Diver Down

Last updated

Diver Down
Van Halen - Diver Down.svg
Studio album by
Van Halen
ReleasedApril 19, 1982 (1982-04-19) [1]
RecordedJanuary–March 1982
Studio
Genre
Length31:04
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Ted Templeman
Van Halen chronology
Fair Warning
(1981)		Diver Down
(1982)		 1984
(1984)
Singles from Diver Down
  1. "(Oh) Pretty Woman"
    Released: January 18, 1982 [3]
  2. "Dancing in the Street"
    Released: May 1982
  3. "Secrets"
    Released: August 23, 1982 [4]

Diver Down is the fifth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on April 19, 1982 by Warner Bros. Records. It spent 65 weeks on the album chart in the United States and had, by 1998, sold four million copies in the United States. Despite its commercial success, selling faster than its predecessor Fair Warning (1981), it was more lukewarmly received by contemporary music critics. [5]

Contents

Released per the label's request that the group record an album to keep them in the public eye, Diver Down was recorded with producer Ted Templeman over the course of twelve days. As a result of its quick production, the album is heavy on cover versions as well as genre experiments and guitar interludes. Alongside full-length original songs, the material includes excursions into jazz, country blues, doo-wop, a cappella and neo-classical music, in addition to covers of mid-1960s songs – the biggest of these, reworkings of Roy Orbison's "(Oh) Pretty Woman" and Martha & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street", were hit singles.

Background and recording

Five of the twelve songs on the album are covers, the most popular being the cover of "(Oh) Pretty Woman", a Roy Orbison song. Eddie Van Halen recalled how the album came about:

When we came off the Fair Warning tour last year [1981], we were going to take a break and spend a lot of time writing this and that. Dave [Lee Roth] came up with the idea of, 'Hey, why don't we start off the new year with just putting out a single?' He wanted to do 'Dancing in the Streets.' He gave me the original Martha Reeves & the Vandellas tape, and I listened to it and said, 'I can't get a handle on anything out of this song.' I couldn't figure out a riff, and you know the way I like to play: I always like to do a riff, as opposed to just hitting barre chords and strumming. So I said, 'Look, if you want to do a cover tune, why don't we do 'Pretty Woman'? It took one day. We went to Sunset Sound in L.A., recorded it, and it came out right after the first of the year. It started climbing the charts, so all of a sudden Warner Bros. is going, 'You got a hit single on your hands. We gotta have that record.' We said, 'Wait a minute, we just did that to keep us out there, so that people know we're still alive.' But they just kept pressuring, so we jumped right back in without any rest or time to recuperate from the tour, and started recording. We spent 12 days making the album... it was a lot of fun. [6]

Three of the original songs were around long before the album was made. "Hang 'Em High" can trace its roots back to 1976 [7] as "Last Night", which had the same music but different lyrics.[ citation needed ] "The Full Bug" borrows heavily from a demo track called "The Bottom Line" (not the track of the same name released on Roth's 1988 album Skyscraper ) that leaked in 2023 and "Cathedral" was played in its final form throughout 1981 with earlier versions going back to 1980. Additionally, "Happy Trails" had been recorded for their 1977 demos.[ citation needed ]

"Where Have All the Good Times Gone" is a cover of a song by The Kinks. During the band's bar-playing days, vocalist David Lee Roth bought a budget label Kinks double album, and Van Halen learned all of the songs on one side to use as staples of their set. [8] Eddie Van Halen created the effects in the guitar solo by running the edge of his pick up and down the strings and using an Echoplex. [6]

"Cathedral" was so named because the band members thought it sounded like a Catholic church organ. [6] The track is a well-known example of the 'cascade effect' on guitar, described by Jon Chappell of EQ Magazine as when the guitarist "plays eighth notes and the delay spits back notes of equal-amplitude on the second and fourth sixteenth notes, creating a steady stream of sixteenth notes. This doubles the rate at which notes come from the guitar". [9] The piece was a stylistic departure for Van Halen, [10] with a quite prowess that has been compared to Focus. [11]

The lyrics to "Secrets" were inspired by greeting cards which Roth bought in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on the preceding tour. [8] Eddie Van Halen used a Gibson doubleneck 12-string for the song, played with a flatpick. The solo was done in one take. [6]

