My favorite part about Diver Down is the absolutely stellar vocals throughout, both lead and background. Anyone whose mantra was “David Lee Roth can’t sing” obviously didn’t listen to “Secrets” or “Little Guitars”, two of Roth’s finest career vocals.
DD is different than the 4 previous albums but you have to remember VH was a party band first and foremost, and in that context, DD embodies what VH is about.
Van Halen at thier worst is better than anyone else in the genre at their peak. I cherish Diver Down, there's no other album like it. The two bands that always make me feel good are Van Halen and The Beatles! It's a joyful infectious spirit.
DIVER DOWN is really good. I knew there was mostly covers on it, but didnt care. ITS VAN HALEN!! Im only 58, and they were my life for a 15 yr old kid. Im so glad VAN HALEN was our Era Band. Definetly a Summer Party Album. Most of their albums were.
I’m 59 and I liked this album when it came out too. I’m a guitar player so Fair Warning is my favorite album by them, this was a very popular album, but as you remember there was a plethora of great bands back then and great guitar players.
Summer 1982 me and my friends on our own took the bus to Santa Monica pier. And this album always reminds me of that summer. We had a wild time for 13 years old, and VH was the soundtrack. Ahhh.. the memories! Dancing in the streets was a big deal because Eddie was playing a synthesized keyboard, and he was king of 6-strings! But then you hear Hang 'em high, where have all the good times gone and pretty woman, Cathedral... well, the entire album and it was just what us 13 yr olds needed to have one of the best summers!
Secrets is such a good song. I love Diver Down. Where Have All the Good Times Gone! is a great cover, maybe better than the original (and that’s coming from a Kinks fan.)
“Graduating from Kiss”! 😂 Well put! I am only a couple years older than you and can totally relate to and remember that ‘moving on’ to that better band discovery era you are referring to. I graduated from Kiss Univ. around the time between ‘Alive II’ & ‘Dynasty’….and, Van Halen was one of those new directions and ‘Van Halen II’ was fresh off the presses. 👍🏻
What I just realized after all these years is that with only 4 new songs Diver Down could rightfully be called an Extended EP masquerading as a full blown LP album. I think that works and is totally fair and maybe explains the gimmicky vibe a bit better.
Cool man. Haven't listened to this one in years. Gona put on tonight while working on guitars, my night job is guitar service, my dayjob is motorcycle technician. Will put it on in the shop asap, should be interesting to see the young techs reactions.
I first listened to Diver Down in the summer of ‘85 (arrived late to the party). I spent an entire month in a little beach shack with my parents. I listened to the album each day - by the end of our stay, my folks knew the lyrics 😂. DiverDown brings back lovely childhood memories
I was 11 y.o. watching "Pretty Woman" on MTV with jaw dropped open. It was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. To this day, "Secrets", "Full Bug" and "Hang'em High" are three of my faorite Van Halen songs of all time!!
Damn! I hate when I'm the old grumpy guy 🤣 For me, the best VH is their first two albums. I did think Dancin In The Streets was cool. The three things that got me in this episode, was when you said graduated from KISS! That was perfect. Then the first guy said America's Led Zeppelin. I just wanna say, we didn't have a Zeppelin. Thanks to Aerosmith, we had our version of The Stones, but no Zepp. Then the second guy said Diver Down was a good metal album? I never once have thought of VH as a metal band. They were our larger than life, ultimate party band. Another good one Robert 👍
I rank Van Halen's albums in descending order; so I consider Diver Down their fifth best album, and the last one I ever bought. VH was a great live band in the early days, too. I was fortunate to see them in 78, 79, 80, 81 and twice in 1982.
Diver down is one of my favorite albums of all time. It’s the soundtrack to the summer of 82 for me. Every time the needle hits the wax, I can smell the beach. That’s the summer I met my wife of 41 years. I don’t blame Van Halen for that though. 😂😂😂
I was introduced to "Diver Down" on Christmas day 1984. I asked for "1984" and my parents got me "Diver Down". I spent the day listening to this cassette tape over and over. "Secrets" became a personal favorite from the album. While I would never rank this album as high as say "1984", "Fair Warning", "Women and Children First", "Van Halen II" or "Van Halen", I still have a special place in my heart for it. The original songs are fantastic!! The cover tracks? They feel kind of hit or miss with me. I would say I go back for the originals far more than the cover songs. Thanks for these two reviews! I enjoyed the video a lot.
Wow Bob how freaking ironic.Diver Down and Signals are the two albums that got me through that summer I moved from my hometown. Being someplace new and not knowing anybody, I got to know this album very well. So this album also has a very special spot in my heart. I love Alex's drumming on Little guitars and intruder. One of my favorite albums.(Graduating from KISS I like the way you put that)🙂
That's awesome! It's amazing how some of this music played such a big role in our lives during those moments when we needed it. Likewise, this album was really important to me. Thanks for sharing your story.
I'm 58, and I had the same reaction when I bought the album! I had no clue that the cover songs were covers, until many years later. And even after that, I still didn't care! I remember just looking at those pictures over and over, while listening to Eddie's wonderful fuzz tone. Ahhh, those were the days. My Technics turntable, 25 watt receiver, and cheap speakers! And the headphones from Radio Shack!
When Diver Down came out, I to got it through Columbia House. I LOVED this album as well. I had it on repeat for months!!! I also transitioned from being a KISS fan into a VH fan!
I LOVE the 'as we graduated from being KISS fans' - That's so me. Though I loved other bands, like Rush, Led Zep, ted Nugent, Aerosmith, etc, I'll never forget the first time I heard Van Halen (Runnin' with the Devil) in 1980. But THIS record (Diver Down) was my first anything I owned by VH and always brings me back to the beach that summer (1983). VH probably at their 'poppiest' but still VH being themselves. I could never get enough of these original 6 albums. And what a stepping stone to 1984
Diver down is like a nice breeze on a perfectly warm summer day. Just an easy nice listening album with a few gem tracks like secrets and little guitars . Awesome album I love it and it always puts me in a better mood .
