Van Halen - 1984
Eddie Van Halen was a genius. In many ways. Not only was he one of the most influential rock guitarists ever, he was also smart enough to know the importance of catchy songwriting. All while always finding space for his guitar wizardry. Never did that show as obviously as on “1984”. It includes some of their biggest hits, songs like “Jump”, “Panama” or “Hot For Teacher”, all of which were inescapable at the time. It was also the last album with David Lee Roth until their reunion almost 30 years later. Diamond Dave was another hint at how smart Eddie was. Yes, the guitar geeks would have loved him no matter what, but with Dave he was able to take over the world. And let’s not forget about Wolfgang and Michael. Each member was integral. It was an album of its time, released in the middle of a decade defined by end-of-the-world fears and almost naive optimism alike. Van Halen opted for the latter and this album is to this day first and foremost one thing: fun.
