Halen blew everyone away in 78 when the debut album came out.The whole album is great! I saw them in 1982,and great concert!
"Van Halen, not Van Hagar!"
-Joe Dirt
The harmonies of Van Halen are very underrated. Hey ! Hey ! Hey !
Lol lol. But yeah!
Michelle Anthony was definitely doing the job on that end.
Just got to the "You know you're semi good-looking" line and I am laughing my ass off at your reaction, but I think it's really cool that you caught that. It's all about that David Lee Roth attitude and this 1978 first album by them is, along with Boston's first album, considered to be one of the greatest debut albums in rock music history. This thing had so many of these songs on the radio constantly, and you heard it out at the lake and you heard it at parties and you bought the record album and play it over and over and it was just all over the place. It defined life for a lot of kids in junior high and high school at the time, and it really had a significant shaping effect on the direction of rock music.. Literally everything on this first album is a complete jem.
Van Halen have many great songs and many great albums...but that first album is all anybody needs.
One of the greatest lines ever!!! Semi-good looking!!!!
The guitar in this song is absolutely fucking phenomenal. Total next level
My take on the meaning of the middle eight lyrics beginning with “I’ve been to the edge” is that he was at the edge of love and has no time to mess with it, it being a place where he lost friends who fell in love and thus into ruin. If you want it, you have to bleed for it, baby.
Ohh that makes sense
Best rock album / band of the 70's if you ask me.
This riff goes so HARD
OHH I was waiting for it. Semi good lookin. Fell out of my chair, when you caught it. . Its so cool that you pay attention to it all. Instruments and vocals, songwriting. Great channel. Be well.
I just Love your reaction to this!! Your HUGE SMILE is just infectious. And I’m sure you’re gonna get a million people that are gonna tell you what this song is about. I’m just gonna watch you k!!!💙💙
Great reaction! Your discussion of the lyrics opened the song up for me in a new way! 😂
David Lee Roth dad was my grandmother eye doctor in Pasadena calif I used too take her too her eye appointments he's got pictures of his son in the waiting room
Roth's singing as a part, a character, in the song: You've got a girl who isn't bad looking, fresh on the streets, with a drug addiction, thinking they're untouchable... the sharks are smelling blood in the water. You'd better find yourself a "friend". It's a harsh, ominous song of living on the streets.
Thank you for your efforts in this production.
Good morning Maddy! Great choice. Fun rocking out with ya. Better than coffee!
Full on "brown sound" introduced by EVH on this record. Saw these guys for Women and Children First Tour. Could not hear for three days. I was relieved when it finally came back in full.
The house lights came up synchronized with the HEY HEY HEY!!! since this was their final encore number. What a show.
Favorite guitar intro, gives me the f@%^#ng chills every time! Guitar solos overdubbed with electric sitar. RIP King Edward.
🔥🔥🔥🎼🔥🔥🔥 .. hot stuff here Maddy !! So ... Van Halen was MY band in high school.. I knew all their songs as I played their songs over & over. David Lee Roth was very bold with his lyrics The music is still just as exciting as it was 40 years ago .. they are truly Rock God's!! Luvvvvv this song 🎼🎼🎼💣💣💣💣🎼🎼🎼
Hot stuff. lol
Saw them in 79 ! They owned that festival, thanks Maddy!
Wow, you went there! I saw them in Feb. 1984. Best concert I have ever been to.
🩷🩷🩷
@@MaddyReactionsWoohoo VAN HALEN
Was just checking out lots of Van Halen today!! Lots of love MADDY!💙💙Eddie will live forever as thee greatest guitar player GOD
Another album I had blasting in my car on the cassette deck. Yes, I’ll say it again as with Heart…..the cassette deck! 😂😂
I had this album on 8-track tape.
I was a starry eyed 10 year-old KISS fan until I heard Van Halen. Van Halen changed the game for me. Soon after that I discovered Rush, AC/DC & Led Zeppelin % Pink Floyd. Heart was the first band I ever heard in my life and give them credit for turning me onto great music when I was about 6-7 years old. Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers all that stuff was always on in my house growing up.
I was in my 20's in the 80's............. this encapsulates the whole era...........
Your exactly right....Hes been to the edge...Lost a lot of friends but he aint talking about falling in love...aint happening..
Its the dont take life to serious BAND!!!!❤❤❤❤😂😂😂😂
I don't think that Michael Anthony gets the respect of how good a bass player he is
Growing up in upstate New York, my family rented out rooms in our houses upstairs apartment. This gut named Mark who I thought was the coolest dude ever (I was 12 lol) said hey Doug come up here and listen to this new group called Van Halen. After listening to it I knew immediately that this group was headed for greatness. Never heard anything like it before.