First off, I love your channel. I wish I would have thought of doing it first! I am a huge VH fan of both eras, and I have always been one of those who has sort of shuffled this record off to the side. It is like the "ugly child" sandwiched between Fair Warning and 1984, two of their best in my opinion. But, watching your clip made me realize there are some really great tracks on this record, and a lot of great memories associated with it (I too am in my mid 50's). Your track analysis is spot on. Intruder was just an amazing 2 minutes of bad-assness. The guitar noise was a beer can going across Eds strings. The synth/guitar groove behind Dancing in the streets was so cool. Secrets, The Full Bug... all the originals are great. I read a lot about rock history, and from what I have learned, at this time Dave and Ted Templeman had sort of taken a direction toward more danceable poppy stuff, where Ed was just learning synth and wanted to take it to a new place. Ed was extremely frustrated recording Diver Down because he lost multiple battles about the direction in sound. For example, he wanted Intruder to be its own song, and not an opening to Pretty Woman. He also wanted the Dancing in the Streets guitar groove to be its own song. But ultimately Ted and Dave won those arguments (and maybe for the betterment of the record). Its amazing how the second reviewer nailed it about what was to come, putting together the raw energy, sense of humor, and overall ensemble approach in the future to make a masterpiece. As you said, we all know that became 1984. I never really thought about it that way before, but its true. Without Diver Down, and the departures they took to make it, 1984 and even later stuff like 5150 may not have been the same. Keep up what you are doing, I absolutely love watching your videos!!! 👍👍👍
Energy!!! You nailed it!!!!! Side note: Ace and Peter from the KISS Dynasty album behind you, at times / angels looks like you're wearing KISS Mickey Mouse ears! Not a bad thing...pretty cool. Great video once again. Keep rockin'
I remember buying this album when it first came out. I recall that much was made of the fact that it comprised of a large amount of covers but I think that accounted for much of the record’s charm. I mean, who else could possibly get away with Big Bad Bill? Little Guitars is my personal favorite on this collection and the album still holds up to this day. All over, it’s one of VH’s most fun and enjoyable recordings.
What a great video! So much of what you said resonates with me. I'd like to add to what you said. My Absolute favorite Van Halen album is Fair Warning. We've all heard the stories about Eddie attempting to take control on FW. DD seemed to be Dave saying Nope. Which if you know the history, seemed to be the catalyst for building 5150. DD was a fun, raucous album. I think if it followed =VH=II it may have been better received. Compared to following FW. Thank You for the deep dive into Diver Down (pun intended). My list of favorites goes like this. Fair Warning, Van Halen I, W&CF, 1984, Diver Down, Van Halen II. Love your channel, subscriber, always👍🏻. What you said about going from KISS to Van Halen, Wow! So True!! Thank You!!😁😎
To me, "Diver Down" was an almost perfect album. The originals on this album are among Van Halen's best tunes ever. Roth's cleverness lyrically shines brightest on "Little Guitars" ("catch as catch can - anybody in their right mind could see, it's you and me"). The only song I've ever tired of is "Happy Trails" because I've heard people from my generation singing that "bom-ba-dea" part for 40 years. The over-playedness of "Pretty Woman" is saved on the album by the instrumental intro "Intruder" which, to me, is still mind-blowing. The band doesn't overstay their welcome, for sure, as it's a rather short set but it just makes me want to start it over and listen again.
I love this album. The covers are great. Little Guitars and The Full Bug and Secrets are some of my favorite VH songs. Especially Secrets. The whole vibe of that is just wonderful ❤
My 1st Van Halen concert, Diver Down Tour, the backdrop was 2 lions with sun glasses, that was also the concert t-shirt I had. Columbia house was the mail order music service, we all used it. I bought Kiss rock n roll over and styx cornerstone as part of the order, never heard Van Halen yet so I got Van Halen 2 on 8 track as a bonus tape with order, buy 10 and get 1 for a penny. Holy throw back. That was my introduction to Van Halen. Peace ✌️
_ W_O_W - - SPEECHLESS !! - - I AM a 55-Yr Old DUTCHMAN -- My 1st, All-my-Own Pocket money Record (at Age 10) was KISS' "Dynasty", Cause of the EPIC "Warhol x KiSS" Full-Face War-Paint Cover-Art, and the Hit single "I Was Made for Lovin' You" -- Then Leveled-Up to Boston, AeroSmith and Van Halen -- All Ten of their first Albums (9 Studio & 1 Live). -- ONLY "The Fat of the Land" (The Prodigy) Brought EVEN Greater ENERGY than Van Halen 1 !! - - - THANX For This Review ! !
Like many late 70's born Gen-Xer's, my introduction to Van Halen was 1984 (thanks MTV!). So I held every other LP up against their "masterstroke". In my teens, disillusioned by the Hagar albums afterwards, I asked my older friends which VH records to listen to. Almost everyone said the same thing: "Listen to the first record and WACF. Avoid Diver Down." So I did that. Not until college, on a whim, did I listen to Fair Warning. THAT record, completely changed everything. I couldn't believe how experimental and daring it was (even down to the cover art). Looking back on all this now, if I was in my 20's when Diver Down was released, I probably would have been hugely disappointed. Off the heels of Fair Warning, Diver Down, at first glance, does seem phoned in. But, I totally agree that people took the OG lineup's once-in-a-generation's energy for granted.
In 1982 I was 14. Living in rural MN, with no information on bands, outside of the albums they put out & when they would play in the twin cities. We had NO idea about tension welling within the band or pressure to make hits. I had all the previous VH albums under my belt & could recite any lyric from any song on command. My friends & I’s take on the album was, “They took a little break & had some fun in the studio, doing some cool covers they love” & we loved it too. We thought the album was just plain fun & we enjoyed the hell out of it !
