Van Halen Music:

1984 Track Listing:
1. 1984
2. Jump - Van Halen, VanHalen, Alex
3. Panama - Van Halen, Anthony, Michael [2
4. Top Jimmy
5. Drop Dead Legs
6. Hot for Teacher - Van Halen, Anthony, Michael [2
7. I'll Wait - Van Halen, VanHalen, Eddie
8. Girl Gone Bad
9. House of Pain

Editorial Review:
Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2008.

Description of 1984:
1984 was a successful record not only because it contained solid, catchy hard rock, but also because it incorporated synthesizers into the mix, the first metal album to do so to any serious extent. Although the advances in electronic music make this material sound dated now, it's still a highlight of Van Halen's career. Songs like "Jump" contain a pop element that gave 1984 mainstream appeal, and David Lee Roth turned the frontman role into an art form on songs such as "Panama," "Hot for Teacher," "Drop Dead Legs," and "I'll Wait." To a large extent, it was 1984 that set the standard for '80s pop metal, and David Lee Roth who set the standard (or takes the blame, depending on your point of view) for the aggressively good-time attitude most pop-metal bands took for their own. --Genevieve Williams

1984 Reviews:
terrible service!!!!!!!!!! Cant buy one MP3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2008-12-08 - This is the absolute worst site I have ever seen,....I can't believe you cant buy just one song...all the songs are unavailable......I guess Van Halen has plenty of money and does not need to sell their songs anymore......Good for them,....guess I will go and purchase other great 80's bands songs that actually allow their songs to be purchased.........

Three lock box
2008-11-23 - David Lee Roth could never sell a love song, it's like he was amoral or maybe malfunctioning. Sammy Hagar, he's straight from the heart, projecting live, restlessly from the Id. Me, I can't discount the possibility I'm cracking up. I play Van Halen so loud, I'm trying to drown out the sound of me talking to myself. It's not working so well, I keep writing notes to myself. My pockets are full of them. Let's see, this one says "precarious balance," another says "your actions and inactions have consequences," yet another "where's the self-destruction button." Oh man, I really hope these are not fortunes from a cookie. I talk to myself but what's the point, I never listen. Part of the jazz is my transition from f to m has been scary bumpy. Tumult. Call it the blue fog. I keep falling out of airplanes. You'd think after 10 years of paying dues, I would have hit upon a winner. I haven't been landing on my feet. I say, the only thing she loved about me was how easy I am to hurt. Rollercoaster crazy, I'd rather just be lonely (again). And I turned someone down today, she probably would be nice to me, good for me, but, that's not what I want. It's gotta be HER. And she's using me up. But I still have a strand of will; it's either HIM or ME, it cannot be both, don't try to cross the bottom line. I think it's gonna take more than 12 steps to get away from HER. 'Cause I don't want to! I really painfully adore her. It's about sick riffs, shot out of a canon.

1984
2008-09-27 - 1984 finds Van Halen changing their direction in music again though not as radical a change as Fair Warning. 1984 is synthesizer laden though it's not the first time that one had appeared in their recordings. This was their sixth studio album & the final one with David Lee Roth (not counting his guest appearance on a couple of newly recorded songs). 1984 peaked at #2 on the album charts. There were four singles released from it that made the charts: "Hot for Teacher" (#34 Mainstream Rock, #56 Hot 100), "I'll Wait" (#13 Hot 100), "Jump" (#13 Dance/Club, #1 Hot 100) & "Panama (#13 Hot 100). I know a few people that became totally turned off to the group because Eddie did so much synthesizer work on the album. After all, Eddie is a guitar god, what's he doing playing a synthesizer? Well, it was the eighties & a lot of bands were incorporating synthesizers into their music & drum machines (gasp!) and/or electronic drums. Z Z Top did the same thing in the eighties & sold more records than they had ever sold. It was just a sign of the times. I didn't particularly desire it but it happened. I thought it was good to have an occasional change & an album full of it didn't turn me off. 1984 isn't Van Halen' best album (many will disagree) but it's WAY better than Diver Down! Every band grows & matures, they can't remain stagnant. Look how much the Beatles changed from 1963 to 1970. Van Halen was no different in that regard, sometimes we like the changes, sometimes we don't.