He does say upfront that he ain't talking bout love. Saw them perform this in 1981 at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. They rocked the house that night!
“Semi good looking” cracks me up every time!
Easily my favorite VH song!! HAAA Semi Good Lookin!! OHHHH MADDY ROCKING OUT!! Best Debut album with BOSTON, Boston!! You just reminded me how great the lyrics are on a lot of their songs!!!! Too busy in awe on the music!! Great Job again Maddy! Peace 🕊️☮️♾️😎
Maddy,
If you want the REAL Van Halen, then this is the album to listen to. It's their 1st and rawest offering. Try Jamie's Crying, You Really Got Me, or Running with the Devil, and you'll see why they made it so big. Love your channel, Keep up the good work.
For sure. I still have the original vinyl!
Don't forget Atomic Punk
i've loved VH since i was young lad in the 80's and this is without equal my favourite song of theirs - that riff is an absolute killer 😎🤘
Respect & Peace ☘
I was 11 when I heard this and was blown the bleap away. We all had our first beer as vanhalen diehard fans and the rest is history. Sammy blows. I frigging miss evh.
Van Halen was mostly about how great the Guitar, Drums and Bass were and Michael Anthony's backing vocals. Lead singer David Lee Roth was all about having a good time and nothing serious. It was great Hard Rock 'N Roll you wanted to have a party with. This is one of the most iconic albums from the 70's. I always said, this is the predecessor to all the glam party bands of the sunset strip of the 80's. Though the early Van Halen era was so much better.
David Lee Roth (vocals) the original singer of Van Halen would write lyrics about getting some a lot... 😂 He was actually dating model/ singer/ actress Apollonia when she filmed Prince's movie 'Purple Rain' in 1983/ '84.
Roth said that he wanted Van Halen to play rock music w/ a groove so that people could move and dance to their songs... and that brought in a lot of women to their shows. They would play cover songs and Roth loved disco music at the time, so that was a part of Van Halen's sound. Eddie Van Halen (guitar) and Michael Anthony (bass) also provided the band's vocal harmonies...
In 1978, Van Halen released their debut album and it sent shockwaves through the music scene and set the tone for 80's rock... Eddie Van Halen was quickly recognized as a guitar hero.
I suggest the Van Halen songs - 'Dance the night away' ... "Jamie's crying' " ... 'Hear about it later' ... 'And the cradle will rock' ... "I'll wait" 🔥
Good to see its 2024 and Dave still gets em going.
I was 15 years old when this album came out and I still listen to it today. Maddy, you have a beautiful smile!!
Hey Maddie, this guys 60...look out !!!...lmao...hair metal guy on the loose
So cute~ "Very solid song. Although I'm perplexed by the.... by what he was talking about in the leeerics." ☺️
Top 5 all time hard rock song
when I was wee, I had this album on vynil and I played it so much I think I wore it out. My favorite song (this and 1984) from the DLR era. I like Sammy Hagar's as well.
I DISCOVERED THIS SONG IN THE SUMMER OF 83 & WORE IT OUT
He wasn't talking to you Maddy 'cause your gorgeous!
Thumbs up just for that sweet smile
This came out my freshman year in high school. Damn the music was so good back then!
Ice Cream Man next
John Brim version?
Ok
I love your reaction!❤
I think the lyric that says...... My love is rotten to the core tells you all you need to know.
Saw this tour in 1978. They were incredible
I saw them open for Sabbath that year and they were swirling down the drain at that point and trying to follow VH?
@@basher5107 I saw them open for Sabbath as well.
You're not wrong! I interpret the lyrics the same way. As for guitar work, Eddie was so far ahead of everyone else at this point it wasn't even close! Great reaction.
The singer David Lee Roth was very flamboyant, known for being fun-loving, not really wanting to be tied down or have anybody cramp his style. So the lyrics here were pretty indicative of his personality the whole time he was in the band. Many of the other songs with him were pretty evasive about love also compared to other bands.
He's said in interviews that "He wasn't talking about love!" It was almost as if he was avoiding it for some reason. And thinking back, I can't ever recall hearing about him linked to anybody romantically for any real length of time...Maybe somebody here knows more about his personal life than I do. But this was the impression I always had of him.
He didn't write the song for a girl, he wrote the song for the thousands, he horizontal tangoed with.