Good one Rob, yeah, i love this record, cover versions , and all. It still sounded like VH. A lot of descriptions have been thrown at VH over the years, but for the Dave years especially, "predictability' was not one of them. For the folks that followed them from the first album on, it must have been more of a shock since this one came right on the back of Fair Warning. I got into VH around '83- '84 , so working back and catching up with the earlier material was just a learning experience of their different styles and sounds ,so i didnt feel betrayed or let down at all. Every VH album has a different guitar tone in one way or another, i love the bighty, lively , springy , single coil sound Ed got on this one, and still sounded full, and they sounded like they were having a lot of fun . I read an Interview with Ed years ago and he said something about the challenges he faced making the record , he said it was the chord chart he had to follow for Big Bad Bill , haha!. righto, onto the next one mate!..
its well known this album was quickly put together during a planned year off. They released the "Pretty Woman" single and planned to take a break but its success had Warner Bros. push them into the studio to churn something out quickly. That's why there are a lot of covers and instrumentals........that said, it's a fantastic album. 11 year old me fell in love with it immediately & a few months later I saw them on this tour in New Jersey. To this day, best concert I ever attended
Diver Down was effective as a cross-over to greater fan base... Radio friendly, high energy, lots of humor, great playing and incredible vocals. I strangely think of it as a quick low-cost "extended" EP. My only complaint is the quick mix. Would love a remixed catalogue... or boxset treatment. ;) And of course... this was the set up to the immaculate 1984. Great commentary. I shared a lot of the points. Cheers! #mrchristophertv
It wasn't the best album but it does have kickass tracks and kickass covers. No band at that time did covers that well. And they toured with this album also. Alex introduced me to his 4 kick drumset on this tour.
Van Halen was the best cover band ever, and then you add all the amazing original songs, and there is nothing like them and never will be again. Nothing quite like a “Van Halenized” cover song.
Diver Down was thrown together fast in order to get Oh Pretty Woman out ASAP. (Sorry if you already said that, I can’t listen to your full video yet because of where I’m at). Ed wanted to wait and record another full VH album, but gave in to Ted and Dave. The arguments even distracted them into forgetting the bridge part (or middle eight if you’re on the European side😁) on Oh Pretty Woman. Diver Down is an incredible album on its own, but knowing it was slapped together with the quickness makes it a legend. Even Jan VH wasn’t ready to record for Big Bad Bill and was super nervous because he was out of practice with short notice for his Clarinet track. Hang em high and The Full Bug are nasty ass songs! The solo on Hang em high is one of Ed’s best ever in my opinion. Little guitars?? Secrets?? Even the other covers were killer. The Kinks tune, Intruder and Cathedral???? I’ll take albums like that any day of the week. Thanks for the video brother!!
Did you notice that the song listing on the back of the album cover is out of order for the last two songs? Happy Trails is the final song, which is appropriate, of course.
great vid... for me Diver Down kind of sums up everything the band was at that time... Fair Warning had a darker crispy shape with a big inhale and this was like the exhale... fun, loose and vibrant... I did not care for Pretty Woman, but the rest of the album was killing it... Hang em high and The Full bug rip,...little guitars screams of summer awesome fun... I am a big fan of it... when they played these tracks live in 82-83 they were so tight live it was a cosmic time....cheers
Im 3 years younger than you but I was absolutely ENTHRALLED by this record as a 10 year old kid. I like you, thought they were all originals as well except for Pretty Woman and You’re No Good. But I was fascinated by how they did the Orbison tune. I know Eddie himself didn’t care much for the record and never took it real serious but I just loved it.
❤❤❤❤❤❤ love this album . Absolutely unique . So different but it flows perfectly . I still remember hearing the cymbals at the start . It's in my top 5 . Don't care if the songs are covered. It's a Roth album while Fair warning IS EVH. GREAT ALBUM!
It's an interesting album - too many covers, and "Pretty Woman" - the big single off the album, is a dud in my opinion, but it also has GREAT songs like "Little Guitars", "Secrets", "Cathedral", and "Hang 'Em High." "Little Guitars", in particular, is such a great song from the amazing intro with Alex just killing that groove and the opening guitar riffs and chords, but then, the innovative picking technique on the song, the infectious melodic flow, and the incredible vocals (yes, even DLR is killing it here). It's also a special album from that period for me as it falls into the heart of my high school years. The complicated thing about the perception of Diver Down is it comes after (arguably) VH's best album in Fair Warning. It was rushed, which sort of accounts for all the cover songs, and you could see what was coming for Roth with cheesy songs like "Big Bad Bill" and "Pretty Woman" (the precursor for his solo stuff like "California Girls" "Just a Gigolo", and "Yankee Rose") - but, despite of its obvious flaws, I agree that it is a unique album from the David Lee Roth era, and for me, a piece of my adolescence that is so appealing.
I saw this tour when they came to phx az and the USfestival eddies live rendition of Intruder mezmerized in awe every (Black Sabbath concert shirt wearing) future guitar hero present at the concert Yes! As it was back in the day
No This Just a Case of Boys,We Need A New Record😮!So Some this Stuff on this Record is Filler Songs With some New Songs,but Killer Riffs!Allways from Eddie on his Takes on the Fillers😮😃😎❣Stiil Not a Bad Record!
This one is probably ranked 6th in the DLR era 6 pack behind 1984, it was rushed from the label after being on tour for 18 months they mention this a lot in interviews originally they were just going to release a single Pretty Woman the label wanted full album, while the covers are good my favorites are Full Bug , Hang’em High, Secrets , Cathedral, I even like Big Bad Billy
I love Diver Down. I thought Pretty Woman was a single done as stop gap for a new album. It took off and had the label clamoring for a new album they were not prepared for. Dave and Ted always said a cover tune was halfway to success.
If the sound is great, and the talent is there, what's the diff? I mean... I'm A huge KISS fan, and some of their albums tanked... But most of the music really works well.
Sometimes the critics miss out on two things. Is it fun and or entertaining? Art critics tend to be stuck up. It’s rock music. Sometimes it should be fun!
Diver Down was awesome. Some of Ed's best guitar work, IMO. Cathedral, Little guitars, Secrets. I mean come on man, every guitar player LOVES cathedral.
I liked it .. pure fun … as a new guitar player at the time how could you not find it exciting.. I did realize these covers, but appreciated them nevertheless.
I love this album. It's the record company's fault for all the covers because they had rushed the production of it shortly after VH had finished their last tour. No rest, get back in the studio now! It could have been much better had they had the time to put into it.
I do love this album, but sometimes I think this was all done with mirrors. And you know what? I don't care. The fact that they can pull it off is just a testament to their sheer talent.
the issue with Diver Down primarily comes down to it lacked any and all darkness in tone that the preceding two albums had and it is a short album. That, and it wasted a new Eddie sound in the poor cover of Dancing In The Streets. Song by song, it is a solid album and if it had come out after VHII it would have been better appreciated. Where Have All The Good Times Gone, a great cover of a song most people didn’t know. Hang ‘Em High, a great original. Cathedral/Secrets, probably their most underrated song. This is a five star song. Intruder/Pretty Woman, another great cover. Dancing In The Streets, a waste of a song and a new amazing Eddie tone. Low point on the album. Little Guitars, a fun original. Even more fun live. Big Bad Bill, the DLR song most likely. Not my favourite but this has been in the bands DNA since day one so I cannot complain too much. Full Bug, another great original. Happy Trails, honestly I love this as an album closer. If Dancing In The Streets had been scrapped and that guitar tone used for an original, the album would be viewed differently. I will take one misfire to get the great covers and originals delivered.
Loved VH back then . Had all the albums with Dave . Yea Diver Down was kind of a goof but it was still cool . I'm sure those guys laughed all the way to the bank .
This was a bona fide hit album when it came out. I think when people finally realized Fair Warning and Women and Children First were "total bangers", the revisionists turned this into the "one of the worst albums in the catalog". If you read Alex's book, he might not "like" Dave but is eternally grateful for getting their dad in the studio even though their pop had dentures and missing a finger where he was frustrated playing. But it went back to when Al and Jan played the smoky clubs years prior. Hang em High, Secrets, Full Bug, and Little Guitars are all great. It is a pretty quirky album but VH were quirky guys.
If Eddie didn't shit on the album so much it might be considered their best. It showed the band in their full range. It was how Roth pictured VH. I get the knock for all the cover songs but Van Halen was a cover band. And the covers were unique: Motown, British Invasion, Sun Records, Country Western, Tin Pan Alley. It is fun, energetic, danceable, innovative, not stuck up, corporate or serious. Plus, if you work out to it you will get in really good shape.
@rightchordleadership were the other albums pushed to be made to follow up a stand alone single? Nope. We're the other albums half covers and instrumentals? Nope. The only reason it was forced to be put out is that the label wanted to cash in the success of the "Pretty Woman" cover after the lackluster sales of "Fair Warning", an album that the band purposely made with material ready to record with intent.
Totally agree with that review... gimmick record. I feel like VH had contempt for their audience with this release... putting minimum effort into songwriting and choosing a bunch of uninspired covers... "Happy Trails"? What a joke! An exhausted band out of ideas at the time... but EVH's budding interest in synth would ignite a fresh wave of creativity for "1984".
This album was quickly put together because Warner demanded it. After touring FW, they wanted a break. WB was putting pressure on them, so they quickly through together “dancing in the streets”; hoping to make Warner piss off. It had the opposite effect. More pressure. Hence the number of covers as Ted and Dave would say “covering a hit gets you half way there”. The originals are awesome VH tunes. This was no gimmick. This is corporate greed pressuring the band, attempting to squeeze as much out of them as they could.
Diver Down had some of their best (their originals, which still stand up), and some of their worst (the covers, which were fun at the time, but don't stand up as well)
The last of the classic VH era. People who jumped on the VH bandwagon after the release of 1984 are no different from people who became Metallica fans after the Black album.
Critics are failed human beings. Critics seethe with hate because they have no real talent. They shoot down successful people because they will never be successful at anything but hatred.
Meh, VH were like Aerosmith. They were stuck between two decades. 1/3 of their albums would be good and solid. The rest would be cheesie old people music. It was like they had old producers who thought "this new stuff isn't music" and put in a trumpet instead of a power cord.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
This album does not deserve the harsh criticism it often receives. One of my favorites.😊
True: Diver Down wasn't "a serious album". But -- it didn't have to be -- and that's why it was so awesome.
My favorite part about Diver Down is the absolutely stellar vocals throughout, both lead and background. Anyone whose mantra was
“David Lee Roth can’t sing” obviously didn’t listen to “Secrets” or “Little Guitars”, two of Roth’s finest career vocals.
Most of those guys say Roth can't sing live and I wonder where they are listening to live VH. I'm listening to studio tracks
DD is different than the 4 previous albums but you have to remember VH was a party band first and foremost, and in that context, DD embodies what VH is about.
Van Halen at thier worst is better than anyone else in the genre at their peak. I cherish Diver Down, there's no other album like it. The two bands that always make me feel good are Van Halen and The Beatles! It's a joyful infectious spirit.
DIVER DOWN is really good. I knew there was mostly covers on it, but didnt care. ITS VAN HALEN!! Im only 58, and they were my life for a 15 yr old kid. Im so glad VAN HALEN was our Era Band.
Definetly a Summer Party Album. Most of their albums were.
I’m 59 and I liked this album when it came out too. I’m a guitar player so Fair Warning is my favorite album by them, this was a very popular album, but as you remember there was a plethora of great bands back then and great guitar players.
Summer 1982 me and my friends on our own took the bus to Santa Monica pier. And this album always reminds me of that summer. We had a wild time for 13 years old, and VH was the soundtrack. Ahhh.. the memories!
Dancing in the streets was a big deal because Eddie was playing a synthesized keyboard, and he was king of 6-strings! But then you hear Hang 'em high, where have all the good times gone and pretty woman, Cathedral... well, the entire album and it was just what us 13 yr olds needed to have one of the best summers!
Yep! Me too👍🏻
Yes! It was the perfect summer music, especially for a young teenager!
They covered those songs great, and the one they wrote are fantastic. Secrets was awesome.
Secrets is such a good song. I love Diver Down. Where Have All the Good Times Gone! is a great cover, maybe better than the original (and that’s coming from a Kinks fan.)
I love Where Have All The Good Times Gone.
“Graduating from Kiss”! 😂 Well put! I am only a couple years older than you and can totally relate to and remember that ‘moving on’ to that better band discovery era you are referring to. I graduated from Kiss Univ. around the time between ‘Alive II’ & ‘Dynasty’….and, Van Halen was one of those new directions and ‘Van Halen II’ was fresh off the presses. 👍🏻
What I just realized after all these years is that with only 4 new songs Diver Down could rightfully be called an Extended EP masquerading as a full blown LP album. I think that works and is totally fair and maybe explains the gimmicky vibe a bit better.
Cool man. Haven't listened to this one in years. Gona put on tonight while working on guitars, my night job is guitar service, my dayjob is motorcycle technician. Will put it on in the shop asap, should be interesting to see the young techs reactions.
Nice!
When the cymbal swell kicks off Good Times Gone,
You’ll smile inside.
I first listened to Diver Down in the summer of ‘85 (arrived late to the party). I spent an entire month in a little beach shack with my parents. I listened to the album each day - by the end of our stay, my folks knew the lyrics 😂. DiverDown brings back lovely childhood memories
I was 11 y.o. watching "Pretty Woman" on MTV with jaw dropped open. It was one of the first albums I bought with my own money. To this day, "Secrets", "Full Bug" and "Hang'em High" are three of my faorite Van Halen songs of all time!!
Damn! I hate when I'm the old grumpy guy 🤣
For me, the best VH is their first two albums.
I did think Dancin In The Streets was cool.
The three things that got me in this episode, was when you said graduated from KISS! That was perfect.
Then the first guy said America's Led Zeppelin. I just wanna say, we didn't have a Zeppelin. Thanks to Aerosmith, we had our version of The Stones, but no Zepp.
Then the second guy said Diver Down was a good metal album? I never once have thought of VH as a metal band. They were our larger than life, ultimate party band.
Another good one Robert 👍
when people say diver down sucks, tell them to go make a better one
It is a fact that Diver Down is considered to be one of Van Halens worst albums ever.
I rank Van Halen's albums in descending order; so I consider Diver Down their fifth best album, and the last one I ever bought. VH was a great live band in the early days, too. I was fortunate to see them in 78, 79, 80, 81 and twice in 1982.
@@acorn-yy1gi1984 > DD
Diver down is one of my favorite albums of all time. It’s the soundtrack to the summer of 82 for me. Every time the needle hits the wax, I can smell the beach. That’s the summer I met my wife of 41 years. I don’t blame Van Halen for that though. 😂😂😂
I was introduced to "Diver Down" on Christmas day 1984. I asked for "1984" and my parents got me "Diver Down". I spent the day listening to this cassette tape over and over. "Secrets" became a personal favorite from the album. While I would never rank this album as high as say "1984", "Fair Warning", "Women and Children First", "Van Halen II" or "Van Halen", I still have a special place in my heart for it. The original songs are fantastic!! The cover tracks? They feel kind of hit or miss with me. I would say I go back for the originals far more than the cover songs. Thanks for these two reviews! I enjoyed the video a lot.
Wow Bob how freaking ironic.Diver Down and Signals are the two albums that got me through that summer I moved from my hometown. Being someplace new and not knowing anybody, I got to know this album very well. So this album also has a very special spot in my heart. I love Alex's drumming on Little guitars and intruder. One of my favorite albums.(Graduating from KISS I like the way you put that)🙂
That's awesome! It's amazing how some of this music played such a big role in our lives during those moments when we needed it. Likewise, this album was really important to me. Thanks for sharing your story.
@audiomover it's always my pleasure Bob
I'm 58, and I had the same reaction when I bought the album! I had no clue that the cover songs were covers, until many years later. And even after that, I still didn't care! I remember just looking at those pictures over and over, while listening to Eddie's wonderful fuzz tone. Ahhh, those were the days. My Technics turntable, 25 watt receiver, and cheap speakers! And the headphones from Radio Shack!
Technics is good stuff!
Love this album also.
@johndef5075 Thanks! Cool!
You had me at Van Halen! Very good video, thanks for sharing the great music info, Peace!
One of my favorite Van Halen albums also and the concert was awesome I was a young teenager and I was blown away 👑 Edward VH 💎 Dave 🔥
When Diver Down came out, I to got it through Columbia House. I LOVED this album as well. I had it on repeat for months!!! I also transitioned from being a KISS fan into a VH fan!
Each VH album was different And this was no different. Great tunes 🎶
I LOVE the 'as we graduated from being KISS fans' - That's so me. Though I loved other bands, like Rush, Led Zep, ted Nugent, Aerosmith, etc, I'll never forget the first time I heard Van Halen (Runnin' with the Devil) in 1980. But THIS record (Diver Down) was my first anything I owned by VH and always brings me back to the beach that summer (1983). VH probably at their 'poppiest' but still VH being themselves. I could never get enough of these original 6 albums.
And what a stepping stone to 1984
I love old Motown but Van Halen's
Dancing in the Streets is my favorite version.
Diver down is like a nice breeze on a perfectly warm summer day. Just an easy nice listening album with a few gem tracks like secrets and little guitars . Awesome album I love it and it always puts me in a better mood .
