Retro Spins: Van Halen - Diver Down

When you're an established band, you owe it to your fans to bring to each album 100%. So, when you've released four successful albums back-to-back, in my book you have no business then phoning it in to release what essentially equates to a cover album. It's lazy. It's a cash grab. It's disrespectful to your fans. But here we are, 1982's Diver Down, and Van Halen is doing just that.

Though a hiatus was initially planned, Roth and Eddie agreed to record a remake of Roy Orbison's (Oh) Pretty Woman. Unexpectedly, the song flew up the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number twelve. It's success prompted Warner Bros. to push and eventually persuade the band to return to the studio, where Diver Down was slapped together in just two weeks.

Diver Down would chart better than the previously released, Fair Warning. However, by this point in time, both lead singer and guitarist were constantly clashing over musical styles, and the band's overall direction. During this time, Eddie would also set to work on the soundtrack for the 1984 film, The Wild Life. This experimentation period of drum machines and synthesizers would ultimately be what shaped the direction for what would become their next studio album, and final with David, MCMLXXXIV, AKA 1984.

But we're getting too far ahead. First, we have to pump the brakes and wade through the cover laden mess that is, Diver Down. Plus, I've already done a Retro Spin on the aforementioned mega album.

As a whole, this album doesn't work for me. I said it above, and I stand by it. It's lazy. It's a cash grab. It's disrespectful to your fans.

Yes, the instrumentation of it all is sold. The gravely vocals of Roth come through, and as a whole it hits every note, no pun intended, that is Van Halen's signature style. However, it doesn't offer anything necessarily new. Songs like (Oh) Pretty Woman, and Dancing In The Streets, don't necessarily need to be reenvisioned. Let alone by David Lee Roth, Eddie and Alex Van Halen, and Michael Anthony. Especially, when the latter is quite frankly abysmal. It's pretty bad when the David Bowie and Mick Jagger produce single are a better version.

I will give a slight nod of approval to (Oh) Pretty Woman, and mainly because it was the standout single that made me buy the album. I also didn't realize, until today, that there was an interlude that preceded the song. Combined with it, it's pretty okay. A cash grab, nonetheless, but okay.

Again, I will attest that I really like Van Halen when that quirky Lee Roth style comes through, and it doesn't any greater than with the unique, Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now), and even sillier Happy Trails. They're both so out of place on the album but bring with them so much charm that you just have to love them.

My next stop on the Van Halen train is the first to feature "new" singer, Sammy Hagar. Like I said above, I've already played through MCMLXXXIV. I definitely prefer the David Lee Roth era of the band, so it'll be interesting to dive into this one.

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