Awesome Album Series #5: VAN HALEN "Fair Warning"

If I had to bring only one Van Halen record to a desert island, or something, I would go for “Fair Warning”. It is approx 30 minute of true awesomeness. And as you know, awesomeness is great! It came out in April, 1981. I was 12 years old.

The LP often gets overlooked - partially because it's a dark, strange beast, partially because it lacks any song as purely fun as the hits from the first three records. But hey, that`why it is a great record!

Eddie Van Halen preferred to explore darker, longer and generally more complex song-structures that emphasized his innovative guitar work. Of course “Fair Warning” is still melodic, but dark at the same time. That`s what make it brilliant.

Eddie sounds restless here, pushing and pulling the group toward different rhythms and textures, from the disco beat that pulsates on "Push Comes to Shove" to the swinging rhythms on "So This Is Love?"