Van Halen

Van Halen as a must addition to favorite Hard Rock classics is truly a phenomenal choice.  In personal honesty, I lean toward Van Halen as an ultimate Hard Rock favorite.

I chose to feature "Panama," "Runnin' with the Devil," and "I'll Wait" because, in my opinion alone, they best represent the unique sound in Van Halen's lyrics and instrumentals.  The guitar in "Eruption" defined the song.  The drums in "I'll Wait" defined the song.  The lyrics in "Panama" and "Runnin' with the Devil" defined both songs.  My opinion alone.

In my first post on Set List, I said that every artist has a unique sound to offer.  For the most part, this is true with Van Halen.  However, "I'll Wait" ponders in my mind.  Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran once said in a documentary that every member of the original line up, as he put it, had to be heard all the time.  I imagine every rock band feeling the same sentiment.  "I'll Wait" stands out especially to the point Nick was stating.  Vocals aside of course, the drums had to be heard and the guitar had to be heard.  On an interesting note, somewhere in the late two-minute mark, the beat went off course and everyone went their own way.  When the beat settled back into the original course of the song, everyone followed.  As just a fan, I thought this sound was musically creative...again my opinion alone.

Lead singers seem to come and go with Van Halen, but despite the back and forth, I found in research that the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 and ranked 7th in VH1's list of Top 100 Hard Rock artists of all time.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Halen)

I am not a musician.  I am not a song or album critic.  I have no professional knowledge of the music industry.  I am an avid fan, however.  Van Halen as a must addition in this post and in "Classics Part 2 : A Must Addition" show how one band alone can leave such a strong imprint in the world of musical intrigue.