Van Halen II

Recording of the album took place at Sunset Studio less than a year after the release of the band's 1978 debut album, Van Halen.{{cite web |last=Halen |first=Van |url=http://vimeo.com/37045572 |title=Van Halen Interviews 2 on Vimeo |publisher=Vimeo.com |access-date=March 20, 2012}} Recording of the album began on December 10, 1978, just one week after completing their first world tour, and was complete within a week.{{cite news |author= |title='Van Halen II' 40th Anniversary & Tribute|url=http://www.vhnd.com/van-halen-ii/|work=Van Halen News Desk|date=March 23, 2019|access-date=March 23, 2019}} The band used a Putnam 610 console to record the album, similar to the console Eddie would later install in his home studio in 1983. Many of the songs on Van Halen II are known to have existed prior to the release of the first album, and are present on the demos recorded in 1976 by Gene Simmons, and in 1977 by Ted Templeman, including an early version of "Beautiful Girls" (then known as "Bring On the Girls") and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/gene-simmons-talks-lost-seventies-van-halen-demos-20160322|title=Gene Simmons Talks Lost Seventies Van Halen Demos|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=March 22, 2016 }}

Compared to the group's debut album, Van Halen II sees the group stretching out their sound and developing on directions only hinted before, and is often seen as lighter and poppier in tone; however, according to author Morgan Brown, it is evenly balanced between radio-friendly songs and "more intense, aggressive material".{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Morgan |title=On Track ... Van Halen: Every Album, Every Song |date=2023 |publisher=Sonic Bond Publishing |location=England |isbn=978-1-78952-256-3 |pages=23–29}} Eddie said: "I hate it when albums are happy-happy or heavy-heavy all the way through. We had a little bit of both on Van Halen II".

"You're No Good" opens with solo bass guitar treated with a flanger, followed by Eddie gently swelling guitar chords by using a volume control to mute their initial attack, a technique later used on "Cathedral" (from Diver Down, 1982). The hit single "Dance the Night Away" sees the group fully embrace the bubblegum pop idiom, and features calypso rhythms in the intro and after the second chorus, whereas "Outta Love Again" is funkier than any of Van Halen's earlier material, with percussive vocals from David Lee Roth and jazz-funk drumming from Alex van Halen. A more challenging track, "Light Up the Sky" features cerebral, progressive elements combined with an adrenalized energy, leading Brown to compare it to a hybrid between progressive rock band Rush and the aggression of hardcore punk.

The brief interlude "Spanish Fly" is a intricate solo performed on an acoustic nylon-string guitar, with chiming natural harmonics; it is followed by the loud "D.O.A.", which begins with a dissonant intro. Later, "Women in Love..." features themes of female bisexuality and an evocative intro with an ethereal guitar part played almost wholly on tapped harmonics, emboldened by double tracking to the point it resembles an electric piano more than a guitar. During the song's outro, Eddie plays both power chords on his lower guitar strings, and a drone on the open higher strings.

The black-and-yellow guitar on the back of the album known as "Bumblebee" is buried with Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who was killed December 8, 2004. Eddie Van Halen placed it in his Kiss Kasket at his funeral because Darrell had said it was his favorite.{{cite episode |title=Pantera |series=VH1: Behind the Music |series-link=Behind the Music |network=VH1 |minutes=38}} Eddie himself stated in an interview conducted in December 1979 by Jas Obrecht and published in the April 1980 edition of Guitar Player Magazine, that the guitar itself was not actually used on the tracking of Van Halen II, as it had only been completed just in time for the photo shoots for the album.{{Cite web|date=April 1, 1980|title=Van Halen - 1980 - Interview Eddie Van Halen w Jas Obrecht|url=https://www.themightyvanhalen.net/1980/04/01/1980-interview-eddie-van-halen-w-jas-obrecht/|access-date=May 23, 2021|website=Van Halen|language=en-US}}

However, the guitar was completed by Charvel, delivered to Eddie by Karl Sandoval in early October 1978 and was photographed in use on the 2nd European leg of Van Halen's 1978 tour. Despite this, there is no conclusive evidence that the guitar itself was or was not used for the tracking of the album. It is likely that Eddie had, in fact, taken the guitar apart and reassembled it just in time for the photoshoot, as there is evidence of swapped parts and a new guitar strap made from a lap-style seatbelt seen in the photos from the shoot.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

David Lee Roth is shown in a cast in the inner liner notes, as he allegedly broke his heel on the third try of the spread-eagle jump used on the back cover photo.{{cite web |url=http://www.classicvanhalen.com/albums_vh2.shtml |title=Van Halen II |publisher=Classicvanhalen.com |access-date=March 20, 2012}}

In the liner notes, The Sheraton Inn of Madison, Wisconsin, is thanked. On Van Halen's first tour, they stayed at the hotel and destroyed the seventh floor, having fire extinguisher fights in the hallways and throwing televisions out windows. They blamed the incidents on their tour-mates at the time, Journey.{{cite web|title=Van Halen II: Twice The Pleasure, Twice The Fun!|url=http://www.vhnd.com/van-halen-ii/|website=Van Halen News Desk|access-date=December 10, 2016|date=March 22, 2012}}