Got to plead for it baby/ that line is so 80’s. Love it.
its "bleed" not "plead"
You gotta remember he is a rock star, in the late 70s, before AIDS appeared. He is singing to/about a girl, but no one girl in particular. She is interchangeable with the girl from the night before, and the one he'll say the same things to tomorrow, the groupie de jour. He is really writing about girls, plural. Sure, its misogynistic, but I refer you back to the pre-AIDS 70s rock star bit...
1:18 One thing you'll never have to worry about is someone calling you 'semi' good looking, Maddy. 🔥
You should see Micheal Anthony's bass solo from same concert that Eddie did his guitar solo
the bass player of vanhalen , micheal anthony , was the unsung hero of that band
I think that you should react to don’t wanna hear about it from Van Halen. The background vocals from Michael Anthony are unbelievable.
I love this song, you are right I think, the lyrics could relate to a groupie. they are pre booked girlfriends for each city and they aren't talking about love either, trust me. It's a sad way to live for everyone involved, been there. In that "situationship:, nobody wins in the end, he may be laying the groundwork or reminding an individual of their "status". I loved your reaction, forgive my inner thoughts, lol. I'd love to hear your thoughts on my loose interpretation.👍👍 Keep up the excellent content!😃
Really enjoy your channel. Would love to hear more VH reactions. Unchained and So This Is Love, Live from the Oakland Coliseum in 81 are really energetic performances!!!
The Mighty VAN Halen
David Lee Roth's autobiography "Crazy From The Heat" is full of short, shocking, enlightening anecdotes.
This is Rock n Roll Teleanovelas 😎🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸.
You really got it Maddie!!!!!
I love this album so much I have it on Vinyl
Van Halen rocks . Love this album ❤
"You know your semi-good lookin'" LOL! Try that pickup line guys. David Lee Roth was rolling hard in those days.
You've just discovered heavy metal Greatness! ❤❤ Congrats😎😎🤘
This is rock history.......legends of Rock for 40 years and more.......with inside, one of the greatests rock musicians of the century (Eddie Van Halen RIP)....incredible live performance,great Song, great arrangement, and a lot of fun......you have many Song to listen........try a Live version.......right Now, Year to the day, judgement day, Poundcake, Hot for Teacher, Panama etc. Etc.
Well he did say he…….’ain’t talking ‘bout love!’
what I liked about the OG Van Halen was the variety you got from them. They didn't really have "A sound" the future groups had.
Little ol' band from Pasadena
I was a teenager in high school when this album came out and it was a game changer in the world of rock music, not a bad (or filler) song on the entire album. The whole album just blew away everyone who heard it, this type of playing had never been heard before.
I was under the impression that this song was about a prostitute, but I could be totally off the mark with that. I got to see them in 1981 and they rocked the hell out of the place. RIP Eddie Van Halen.
Great song. Thank you for the reaction Maddie🎉
Easily my favorite band..You'll hear why. Definitely dive deeper into them please.
It's A Song ! Great Band
Remember these are young 20 something rock stars with swagger
In the 1970's
He was just talking about any girl he met at the time. 😂
Bass going krazy❤
This album changed the direction of rock guitar forever thanks to the GOAT Ed.
For 1978, this was different. And this was years before their superstardom off of 1984.
love seein you jamm along with a jammin tune ;)
Throwback... nice pull.
only Eddie could take two chords and make a masterpiece!!
Knowing Diamond Dave, he is talking about his friends getting 'tied down', going through a bunch of drama, losing their 'freedom'. He's telling her you can/should hang out, but don't even go there, not happening to me. Not saying I agree with it, but that's DLR for you. Heck, he could have been singing about Eddie and his hurricane marriage to Valerie Bertinelli lol. It's funny because I can picture Dave walking to 'the edge' and looking down and thinking "nuh uh man, not me bro, I'm outta here, who's drivin' man. lets go"
Thanx Maddie.
This is it. He never got tied down.
But I think deep down he knew he'd be a terrible partner to anyone, so didn't even try. I respect him for that.
Heard this song way back when . You gotsda best interpretation yet.
"You know you're semi-good looking." Epic diss!
The only thing to say here is, Van Halen the greatest Rock band to ever come out of the USA, period. Seen them live 15 times..
My fave VH song!
Top 5 best debut album in rock history ❤
This whole album is gold. Not a bad track on it. More please Maddy.😊😊😊
Ice Cream Man is a song with some.....cool lyrics by VH !! Good job and rock on!!!
The bassist is also doing the backing vocals.
Same album, I'M THE ONE, ATOMIC PUNK, I'M ON FIRE, & ICE CREAM MAN. All fire.
The song about Jack the RIpper
EVERY bar band played this back then.