Customer Reviews

1984

5 star:		(133)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This album was the last one that David Lee Roth recorded with Van Halen and he definitely left on a high note. This is a very fun album, with the classic feel-good song "Jump." This song seems to have set the tone for a lot of bands in the years following. "Panama" is one of Van Halen's most beloved songs and can still be heard often on the radio. "Top Jimmy" is one of my favorite songs ever by Van Halen. It's a great country/blues number that is one of their best foot-stompers. "Hot For Teacher" is another highlight, with it's great intro and fast, furious playing. You can tell they probably had a lot of fun doing this one, including the video for the song. Every song is cool on this one and if you've never heard this before, this is essential 80's hard rock that you should definitely check out. If you're already a Van Halen fan, make sure that this is in your collection!

Van Halen's last, and one of the best albums done with Diamond Dave. While the hit 'Jump', and MTV staples 'Hot for Teacher' and 'Panama' may have sold this album already, check out the over-looked rockers 'House of Pain' and 'Girl Gone Ban'. The solos on 'Drop Dead Legs' and 'I'll Wait' are Eddie at his best. No need for the skip button on this album.

1984 marks the last of Van Halen's 5 star albums .. Also the last studio album with David Lee Roth.


1.1984-A keyboard instrumental. Not one of the bands best IMO. 3/5

2.Jump-The bands biggest chart hit. Not really one of my favorites other than the solo of course, but it's hard to deny the impact it had for years. 4/5

3.Panama-Another one of the bands most popular songs. This one of the more hard pop rock songs the band did. 5/5

4.Top Jimmy-One of the most underrated Van Halen songs IMO. It's a hard rock song with some hints at pop rock with it's hooks. This one is probably my favorite.5/5

5.Just a tad below Top Jimmy. A underrated cut here. Really long solo at the end. 4/5

6.Hot For Teacher-Probably the band at it's best right here. This one flirts into metal.5/5

7.I'll Wait-This is the band at it's most pop. Atleast in the DLR era. It's a ballad filled with keyboards and a restrained but good solo. This shows the band can do what alot of bands can't.. Make a good keyboard filled song. 5/5

8.Girl Gone Bad-This is the band returning to more of it's hard rock roots. Very little pop here. Good solo's as the comes and goes in the song. 5/5

9.House of Pain-Not one of my favorites, but it's probably the hardest rocking song on the album. 3/5

You might ask how this album can get 5 stars with 4 of the 9 songs getting below 5 stars. The fact is that even the lower rating stuff is good, and all the great songs are just that good.

This is IMO the band finally getting to where it wanted to go. They spent albums going back and forth below hard rock and more pop rock type of albums... But the band puts together it's album with both hard rocking tunes and big pop hits. This is where Dave and Ed finally meet in the middle.

It's actually my 3rd favorite album behind Van Halen and Fair Warning.

I was nineteen years old and sophomore in college when this album came out. It blew me away then, and still does today. Twenty years have gone by, but they absolutely do not cut them like this anymore -- there is no comparison! You take this trash off the shelves today that they shove down your throats and compare it to this album and it blows you away. Panama, Jump, I'll Wait, Hot For Teacher, Girl Gone Bad, these guys were absolutely genius. I remember seeing (Rothized) Van Halen in concert in Pullman, Washington during their "final" tour, -- I was absolutely floored, blown-away, you name it, it was amazing! Twenty years have gone by, I listen to all types of music today: jazz, classical, country, but after a few stiff ones, I come back to these fellas and this album. The genius of Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth, they wrote the book on "American" hard rock and no one since has even come close. I think back to those years gone by and thank the lucky stars above -- I was at the perfect age when this album came out. Do yourself one helluva favor and listen to it (you'll wonder what planet you've been on). Now Noah, where to put that hammerhead shark?!