{{Music ratings

|rev1 = AllMusic

|rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r20983}}

|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide

|rev2Score = C+{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: V|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=V&bk=70|access-date=March 9, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}

|rev6= The Rolling Stone Album Guide

|rev6score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/van-halen/albumguide|title=Van Halen: Album Guide | Rolling Stone Music|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=March 20, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121210040727/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/van-halen/albumguide|archive-date=December 10, 2012|url-status=dead}}

|rev3 = Classic Rock

| rev3Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}{{cite web | url = https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/van-halen-van-halen-ii-album-of-the-week-club-review| title = Van Halen: Van Halen II - Album Of The Week Club review | access-date = April 30, 2019 | last = Rock | first = Classic | date = April 18, 2019 | publisher = Loudersound}}

|rev5 = The Great Rock Discography

|rev5score = 7/10{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |date=2006 |publisher=Canongate Books |location=Edinburgh |isbn=1-84195-827-1 |chapter=Van Halen |pages=1,149-1,150}}

|rev4 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

|rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |last= C. Strong |first= Martin|title= The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year= 2004|publisher= Canongate|isbn= 1841955515}}

}}

In a 1979 Rolling Stone review, Timothy White writes, "Scattered throughout Van Halen's second album are various Vanilla Fudge bumps and grinds, an Aerosmith-derived pseudobravado, a bit of Bad Company basement funk and even a few Humble Pie miniraveups," adding that the "LP retains a numbing live feel."{{cite magazine|title=Van Halen II|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/van-halen-ii-19790712|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=July 12, 1979 |access-date=December 10, 2016}} The New York Times deemed the album "screaming macho rock howlings and power-driven electric guitar attacks."{{cite news |last1=Rockwell |first1=John |title=A Musical Grab Bag from California |work=The New York Times |date=15 Apr 1979 |page=D21}}

In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic noted that the album is "virtually a carbon copy of their 1978 debut," though goes on to say it is "lighter and funnier" and "some of the grandest hard rock ever made." Erlewine praises Eddie's "phenomenal gift" and Roth's "knowing shuck and jive."{{cite web|title=Van Halen II – Van Halen {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/van-halen-ii-mw0000192159|website=AllMusic|access-date=December 10, 2016}}

It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart{{cite magazine|title=Van Halen – Chart history {{!}} Billboard|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/277707/van-halen/chart?f=305|magazine=Billboard|access-date=December 10, 2016}} and No. 23 on the UK Albums Chart.{{cite web|title=VAN HALEN {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/16339/van-halen/|website=www.officialcharts.com|access-date=December 10, 2016}} Van Halen II was certified 5× Platinum in 2004. About 5.7 million records have been sold in the United States as of 2004.{{cite web|title=Gold & Platinum – RIAA|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Van+Halen&ti=Van+Halen+II#search_section|website=RIAA|access-date=December 10, 2016}} In 2000, Van Halen II was remastered and re-released.

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| all_writing = Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth except for "You're No Good", which is by Clint Ballard Jr.

| title1 = You're No Good

| note1 = Dee Dee Warwick cover

| length1 = 3:16

| title2 = Dance the Night Away

| length2 = 3:06

| title3 = Somebody Get Me a Doctor

| length3 = 2:52

| title4 = Bottoms Up!

| length4 = 3:05

| title5 = Outta Love Again

| length5 = 2:51

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| title1 = Light Up the Sky

| length1 = 3:13

| title2 = Spanish Fly

| note2 = Instrumental

| length2 = 1:00

| title3 = D.O.A.

| length3 = 4:09

| title4 = Women in Love...

| length4 = 4:08

| title5 = Beautiful Girls

| length5 = 3:56

| total_length = 31:36

}}

• David Lee Roth – lead vocals
• Eddie Van Halen – guitar, backing vocals
• Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Alex Van Halen – drums

• Corey Bailey – engineering
• Dave Bhang – artwork and design, art direction
• Jim Fitzpatrick – engineer
• Gregg Geller – remastering
• Elliot Gilbert – photography
• Donn Landee – engineer
• Jo Motta – project coordinator
• Ted Templeman – production
• Neil Zlozower – photography

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{{col-end}}

{{certification Table Top}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Canada|artist=Van Halen|title=Van Halen II|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1979|certyear=1984}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=France|artist=Van Halen|title=Van Halen II|award=Gold|relyear=1979|certyear=1988|source=infodisc}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Japan|award=Gold|relyear=1979|certyear=1979|certref=}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Netherlands|artist=Van Halen|title=Van Halen II|award=Gold|number=2|relyear=1979|certyear=1984}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United States|artist=Van Halen|title=Van Halen II|award=Platinum|number=5|relyear=1979|certyear=2004}}

{{certification Table Bottom}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|title=Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life In Music|first1=Ted|last1=Templeman|first2=Greg|last2=Renoff|pages=297–303|publisher=ECW Press|location=Toronto|year=2020|isbn=9781770414839|oclc=1121143123}}
• {{cite book|title=Van Halen Guitar Anthology|pages=46–67|publisher=Alfred|location=Van Nuys, California|year=2006|isbn=9780897246729|oclc=605214049}}

{{Van Halen}}

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Category:Album chart usages for Billboard200

Category:1979 albums

Category:Van Halen albums

Category:Warner Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Ted Templeman

Category:Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders