ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 364 VAN HALEN - BALANCE (1995)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Disclaimer: All info that does not reside in my brain is gathered from wikipedia.com (mostly because Jon can't stand it) unless otherwise noted.

Can't really say I'm in the mood to post an Album of the Week today, but it is my job, so I've gotta do it.  So for 1995, I'm going with Van Halen's tenth studio album and fourth with Sammy Hagar, Balance.  

I didn't realize it, but this was a Billboard 200 number one album.  It is certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA. Several singles were released, but the only one to crack the Billboard Hot 100 chart was Can't Stop Lovin' You, which topped out at number 30.  

The album was produced by Bruce Fairbairn and features a guest appearance by Steve Lukather on the song Not Enough, where he performs some guitar and backing vocals.  The album is still available and can be had for less than 8 dollars on Amazon.

Tracks:

1. The Seventh Seal

2. Can't Stop Loving You

3. Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)

4. Amsterdam

5. Big Fat Money

6. Strung Out

7. Not Enough

8. Aftershock

9. Doin' Time

10. Baluchitherium

11. Take Me Back (Deja Vu)

12. Feelin'

[Jon]

Except for the filler on the second side, this is a really good album. Probably my second fav of the SH era. Little did the peeps know that the next VH album would be their opus, the album that put all other VH albums to shame. The album that won multiple awards as album of the year from many, many sites and is still considered a classic today, an album that everyone owns and is proud to own and an album they revisit many times during the year. Obviously this album pales in comparison to that album, but this is still a good album.

[Scott]

Yup, this album is actually quite good, at least in the scope of Van Hagar releases.  I've revisited the Roth years quite a bit lately (including ADKOT which I like) and that's my preferable version of the band.  Actually easily.  But I do really like 5150 as well...  The only other Van Hagar album of note is the one whose acronym is dirty word which I cannot say because its bad.  Which leaves OU812 as the odd Hagar out.  Not that its terrible its just not the best of that era.

This album has a solid opener with Seventh Seal and that momentum carries the side all the way to the end, and just as Jon states...  Side 2 is where this goes off a bit, not totally just a bit...  Its a bit too ballady for my VH tastes, but its not bad...

[Jon]

Don't forget to mention that this pales in comparison to the followup!

[Yngve J. Chapleen]

I remember hearing this one for the first time and thinking it was just OK. It grew on me since then. I got to like it and listen to it quite a bit.

Looks like RJhog is on a string (no pun intended) of weird covers.

BTW, this cover was banned in Japan.