Van Halen's second album II is no where near as revolutionary as their eponymous debut, but it still burns with passion of the highest order. Coming out only one year later, it is packed with some of the most energetic and fired-up rock songs the genre has ever seen. Almost all tracks are within the three minute mark and therefore very easy to enjoy. David Lee Roth delivers big sing-along choruses with backing harmonies provided by Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen, while Eddie is still as shocking a player as he was on the 1978 debut. The album immediately resonated with the fans and went gold within a week and platinum within a month.
The first CD highlighted Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing all the way. Even the mix propelled the impeccable guitar work there, so there was a conscious effort to bring the band's tight rhythm section forward on II. This album also marks Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen's indestructible rhythmic power. The bass is full and heavy - check out "Outta Love Again". That song is almost completely driven by Michael Anthony's bass, until Roth steals the show with the infectious chorus and Eddie comes in ripping with a "what the hell was that?" type of solo. There are several drums solos on the songs as well. The drumming in the beginning of "Bottoms Up!" came as a shock to Van Halen fans when they discovered Ed's brother was equally killer. On this tour, Alex was instoppable. He started lighting his drum kit during the shows and would play with burning drum sticks that would make the crowds lose it. The best drumming on the album is "Light Up the Sky" though. Alex gets a solo spot on this piece and thrashes the skins madly. During the classic era of the Van Halen, he was among the hardest hitting drummers in the world, and II is one of his finest performances.
David Lee Roth shows significant improvement over the debut on II. He is more confident which makes up for his deficiencies as a singer. DLR was always more of a frontman than a vocalist anyway. Still, some of the choruses on this disc are totally gripping, not to mention Roth's unique screams. His sappy vocals on "Women in Love" are simply hilarious. "Dance the Night Away" was the biggest hit off this album though. Roth's majestic hooks, the great percussion, and danceable bass groove all embraced Eddie's sick whammy-dives and solo, which despite being rather complicated, has a very catchy melody that anyone can follow easily. Eddie's guitar playing is still as good as the debut. The solo in "Light Up the Sky", the tapped intro of "Women in Love", the killer riffs on "D.O.A." (this album features some of Eddie's best riffs ever), and of course the cover of "You're No Good" prove that Ed was getting better with each album. The nylon-string acoustic guitar on "Spanish Fly", a song less than a minute, shows how prolific a player Eddie was and what he could do without hooking his guitar up the amp. Kudos to producer Ted Templeman, the man who made Eddie put "Eruption" on the debut, for asking him to write a little acoustic instrumental on the album, for it became a guitarists' favourite.
II is a great second release that proved Van Halen was here to stay for many years, if not decades. Brian May of Queen recently said, "Eddie Van Halen is the absolute pinnacle of guitar playing in our lifetime". I couldn't agree more.
Track Listing
- You're No Good
- Dance the Night Away
- Somebody Get Me A Doctor
- Bottoms Up!
- Outta Love Again
- Light Up the Sky
- Spanish Fly
- D.O.A.
- Women in Love
- Beautiful Girls
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