The album opens with "1984", a short synthesizer instrumental that's the intro for the next song, "Jump". "Jump" was written & recorded with MTV in mind. It also gave Diamond Dave a great reason to perform certain stunts on stage while touring. "Jump" is a classic piece of pop blended with Van Halen's rock abilities. "Panama" is a return to form, Eddie playing a driving rhythm on guitar with licks & riffs all over the place. Who doesn't like a song about a fast car? "Top Jimmy" has Eddie playing around with harmonics on guitar but in a league all by himself. It's a fast tempo song that they would do at least one of on most albums. "Drop Dead Legs" has Diamond Dave doing his best male fantasy routine. I love Eddie's lead that closes out the song. "Hot for Teacher" was another song that was written with MTV in mind. Wasn't Waldo a gas in the video? What male couldn't resist the male fantasy of a teacher that hot? "I got my pencil! Give me something to write on!" Diamond Dave's personality is the overwhelming presence in the song. This song, more than almost any other Van Halen song, exudes the party-hearty atmosphere that they were so famous for. It shouldn't have come as a surprise when Diamond Dave departed that he'd be singing about California girls & gigolos. "I don't feel tardy." "I'll Wait" was co-written with Michael McDonald (Doobie Bros., mach II). It was one of the more unique songs in their catalog & one of their best. Eddie proved to be more than adequate on keyboards with this song; his guitar solo is one of his most restrained on any song. "Girl Gone Bad" is the closest thing to filler on the album. Most bands would love to be able to say a song of this quality is the weakest song on the album. But Eddie has a way of elevating the listener's interest when he bursts out with a solo like he does on this one. The final song is "House of Pain" which reminds of some of the songs from Fair Warning. It's a dark, dangerous song that would have fit well on Fair Warning.

1984 was a great closing of the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen. I hated to see him go & never have thought that Sammy Hagar was an adequate replacement. Hagar never had the personality of Diamond Dave &, maybe, that was the whole idea, anyway. How do you replace a Diamond Dave? You can't. I did, kind of, anticipate the new Van Halen with Hagar. I thought it would give Eddie more time with keyboards or fleshing out his leads more (like he really needed to do that, huh?). But the new Van Halen didn't quite take the direction that I thought they would take.

one of the best 80s albums around
2008-09-14 - In the 80s there wasnt that much good music besides Heavy Metal/Hard Rock and in 1983-1984 everyone was into Michael Jackson Thriller crap, but Van Halen's 1984 is one of the few good albums from that era. Its a really good rock album that anyone should own like the debut 1984 is probaly Van Halen's best album and when Van Halen was huge. Containing the AM/FM radio staple too this day that still gets constant airplay, Jump. But there is many other good songs on here like, Panama, Hot For Teacher, House of Pain, and really every song on the album. Hot for Teacher probaly has the best drumming on any Van Halen song around. 1984 also marked the end of an era the last album recorded with orignal lead singer, David Lee Roth. After 1984 came out Van Halen kind of sold out and there genre changed completly when Sammy Hagar came in. When they recorded 5150 Van Halen were stlll good but they lost that sound they had with David Lee Roth. And then in 1988 OU812 came out and it sucked and still sucks to this day. By the 90s Van Halen or the orignal Van Halen was dead albums like Unawful Carnal Of Knowledge and Balance dont compare too the debut album and 1984. gReat album buy today

Van Halen's classic, not full of "Jump"s.
2008-08-07 - Van Halen's classic album, filled up with plenty of risky and innovative guitar riffs (signed of course by, what else?, guitar virtuoso and experimental Eddie Van Halen) which defined the essence of hard rock sound during the 80's.

The subtle blend between hard rock and keyboards worked really well, just for this record and its era, keeping in mind the New Wave movement invaded almost everything then. Much more of it would become tedious...

Excellent vocals, amazing guitar riffs and a few hooking songs made this one of the decade's music exponent, still good enough to enjoy almost after thirty years. However, not all of the songs are as catchy as Jump or Panama, so listener may not expect much more beyond that, but not a bad album anyway with more than a half of good songs.

Some drum sounds on a couple cuts eventually reminds Bonzo's on Led Zeppelin IV.

A must in any 80's collection.