"1984" was the commercial breakthough Van Halen had been looking for. Eddie Van Halen wanted to incorporate syntheziers into the mix. "Diamond Dave" Roth was strictly against commercialization, and wanted to keep up with the straight ahead guitar metal rock. Eddie, though, wanted to try new things with the band, and thought syntheziers could add a new element to the music, and also reach many mainstream and new listeners. Roth reluctantly agreed, and "1984" went on to be released. It also went on to end one of the greatest eras of heavy metal and hard rock...

Van Halens infamous debut went on to sell 10 million copies and for a while was the number one album in 1978. Many rock lovers will quote it as one of the top party and rock albums in history. Also the album was famous for the new guitar style that Eddie Van Halen introduced. His finger tapping technique, which could make the sound of animals and machines, was imitated (unsuccessfully) by many teenagers. Van Halen released other albums, but Eddie was noticing the band wasn't making any advances on gaining more fans. After helping in the production of Michael Jacksons blockbuster smash "Thriller", Eddie knew the band needed to commercialize, add a "pop" sound to the mix. He knew that keyboards and syntheziers needed to be used. Lead singer Roth, who is known for his showmanship and sarcastic lyrics, was very against pop sounding metal. However, when Eddie gave him the privledge of writing the lyrics, he agreed, and "1984" was conceived, sometime in 1983...

"Jump" was the popular song that Roth wrote the lyrics to, while Eddie Van Halen played the guitar, syntheziers, AND keyboards. It went to number one, giving Van Halen tons of radio space. Some other pop sounding songs were added to the collection, but Roth made sure straight-ahead good time rockers were still pervelent. "I'll Wait", "Hot for the Teacher", and "Panama" were classic heavy metal/hard rock Van Halen, with guitars taking control, and Roths singing and showmanship making for wickedly humorous MTV videos. Because of the videos and of the songs making radio playlists all over the country, the album sold over 10 million copies, made the top three best selling albums of the year, was nominated for awards, and also released many hit songs.

The success of the album, though, lead to the downfall of classic Van Halen. Roth left the band after they decided to move to commercialization, launching an unsuccessful solo career happered more by drug abuse than anything else. Sammy Hager became the new lead singer, and though he is a fine lead singer, he didn't have the bravado or attraction that Roth had on the stage or the muscle he brought into the songs. Van Halen also said goodbye to the metal lead hard guitar rock in favor of " hair pop-metal", a new genre that would take the late 80's by storm and flood the radio stations and MTV with so many clones they wouldn't know what to do with them.

Van Halen was at their best when they were about having good times and rocking out like hell. Their debut album paints this picture. "1984" is the turning point, holding on to the past, while letting go to the future. It's also one of the top rock albums of all time. If they could have found a good balance between the pop and the rock, they probably still would have been releasing hit albums today, instead of sporatic stabs at trying to reclaim popularity. Check out when they had the perfect balance with "1984", the last great hurrah from the ORIGINAL Van Halen.

1984 was the year for Van Halen to release such a magnificent collection of recordings. This entire album is full of hits from Hot For The Teacher, and Panama, Jump, I'll Wait. If you really love Van Halen then this warner Remasters series would soothe you by all means. Their is a really cool jam titled Drop Dead Legs which I just think is the coolest guitar song from my point of view including a great guitar solo from the great Edward Van Halen. Alex Van Halen plays a great drum intro on Hot For The Teacher, and Michael Anthony lays a great bass rythem including backing vocals very good for such a great band. I think Van Halen was the best with the vocals with David Lee Roth would truely made VAN HALEN be themselves in many ways. Without David Lee Roth their would be no 1984!!!!Now dont get mad about that because everyone knows Edward Van Halen is the most known and I know he is the best member. Anyways im going to stop rambling and just say this is really a great album no matter what the reviews say this album 1984 is the best!!!!

For their last record with notorious frontman, David Lee Roth, Van Halen hit the nail on the head with this album.

The 3 rock anthems "Jump" "Panama" and "Hot For Teacher" are all included on this one, as well as the synth/new wave "I'll Wait" which is easily the worst song on the album, but still good in terms of what was around in 1984.