Secrets is such a sleeper of a track one the most beautiful songs they’ve ever written
First off, I love your channel. I wish I would have thought of doing it first! I am a huge VH fan of both eras, and I have always been one of those who has sort of shuffled this record off to the side. It is like the "ugly child" sandwiched between Fair Warning and 1984, two of their best in my opinion. But, watching your clip made me realize there are some really great tracks on this record, and a lot of great memories associated with it (I too am in my mid 50's). Your track analysis is spot on. Intruder was just an amazing 2 minutes of bad-assness. The guitar noise was a beer can going across Eds strings. The synth/guitar groove behind Dancing in the streets was so cool. Secrets, The Full Bug... all the originals are great. I read a lot about rock history, and from what I have learned, at this time Dave and Ted Templeman had sort of taken a direction toward more danceable poppy stuff, where Ed was just learning synth and wanted to take it to a new place. Ed was extremely frustrated recording Diver Down because he lost multiple battles about the direction in sound. For example, he wanted Intruder to be its own song, and not an opening to Pretty Woman. He also wanted the Dancing in the Streets guitar groove to be its own song. But ultimately Ted and Dave won those arguments (and maybe for the betterment of the record). Its amazing how the second reviewer nailed it about what was to come, putting together the raw energy, sense of humor, and overall ensemble approach in the future to make a masterpiece. As you said, we all know that became 1984. I never really thought about it that way before, but its true. Without Diver Down, and the departures they took to make it, 1984 and even later stuff like 5150 may not have been the same. Keep up what you are doing, I absolutely love watching your videos!!! 👍👍👍
Energy!!! You nailed it!!!!! Side note: Ace and Peter from the KISS Dynasty album behind you, at times / angels looks like you're wearing KISS Mickey Mouse ears! Not a bad thing...pretty cool. Great video once again. Keep rockin'
I remember buying this album when it first came out. I recall that much was made of the fact that it comprised of a large amount of covers but I think that accounted for much of the record’s charm. I mean, who else could possibly get away with Big Bad Bill? Little Guitars is my personal favorite on this collection and the album still holds up to this day. All over, it’s one of VH’s most fun and enjoyable recordings.
This album is great.
I love Diver Down!
Great review, I can remember listening to this in the early 80's and I wasn't overly blown away by it....I think it was the quantity of cover songs!
DD was my introduction to Van Halen. Love the album. It led to a life long fan of all things VH. Basically anything Eddie did.
What a great video! So much of what you said resonates with me. I'd like to add to what you said. My Absolute favorite Van Halen album is Fair Warning. We've all heard the stories about Eddie attempting to take control on FW. DD seemed to be Dave saying Nope. Which if you know the history, seemed to be the catalyst for building 5150. DD was a fun, raucous album. I think if it followed =VH=II it may have been better received. Compared to following FW. Thank You for the deep dive into Diver Down (pun intended). My list of favorites goes like this.
Fair Warning,
Van Halen I,
W&CF,
1984,
Diver Down,
Van Halen II. Love your channel, subscriber, always👍🏻. What you said about going from KISS to Van Halen, Wow! So True!! Thank You!!😁😎
I wish they had done more albums like this.
To me, "Diver Down" was an almost perfect album. The originals on this album are among Van Halen's best tunes ever. Roth's cleverness lyrically shines brightest on "Little Guitars" ("catch as catch can - anybody in their right mind could see, it's you and me"). The only song I've ever tired of is "Happy Trails" because I've heard people from my generation singing that "bom-ba-dea" part for 40 years. The over-playedness of "Pretty Woman" is saved on the album by the instrumental intro "Intruder" which, to me, is still mind-blowing. The band doesn't overstay their welcome, for sure, as it's a rather short set but it just makes me want to start it over and listen again.
I love this album. The covers are great. Little Guitars and The Full Bug and Secrets are some of my favorite VH songs. Especially Secrets. The whole vibe of that is just wonderful ❤
My 1st Van Halen concert, Diver Down Tour, the backdrop was 2 lions with sun glasses, that was also the concert t-shirt I had. Columbia house was the mail order music service, we all used it. I bought Kiss rock n roll over and styx cornerstone as part of the order, never heard Van Halen yet so I got Van Halen 2 on 8 track as a bonus tape with order, buy 10 and get 1 for a penny. Holy throw back. That was my introduction to Van Halen. Peace ✌️
I love it. Probably my favourite VH album
I love this album, regardless what others think. Little Guitars, Full Bug, Secrets, Hang Em High, etc
_ W_O_W - - SPEECHLESS !! - - I AM a 55-Yr Old DUTCHMAN -- My 1st, All-my-Own Pocket money Record (at Age 10) was KISS' "Dynasty", Cause of the EPIC "Warhol x KiSS" Full-Face War-Paint Cover-Art, and the Hit single "I Was Made for Lovin' You" -- Then Leveled-Up to Boston, AeroSmith and Van Halen -- All Ten of their first Albums (9 Studio & 1 Live). -- ONLY "The Fat of the Land" (The Prodigy) Brought EVEN Greater ENERGY than Van Halen 1 !! - - - THANX For This Review ! !
Also loved the Little Guitars intro (not the flamenco part but the electric part).
When diver down came out it was party time and that album was and still is... a party
Like many late 70's born Gen-Xer's, my introduction to Van Halen was 1984 (thanks MTV!). So I held every other LP up against their "masterstroke". In my teens, disillusioned by the Hagar albums afterwards, I asked my older friends which VH records to listen to. Almost everyone said the same thing: "Listen to the first record and WACF. Avoid Diver Down." So I did that. Not until college, on a whim, did I listen to Fair Warning. THAT record, completely changed everything. I couldn't believe how experimental and daring it was (even down to the cover art). Looking back on all this now, if I was in my 20's when Diver Down was released, I probably would have been hugely disappointed. Off the heels of Fair Warning, Diver Down, at first glance, does seem phoned in. But, I totally agree that people took the OG lineup's once-in-a-generation's energy for granted.
In 1982 I was 14. Living in rural MN, with no information on bands, outside of the albums they put out & when they would play in the twin cities.
We had NO idea about tension welling within the band or pressure to make hits.
I had all the previous VH albums under my belt & could recite any lyric from any song on command.
My friends & I’s take on the album was,
“They took a little break & had some fun in the studio, doing some cool covers they love” & we loved it too.
We thought the album was just plain fun & we enjoyed the hell out of it !
Good one Rob, yeah, i love this record, cover versions , and all. It still sounded like VH.
A lot of descriptions have been thrown at VH over the years, but for the Dave years especially, "predictability' was not one of them. For the folks that followed them from the first album on, it must have been more of a shock since this one came right on the back of Fair Warning.
I got into VH around '83- '84 , so working back and catching up with the earlier material was just a learning experience of their different styles and sounds ,so i didnt feel betrayed or let down at all.
Every VH album has a different guitar tone in one way or another, i love the bighty, lively , springy , single coil sound Ed got on this one, and still sounded full, and they sounded like they were having a lot of fun . I read an Interview with Ed years ago and he said something about the challenges he faced making the record , he said it was the chord chart he had to follow for Big Bad Bill , haha!. righto, onto the next one mate!..
its well known this album was quickly put together during a planned year off. They released the "Pretty Woman" single and planned to take a break but its success had Warner Bros. push them into the studio to churn something out quickly. That's why there are a lot of covers and instrumentals........that said, it's a fantastic album. 11 year old me fell in love with it immediately & a few months later I saw them on this tour in New Jersey. To this day, best concert I ever attended
Diver Down was effective as a cross-over to greater fan base...
Radio friendly, high energy, lots of humor, great playing and incredible vocals.
I strangely think of it as a quick low-cost "extended" EP.
My only complaint is the quick mix.
Would love a remixed catalogue... or boxset treatment. ;)
And of course... this was the set up to the immaculate 1984.
Great commentary. I shared a lot of the points.
Cheers!
#mrchristophertv
I could listen to whole albums of cover song songs by that era’s Van Halen.
It’s feel good music.
It wasn't the best album but it does have kickass tracks and kickass covers. No band at that time did covers that well. And they toured with this album also. Alex introduced me to his 4 kick drumset on this tour.
Van Halen was the best cover band ever, and then you add all the amazing original songs, and there is nothing like them and never will be again. Nothing quite like a “Van Halenized” cover song.
Diver Down was thrown together fast in order to get Oh Pretty Woman out ASAP. (Sorry if you already said that, I can’t listen to your full video yet because of where I’m at). Ed wanted to wait and record another full VH album, but gave in to Ted and Dave. The arguments even distracted them into forgetting the bridge part (or middle eight if you’re on the European side😁) on Oh Pretty Woman. Diver Down is an incredible album on its own, but knowing it was slapped together with the quickness makes it a legend. Even Jan VH wasn’t ready to record for Big Bad Bill and was super nervous because he was out of practice with short notice for his Clarinet track.
Hang em high and The Full Bug are nasty ass songs! The solo on Hang em high is one of Ed’s best ever in my opinion.
Little guitars?? Secrets?? Even the other covers were killer. The Kinks tune, Intruder and Cathedral???? I’ll take albums like that any day of the week.
Thanks for the video brother!!
Did you notice that the song listing on the back of the album cover is out of order for the last two songs? Happy Trails is the final song, which is appropriate, of course.
great vid... for me Diver Down kind of sums up everything the band was at that time... Fair Warning had a darker crispy shape with a big inhale and this was like the exhale... fun, loose and vibrant... I did not care for Pretty Woman, but the rest of the album was killing it... Hang em high and The Full bug rip,...little guitars screams of summer awesome fun... I am a big fan of it... when they played these tracks live in 82-83 they were so tight live it was a cosmic time....cheers
DIVER DOWN RULES ALL KIDS!!!!!
Im 3 years younger than you but I was absolutely ENTHRALLED by this record as a 10 year old kid. I like you, thought they were all originals as well except for Pretty Woman and You’re No Good. But I was fascinated by how they did the Orbison tune. I know Eddie himself didn’t care much for the record and never took it real serious but I just loved it.
#5150 percent diver down
❤❤❤❤❤❤ love this album . Absolutely unique . So different but it flows perfectly . I still remember hearing the cymbals at the start . It's in my top 5 . Don't care if the songs are covered. It's a Roth album while Fair warning IS EVH. GREAT ALBUM!
It's an interesting album - too many covers, and "Pretty Woman" - the big single off the album, is a dud in my opinion, but it also has GREAT songs like "Little Guitars", "Secrets", "Cathedral", and "Hang 'Em High." "Little Guitars", in particular, is such a great song from the amazing intro with Alex just killing that groove and the opening guitar riffs and chords, but then, the innovative picking technique on the song, the infectious melodic flow, and the incredible vocals (yes, even DLR is killing it here). It's also a special album from that period for me as it falls into the heart of my high school years. The complicated thing about the perception of Diver Down is it comes after (arguably) VH's best album in Fair Warning. It was rushed, which sort of accounts for all the cover songs, and you could see what was coming for Roth with cheesy songs like "Big Bad Bill" and "Pretty Woman" (the precursor for his solo stuff like "California Girls" "Just a Gigolo", and "Yankee Rose") - but, despite of its obvious flaws, I agree that it is a unique album from the David Lee Roth era, and for me, a piece of my adolescence that is so appealing.
This is the LP that got Ed’s 5140 studio built.
I saw this tour when they came to phx az and the USfestival eddies live rendition of Intruder mezmerized in awe every (Black Sabbath concert shirt wearing) future guitar hero present at the concert Yes! As it was back in the day
No This Just a Case of Boys,We Need A New Record😮!So Some this Stuff on this Record is Filler Songs With some New Songs,but Killer Riffs!Allways from Eddie on his Takes on the Fillers😮😃😎❣Stiil Not a Bad Record!
The Full Bug is a great deep track
This one is probably ranked 6th in the DLR era 6 pack behind 1984, it was rushed from the label after being on tour for 18 months they mention this a lot in interviews originally they were just going to release a single Pretty Woman the label wanted full album, while the covers are good my favorites are Full Bug , Hang’em High, Secrets , Cathedral, I even like Big Bad Billy
I love Diver Down. I thought Pretty Woman was a single done as stop gap for a new album. It took off and had the label clamoring for a new album they were not prepared for. Dave and Ted always said a cover tune was halfway to success.
If the sound is great, and the talent is there, what's the diff? I mean... I'm A huge KISS fan, and some of their albums tanked... But most of the music really works well.
Sometimes the critics miss out on two things. Is it fun and or entertaining? Art critics tend to be stuck up. It’s rock music. Sometimes it should be fun!
The fact that DD is VH-DLR's worst album shows how great that version of the band was.