The track "Intruder", which precedes "(Oh) Pretty Woman", was written by Roth specifically to cover the length of the promotional video for the "(Oh) Pretty Woman" single. Roth recalled that the video "was about three minutes too long. So, I said, we won't cut any of it; we'll write soundtrack music for the beginning. So we went into the studio and I played the synthesizer and I wrote it. It took about an hour to put that together." [8] It is characterized by its shrieking, distorting guitars, displaying heavy dissonance, [12] [10] and is comparable to Neu!'s "Negativland" (1972). [13] The "(Oh) Pretty Woman" music video was one of the first banned by MTV, although VH1 Classic (now MTV Classic) has continuously aired it. Roth explained the ban as the result of complaints that it made fun of "an almost theological figure", the Samurai warrior (played by bassist Michael Anthony), and also because two little people appeared to molest a woman (actually a Los Angeles area transvestite performer). [8] The video, directed by Roth and Pete Angelus, was, he[ who? ] said: "rather like a surrealistic art project ... where they paint the picture and come back three days later and try to figure out what they meant."

"Little Guitars" was inspired by the flamenco guitar playing of Carlos Montoya. Eddie Van Halen found he was unable to imitate Montoya's finger picking, so he used a pick as an assist. [6] Roth, who thought the music Eddie Van Halen came up with sounded Mexican (Montoya was actually Spanish), wrote lyrics intended to evoke that nation. [8] The guitar used on the recording (and subsequent tour) was a miniature Les Paul, built by Nashville luthier David Petschulat and sold to Eddie on the earlier Fair Warning Tour.[ citation needed ]

Covering "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)" was Roth's idea, as was having Eddie and Alex Van Halen's father Jan play clarinet on the track. [6] Deemed a "campy period piece," [14] it has been compared to the Temperance Seven, [11] and Freddie Mercury. [14]

Of "The Full Bug", Roth said 'PRFCs' were "great shoes for when the cockroach moves into the corner and you can't get at it with your foot or the broom anymore. You just jam your toe into the corner and hit as hard as you can. And if you did it right you got the full bug. So this slang means — bammm! — you have to give it everything you've got. Make the maximum effort, do everything possible, get the full bug." [8]

"Happy Trails" is a playful a cappella version of the Dale Evans song. [15] Reviewers have compared it to Cream's "Mother's Lament" at the end of Disraeli Gears (1967), [14] and The Muppet Show . [16]

Cover art

The album cover artwork displays the "diver down" flag used in many US (and Canadian) jurisdictions to indicate a SCUBA diver is currently submerged in the area. [17] David Lee Roth said it was meant to imply that "there was something going on that's not apparent to your eyes. You put up the red flag with the white slash. Well, a lot of people approach Van Halen as sort of the abyss. It means, it's not immediately apparent to your eyes what is going on underneath the surface." [8] While impressed by Roth's creative marketing spin, manager Noel Monk also explained the sexual double-entendre "dive her down" in his 2017 band memoir Running with the Devil. The back cover of the album features a photo by Richard Aaron of Van Halen on stage at the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida, that was taken on October 24, 1981, as they concluded a set opening for The Rolling Stones. The sleeve has been noted for its 'modern', minimalist aesthetic, reminiscent of the sleeves of "Joy Division impersonators". [11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [18]
Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s B− [19]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [20]
The Great Rock Discography 6/10 [21]
Lincoln Journal Star Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [22]
Record Mirror Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [23]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [24]
Sounds Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]

In a review for The Los Angeles Times , Don Waller considered Diver Down to be "the best heavy-metal record to come along in several years." He enjoyed how several "mid-60s classics" were customized into vehicles for the band's "high-octane assault", further highlighting the three instrumentals for adding "spice", and how the original songs "rework unorthodox metal dictums with a twist". [25] "Best of all", he added, is the band's "loony sense of humour", as shown by covering the vintage jazz-blues song "Big Bad Bill". [25] Lincoln Journal Star critic Bart Becker named Van Halen the best heavy metal band partly for their tongue-in-cheek style, adding that besides some original songs, the group "forges heavy-metal" out of "unexpected elements" such as country blues, doo-wop, a cappella, clarinets, and the Roy Orbison and Marvin Gaye covers. [22] Cynthia Rose of New Musical Express praised Templeman's production for holding the experiments – namely the acoustic intros, "planes" of synthesiser, clarinet parts, a cappella singing and "some throwaway humour" – in "expert balance", and wrote that while a quarter of the album is filler, Roth's voice suits the crass lyrics. [26]