The title intro track has cool synth lines in it, and serves as kind of like a 'stellar' opener to this rock odyssey, and ironically reminds me of the book "1984". Afterwards, this album just flat out rocks. "Drop Dead Legs" and "Girl Gone Bad," are the 2 most underrated tracks on the album, the latter being the best cut on the entire CD.

Eddie's guitar work is taken to new heights on this album, Mike Anthony's bass also was great, and Alex Van Halen's drumming on "Hot For Teacher" makes him up there as one of the best drummers in rock.

This, undoubtedly, is one of the greatest albums in hard rock history. It beats out any of the Boy George-type-garbage the year had to offer.

I remember the 80's with rock stars with the big teased long hair, the earrings, pastel loud colors (and that's just the men/male rock groups for starters). Van Halen during this time represented why a lot of young guys musically inclined had dreams of becoming rock stars and making it big some day... While many fans and critics hailed Van Halen for being a good old American metal or hard rock band I always thought the original lineup was inventive and innovative. Not many groups of the time could combine synth-technology with real drums and electric guitars; They could. 1984 proved they could and did with great finesse and success.Still love that drum intro-solo to Hot For Teacher (as well as the video). The other amazing and noteworthy underlying element was David Lee Roth's rock/soul throaty vocals which lended an underlying & faint blues-like sound (remember his solo effort and the re-make single I'm Just a Gigolo)...Despite it's commercial overplay on radio back then it has remained as one of my all time favorite Van Halen albums not to be repeated again by them or any other group trying to imitate them...By the way commendations to the artist for the album cover of the airbrushed cherub smoking the cigarettes;It's one of the more memorable and excellent album concept art covers for the decade (maybe 20th century) !...

For those who actually remember buying this album on vinyl back when it came out in 1984 will also remember what it was like to hear all the boys in their prime before Dave's monumental ego (which at that time was about to apply for statehood...) sent him on a one-way trip into obscurity. This is quite honestly Van Halen at their best (with Dave, that is). Virtually every song is a winner, especially when you factor in the lesser known tunes, like 'Top Jimmy' (a GREAT song) and of course, 'Hot For Teacher' and one of the biggest hard-rock anthems of the 80's: 'Panama'.

Was there a direction that Van Halen was taking with MXMLXXXIV (1984)?? Maybe, I have NO idea, and wouldn't care if they were. I hear so many opinions as to what it all meant and how it predicted in various ways Dave's departure and as far as I'm concerned, WHO CARES?? The album is just a great example of 80's rock from one of heavy metal's best.

Now the debate will rage for as long as Van Halen fans still draw breath about David Lee Roth vs Sammy Hagar...I fall somewhere in between. LOVE them BOTH (however Sammy is better in concert and after having MET them both, Sammy again was much better to talk with--Dave was pretty much consumed with his favorite topic: himself) and do NOT wish to extoll the virtues of the first-half of Van Halen's career over the second-half with Mr. Hagar--I just enjoy good music, and let's face it: '1984' delivers not just good music, but GREAT music--oh, and it has also managed to stand the test of time very well...not an easy task for a hard rock band from any decade.

I've been fortunate in radio to not just get paid to listen to this music, but I have also been lucky enough to meet all these guys as well, and aside from Dave's incredible arrogance (he was still a funny guy), it has been a real fantastic opportunity for me to examine the music in a quasi-inside sorta way--and let me tell you: Every moment was GREAT. Simply one of the best albums the 80's had to offer. Highly Recommended.

-DJ Jazzy Jeff

What can I say, I'm a huge Van Halen fan. This record got me started. When I listened to it, I had to have all the others previously made. This one is still my personal favorite. "1984/Jump" and "Panama" still enjoy heavy play on the radio, which is not only a sign of popularity, but of accomplishment as well. My personal favorite from this record is still "I'll Wait". It still sounds new to me after all these years. This whole collection is extremely progressive in rock evolution. The incorporation of electronics into their music proved that not only was technology successful in hard rock, but ultimately transcended the boundaries that hard rock had created for itself. Quite a few bands have Van Halen to thank for their success. That is why the 1984 record holds a permanent position in my personal rock "Hall of Fame".