Diver Down was awesome. Some of Ed's best guitar work, IMO.
Cathedral, Little guitars, Secrets.
I mean come on man, every guitar player LOVES cathedral.
IMHO, there is not a dud on any of the first six VH records. Those albums are perfect.
I liked it .. pure fun … as a new guitar player at the time how could you not find it exciting.. I did realize these covers, but appreciated them nevertheless.
It’s a great album. Not my favorite VH album but it is very good imo.
I love this album. It's the record company's fault for all the covers because they had rushed the production of it shortly after VH had finished their last tour. No rest, get back in the studio now! It could have been much better had they had the time to put into it.
I do love this album, but sometimes I think this was all done with mirrors.
And you know what? I don't care. The fact that they can pull it off is just a testament to their sheer talent.
Not taking anything away from Michael Anthony, but one of those voices singing background belongs to Edward Van Halen.
Little Guitars is one of their Best.
Eddie hated the album because he didn't like playing covers.
the issue with Diver Down primarily comes down to it lacked any and all darkness in tone that the preceding two albums had and it is a short album. That, and it wasted a new Eddie sound in the poor cover of Dancing In The Streets. Song by song, it is a solid album and if it had come out after VHII it would have been better appreciated.
Where Have All The Good Times Gone, a great cover of a song most people didn’t know.
Hang ‘Em High, a great original.
Cathedral/Secrets, probably their most underrated song. This is a five star song.
Intruder/Pretty Woman, another great cover.
Dancing In The Streets, a waste of a song and a new amazing Eddie tone. Low point on the album.
Little Guitars, a fun original. Even more fun live.
Big Bad Bill, the DLR song most likely. Not my favourite but this has been in the bands DNA since day one so I cannot complain too much.
Full Bug, another great original.
Happy Trails, honestly I love this as an album closer.
If Dancing In The Streets had been scrapped and that guitar tone used for an original, the album would be viewed differently. I will take one misfire to get the great covers and originals delivered.
Loved VH back then . Had all the albums with Dave . Yea Diver Down was kind of a goof but it was still cool . I'm sure those guys laughed all the way to the bank .
This was a bona fide hit album when it came out. I think when people finally realized Fair Warning and Women and Children First were "total bangers", the revisionists turned this into the "one of the worst albums in the catalog". If you read Alex's book, he might not "like" Dave but is eternally grateful for getting their dad in the studio even though their pop had dentures and missing a finger where he was frustrated playing. But it went back to when Al and Jan played the smoky clubs years prior. Hang em High, Secrets, Full Bug, and Little Guitars are all great. It is a pretty quirky album but VH were quirky guys.
It's way better than 1984 in my humble opinion
Yeah right. According to you maybe. 99,99% of Van Halen fans disagrees.
I agree. 1984 was where I departed.
@Thomas-vs8ff go get ‘em
"Way better." I love this album, but nah.
1984. The only VH I've ever had since 1984.
If Eddie didn't shit on the album so much it might be considered their best. It showed the band in their full range. It was how Roth pictured VH. I get the knock for all the cover songs but Van Halen was a cover band. And the covers were unique: Motown, British Invasion, Sun Records, Country Western, Tin Pan Alley. It is fun, energetic, danceable, innovative, not stuck up, corporate or serious. Plus, if you work out to it you will get in really good shape.
"Diver Down" should evaluated as what really is, not an LP but an EP. It's like grading Metallic's "Garage Days" as LP rather than an EP
Nope. It's approximately the same length as all the other DLR albums.
@rightchordleadership were the other albums pushed to be made to follow up a stand alone single? Nope. We're the other albums half covers and instrumentals? Nope. The only reason it was forced to be put out is that the label wanted to cash in the success of the "Pretty Woman" cover after the lackluster sales of "Fair Warning", an album that the band purposely made with material ready to record with intent.
I liked Diver Down but at the time I was like what's with all the cover tunes?
Diver Down effected you like Fair Warning did for me. Still love Fair Warning. DD is okay.
Do yourself a favor. Take your favorite songs from Fair Warning and from diver down and make a mix. Walla Walla awesome album.
Totally agree with that review... gimmick record. I feel like VH had contempt for their audience with this release... putting minimum effort into songwriting and choosing a bunch of uninspired covers... "Happy Trails"? What a joke! An exhausted band out of ideas at the time... but EVH's budding interest in synth would ignite a fresh wave of creativity for "1984".
I remember this album being not great. I was in a band in highschool and we played one or two songs.
This album was quickly put together because Warner demanded it.
After touring FW, they wanted a break. WB was putting pressure on them, so they quickly through together “dancing in the streets”; hoping to make Warner piss off. It had the opposite effect. More pressure.
Hence the number of covers as Ted and Dave would say “covering a hit gets you half way there”.
The originals are awesome VH tunes.
This was no gimmick. This is corporate greed pressuring the band, attempting to squeeze as much out of them as they could.
It was actually "Pretty Woman" they recorded. It became a hit. WB then demanded a full album.
Diver Down had some of their best (their originals, which still stand up), and some of their worst (the covers, which were fun at the time, but don't stand up as well)
The last of the classic VH era. People who jumped on the VH bandwagon after the release of 1984 are no different from people who became Metallica fans after the Black album.
Weren't they all gimmicks...?And for the record, I love these gimmicks. Great band, great album.
Here’s the thing. The good songs are really, really good, but these songs are mixed with what would be too many filler songs.
Bowie did " where have all the good times gone", way better. 1973 pinups album. Last one he did with spiders from mars
I like it better then 1984, which is my worst VH album.
Van Halen was never about substance. "Substance Abuse", on the other hand....
Critics are failed human beings. Critics seethe with hate because they have no real talent. They shoot down successful people because they will never be successful at anything but hatred.
Well, I know it’s better than women and children first.
Meh, VH were like Aerosmith. They were stuck between two decades. 1/3 of their albums would be good and solid. The rest would be cheesie old people music. It was like they had old producers who thought "this new stuff isn't music" and put in a trumpet instead of a power cord.