Steve Smith of The Times stated that Diver Down continues the band's "four-year tradition of recycling old songs ... without adding anything new, save some heavy-metal chording and David Roth's snarling vocals." However, he noted several pleasant surprises that, along with the "odd little instrumentals", evidence the band's imagination, further lauding Templeman's production and "brief moments of instrumental lucidity" from the Van Halen brothers. [27] Parke Puterbaugh of Rolling Stone notes that if listeners disregard the five cover versions and three instrumentals, Diver Down "suddenly seems like a cogent case for consumer fraud. Van Halen, it appears, is running out of ideas: there's more excelsior here than in a shipment of glassware." He adds that aside from Eddie's "three guitar nocturnes", there are only four original compositions, only two of which are exciting. [23]

Reviewing the album for The Rocket , John Keister believed the album "sounds like it was a lot of fun to make", but commented that it contains filler songs which grow off listeners after several listens, noting: "Many of the cuts on this album are intros that seem to serve little function except taking up space on the vinyl." [10] He believed it should have been cut to a four-song EP. [10] Robin Smith of Record Mirror wrote in his review: "Reworking three old standards and messing around on the flip side doesn't make a great album – and Van Halen should have produced an earthquake." [16] Bill Carlton of Daily News commented that while the album is naturally heavy on energetic rock songs, Van Halen also proved capable of the "lovely neo-classical" piece "Cathedral". However, he panned the 1960s covers and considered the barbershop quartet rendition of "Happy Trails" to be undercut by its apparent insincerity. [12] In Sounds , Sandy Robertson criticised the new material, calling the songs "a curious lucky bag", and felt that side two was "so mixed up", overall believing the album should have been a more coherent statement. [11]

In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called Diver Down "one of Van Halen's best records, one that's just pure joy to hear", saying it hearkens back to the exuberance and lightheartedness of their early albums while retaining the tightly knit and practiced playing honed over the length of their career. He also found it effectively showcased all four individual members, and said the cover songs were thoroughly revamped to make them distinctly Van Halen works. [18] Dave Queen of Stylus Magazine noted that with its "additional fragments, sketches, and impenetrable arcana," Diver Down is "like an 'unofficial' Fall release or Smiley Smile ." [13] Colin Larkin, writing in The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (1997), names Diver Down the weakest Van Halen album, praising only the covers of 1960s standards as the standout tracks. [20] The editors of The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) describe the album as a return to form for Van Halen, "entertaining with a smile and lots of squeals", adding that it contains "a ridiculous five covers, but they're some of the band's best". [24] In his reference book Copendium (2012), Julian Cope dismissed Diver Down as "bar band filler of the most abject variety (how can I live without more covers of 'Pretty Woman', 'Dancing in the Street' and 'Where Have All the Good Times Gone'?)" [28]

Legacy

In 2022, Diver Down was ranked at number three in Guitar World 's list of "The 25 greatest rock guitar albums of 1982". [29] Country musician Kenny Chesney, who later socialised with Eddie van Halen and Sammy Hagar, has commented that it was "the first album he ever bought". [30] In rankings of the band's albums, Diver Down has been ranked seventh best by Matthew Wilkening of Ultimate Classic Rock and the staff of Consequence , [31] [32] and ninth best by Eduardo RivadavIa of Loudwire , [33]

Wilkening says that while Diver Down is "easily the most criticized" of the Van Halen albums fronted by Roth, it has a consistent summery feel, "thanks partially to the series of amazing guitar interludes that turn up between tracks". [31] Consequence write that Van Halen "went pop" for Diver Down, in contrast to the aggression of Fair Warning, and that as such it is sometimes dismissed by fans of the group's harder material. However, the website comment that it charms those who "embraced the (power) pop direction". [32] They believe that some tracks are led by "some of the most emotive and pleasant guitar work Eddie Van Halen ever recorded", but believe the album's final songs "veer too heavily into David Lee Roth’s showtunes vibe". [32] Morgan Brown, in Van Halen: Every Album, Every Song (2023), considers it to be "a hugely enjoyable lucky dip of a record" that, despite feeling more like "a superior 'leftovers and rarities' collection than a coherent studio album", still contains only "terrific" material that together showcases the band's exquisite range. [34] Eddie van Halen has since criticized the album for being rushed to meet Warner. Bros' demands and as a result containing too many covers. [31]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Where Have All the Good Times Gone!" Ray Davies 3:02
2."Hang 'Em High" Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth 3:28
3."Cathedral" (instrumental)E. Van Halen, A. Van Halen, Anthony, Roth1:23
4."Secrets"E. Van Halen, A. Van Halen, Anthony, Roth3:28
5."Intruder" (instrumental)E. Van Halen, A. Van Halen, Anthony, Roth1:39
6."(Oh) Pretty Woman" William Dees, Roy Orbison 2:53
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Dancing in the Street" Marvin Gaye, Ivy Hunter, William Stevenson 3:43
8."Little Guitars (Intro)" (instrumental)E. Van Halen, A. Van Halen, Anthony, Roth0:42
9."Little Guitars"E. Van Halen, A. Van Halen, Anthony, Roth3:47
10."Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)" Milton Ager, Jack Yellen 2:44
11."The Full Bug"E. Van Halen, A. Van Halen, Anthony, Roth3:18
12."Happy Trails" Dale Evans 1:03
Total length:31:04

Personnel

Van Halen

Additional personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (1982)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [35] 79
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [36] 5
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [37] 28
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [38] 20
French Albums (SNEP) [39] 9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [40] 65
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [41] 22
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [42] 37
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [43] 19
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [44] 28
UK Albums (OCC) [45] 36
US Billboard 200 [46] 3

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [47] Platinum100,000^
United States (RIAA) [48] 4× Platinum4,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Halen</span> American rock band (1973–2020)

Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and for the virtuosity of its guitarist/keyboardist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

<i>Van Halen</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Van Halen

Van Halen is the debut studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on February 10, 1978, by Warner Bros. Records. Widely regarded as one of the greatest debut albums in rock music, and considered a progenitor of glam metal, the album was a major commercial success, peaking at number 19 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. It has sold more than 10 million copies in the United States, receiving a Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and making it one of the best-selling albums in the country.

<i>Van Halen II</i> 1979 studio album by Van Halen

Van Halen II is the second studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released by Warner Bros Records on March 23, 1979, it peaked at number six on the U.S. Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and yielded hit singles "Dance the Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls." As of 2004, it's sold almost six million copies in the United States. Critical reaction to the album has been positive, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide praising the "feel-good, party atmosphere" of the songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Lee Roth</span> American rock singer (born 1954)

David Lee Roth is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when they disbanded in 2020. He has also had a successful solo career, releasing numerous RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum albums. After more than two decades apart, Roth re-joined Van Halen in 2006 for a North American tour that became the highest-grossing in the band's history, and one of the highest-grossing of that year. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen.

<i>5150</i> (album) 1986 studio album by Van Halen

5150 is the seventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on March 24, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records and was the first of four albums to be recorded with lead singer Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth. The album was named after Eddie Van Halen's home studio, 5150, in turn named after a California law enforcement term for a mentally disturbed person. The album hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, surpassing the band's previous album, 1984, which had peaked at number 2 behind Michael Jackson's Thriller album, on which Eddie made a guest appearance.

<i>Women and Children First</i> 1980 studio album by Van Halen

Women and Children First is the third studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on March 26, 1980, on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Ted Templeman and engineered by Donn Landee, it was the first Van Halen album not to feature any cover songs, and is described by critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "[the] record where the group started to get heavier, both sonically and, to a lesser extent, thematically."

<i>Fair Warning</i> (Van Halen album) 1981 studio album by Van Halen

Fair Warning is the fourth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on April 29, 1981, by Warner Bros. Records, the album peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200, while the single "So This Is Love?" failed to reach Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 110 on the Bubbling-Under list. The album sold more than two million copies in the United States, but was still the band's slowest-selling album of the David Lee Roth era. Despite the album's commercially disappointing sales, Fair Warning was met with mostly positive reviews from critics. It was listed by Esquire as one of the "75 Albums Every Man Should Own".

<i>OU812</i> 1988 studio album by Van Halen

OU812 is the eighth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1988 and is the band's second album to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. Van Halen began work on the album in September 1987 and completed it in April 1988, one month before its release.

<i>For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge</i> 1991 studio album by Van Halen

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge is the ninth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on June 17, 1991, on Warner Bros. Records and is the third to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and maintained the position for three consecutive weeks. The album marked a record in the band's history, seeing seven of its eleven tracks released as singles.

<i>Balance</i> (Van Halen album) 1995 studio album by Van Halen

Balance is the tenth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 24, 1995, by Warner Bros. Records. The album is the last of the band's four studio releases to feature Sammy Hagar as the lead singer. It is also the final Van Halen album to feature bassist Michael Anthony in its entirety. Balance reached number 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 in February 1995 and reached triple platinum status on May 12, 2004, by selling more than three million copies in the US. "The Seventh Seal" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.

<i>The Best of Both Worlds</i> (Van Halen album) 2004 greatest hits album by Van Halen

The Best of Both Worlds is the second greatest hits album by American rock band Van Halen, released on July 20, 2004, on Warner Bros. The compilation features material recorded with lead vocalists David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, but omits Gary Cherone's three-year tenure with the band. Prior to The Best of Both Worlds's release, Hagar reunited with Van Halen, and the band recorded three new tracks to include on the release.

<i>1984</i> (Van Halen album) 1984 studio album by Van Halen

1984 is the sixth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on January 9, 1984. It was the last Van Halen studio album until A Different Kind of Truth (2012) to feature lead singer David Lee Roth, who left the band in 1985 following creative differences. This is the final full-length album to feature all four original members, although they reunited briefly in 2000 to start work on what would much later become 2012's A Different Kind of Truth. Roth returned in 2007, but Eddie's son Wolfgang replaced Anthony in 2006. 1984 and Van Halen's self-titled debut album are the band's best-selling albums, each having sold more than 10 million copies in the United States.

<i>Best Of – Volume I</i> (Van Halen album) 1996 greatest hits album by Van Halen

Best Of – Volume I is the first greatest hits album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released on October 22, 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jump (Van Halen song)</span> 1983 single by Van Halen

"Jump" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in December 1983 as the lead single of their sixth studio album, 1984. It is Van Halen's most successful single, reaching number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song differs from earlier Van Halen songs in that it is driven by a keyboard riff, although the song does contain a guitar solo. David Lee Roth dedicated the song to martial artist Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, of whom he was a student. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Jump" at number 177 on its updated list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Edward John “Ted”Templeman is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple critically acclaimed and commercially successful albums by each of them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll Wait</span> 1984 single by Van Halen

"I'll Wait" is a song by American rock band Van Halen, taken from their sixth studio album, 1984 (1984). It was written by band members Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, along with Michael McDonald, and produced by Ted Templeman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie's Cryin'</span> 1978 single by Van Halen

"Jamie's Cryin'" is a song written by the band Van Halen that was first released on the band's 1978 debut album. It was subsequently released as the third single from the album but did not chart. It has also been released on a Van Halen compilation album and was sampled for Tone Loc's 1988 song "Wild Thing".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oh, Pretty Woman</span> 1964 single by Roy Orbison and the Candy Men

"Oh, Pretty Woman", or simply "Pretty Woman", is a song recorded by Roy Orbison and written by Orbison and Bill Dees. It was released as a single in August 1964 on Monument Records and spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 from September 26, 1964, making it the second and final single by Orbison to reach number one in the United States. It was also Orbison's third single to top the UK Singles Chart, where it spent three weeks at number one.

The David Lee Roth Band was Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth's backing band, formed in Pasadena, California. Originally featuring a supergroup lineup of guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Gregg Bissonette, the band released numerous popular songs and albums from the mid-1980s until the late 1990s. Other well-known musicians in the David Lee Roth Band have included guitarist Jason Becker, guitarist Steve Hunter, guitarist John Lowery, bassist Matt Bissonette, drummer Ray Luzier, and keyboardist Danny Wagner. The backing band's well-known songs include "Yankee Rose", "Goin' Crazy!", "Shy Boy", "Just Like Paradise", "Stand Up", "Damn Good", "A Little Ain't Enough", "She's My Machine", and "Slam Dunk!".

<i>A Different Kind of Truth</i> 2012 studio album by Van Halen

A Different Kind of Truth is the twelfth and final studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on February 7, 2012, by Interscope Records, this is Van Halen's only studio album on Interscope and its first full-length album of studio material with lead singer David Lee Roth since 1984. Likewise, A Different Kind of Truth was Van Halen's first studio album since 1998's Van Halen III, as well as their only studio album recorded without bassist Michael Anthony, who had played bass on all of the band's previous albums; Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang replaced Anthony for the album, making this his only studio album with the band. It would also be Van Halen's final studio album before Eddie's death and the group's subsequent disbandment in 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "New Releases" (PDF). FMQB . April 16, 1982. p. 34. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  2. ↑ John Scanlan (November 18, 2012). "The Story Behind Van Halen's 'Diver Down'". Van Halen News Desk. Retrieved August 21, 2022. The album was recorded in 12 days at Amigo Studios (now known as Warner Brothers Recording Studios) at a cost of approximately $46,000.
  3. ↑ "Van Halen - Pretty Woman single - Dutch Charts".
  4. ↑ "Van Halen - Secrets single - Dutch Charts".
  5. ↑ Brown, Morgan (2023). "Diver Down". On Track ... Van Halen: Every Album, Every Song. England: Sonic Bond Publishing. pp. 52–53. ISBN   978-1789522563.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Obrecht, Jas (June 7, 2022). "Eddie Van Halen 1982 Interview, Part 2". Guitar Player .
  7. ↑ "Van Halen - Live at the Golden West Ballroom, c. 1976". YouTube .
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 York, Alan (April 14, 2022). "Diver Down: How Van Halen Flagged Up an Instant Classic". Warner Music Group.
  9. ↑ Chappell, Jon (July 2001). "12 Amazing Guitar Recording Tricks" (PDF). EQ: 80. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Keister, John (May 1, 1982). "Monkey See Monkey Do". The Rocket. Seattle, Washington: 31–32. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Robertson, Sandy (April 24, 1982). "(No) big deal". Sounds: 35.
  12. 1 2 Carton, Bill (May 10, 1982). "Van Halen best despite rotten roll tag". Daily News. New York, New York: 34. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Queen, Dave (January 4, 2005). "Van Halen - Diver Down - On Second Thought". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  14. 1 2 3 Morgan, Jeffrey (August 1982). "Van Halen: Diver Down (Warner Bros.)". Creem. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  15. ↑ "New Albums" (PDF). RPM Weekly. 36 (14): 11. May 15, 1982. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  16. 1 2 3 Smith, Robin (April 24, 1982). "Loony tunes... ...weedy buffons". Record Mirror. 29 (17): 15.
  17. ↑ "Dive Flag Law". Dive-flag.com. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  18. 1 2 Diver Down at AllMusic
  19. ↑ "Robert Christgau: CG: van halen". robertchristgau.com.
  20. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (1997). "Van Halen". Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. London: Virgin Books. p. 1,210. ISBN   1-85227 745 9.
  21. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2006). "Van Halen". The Great Rock Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. pp. 1, 149–1, 150. ISBN   1-84195-827-1.
  22. 1 2 Becker, Bart (May 18, 1982). "Return of the monsters". Lincoln Journal Star: 8. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  23. 1 2 "Diver Down". rollingstone.com. June 10, 1982.
  24. 1 2 Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). "Van Halen". The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). London: Fireside Books. p. 842. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  25. 1 2 Waller, Dan (May 2, 1982). "'Diver Down' Is Up There with the Best". The Los Angeles Times: Calendar: 66. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  26. ↑ Rose, Cynthia (May 8, 1982). "Halen Hearty". New Musical Express: 32.
  27. ↑ Smith, Steve (May 30, 1982). "Simmons 'reaches' for the record market". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana: 8-F. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  28. ↑ Cope, Julian (2012). Copendium: An Expedition into the Rock 'n' Roll Underworld. London: Faber & Faber. p. 341. ISBN   978-0-571 27034-7.
  29. ↑ Prato, Greg (March 2, 2022). "The 25 greatest rock guitar albums of 1982". Guitar World . Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Musicnotes" (PDF). R&R Hot Fax Country Update: 6. July 20, 2004. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  31. 1 2 3 Wilkening, Matthew (January 9, 2024). "Van Halen Albums Ranked Worst to Best". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  32. 1 2 3 Heavy Consequence Staff (February 10, 2021). "A Definitive Ranking of Every Van Halen Album". Consequence. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  33. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo (August 23, 2016). "Van Halen Albums Ranked". Loudwire. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
  34. ↑ Brown, Morgan (2023). On Track ... Van Halen: Every Album, Every Song. England: Sonic Bond Publishing. p. 53. ISBN   978-1789522563.
  35. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  36. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6473". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  37. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Van Halen – Diver Down" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  38. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  39. ↑ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – V". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2024.Select Van Halen from the menu, then press OK.
  40. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Van Halen – Diver Down" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  41. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN   4-87131-077-9.
  42. ↑ "Charts.nz – Van Halen – Diver Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  43. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Van Halen – Diver Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  44. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Van Halen – Diver Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  45. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  46. ↑ "Van Halen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  47. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Van Halen – Diver Down". Music Canada.
  48. ↑ "American album certifications – Van Halen – Diver Down". Recording Industry Association of America.

Further reading

Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life In Music. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 318–25. ISBN   9781770414839. OCLC   1121143123.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.