Celebrating the 30th Anniversary Van Halen’s Fair Warning

April 28, 2011 241 Comments

Fair Warning CD To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Van Halen’s magnum opus, we’re declaring it “Fair Warning Week” at VHND, were we’re featuring a different story about the album every day for the next seven days.

Happy Birthday, Fair Warning.

On April 29th, 1981, Van Halen unleashed their darkest album. From the opening out-of-this-world sounds of “Mean Street” to the insane fade out of “One Foot Out the Door” this album is nothing short of a masterpiece. Although it’s the worst selling album ever made with Dave or Sammy (though it did go double platinum), it’s always been one of the favorite albums of many fans. It’s one of those few albums that can still give you goose bumps the thousandth time you hear it.

**Mean Street * Dirty Movies * Sinner’s Swing * Hear about It Later * Unchained * Push Comes to Shove So This is Love? Sunday Afternoon in the Park * One Foot Out the Door**

Much of this album was written in the early morning hours when Ed and Donn Landee would retreat to the studio after the rest of the band had gone home. This practice signaled a turning point in Van Halen’s career, Edward was becoming increasingly frustrated about not being able to express himself the way he wanted to; he felt he was growing musically but was being suppressed by Ted Templeman and Roth. Tensions between the guitarist and the vocalist increased, and Edward briefly considered quitting the band. Alex convinced him to stick it out, and Fair Warning was the result. However, the anger and unhappiness comes through in the music, giving the album its dark undertones. The Fair Warning sessions were also the seed for Edward’s desire to have his own studio, and in fewer than three years, 5150 Studio became a reality in his own backyard.

Is Fair Warning your favorite Van Halen album? What did you think of it the first time you heard it? Favorite songs? How were you guitar players influenced by it? Share your thoughts in our Comments section. (Note that since Sammy had nothing to do with this album, none of the tired “Sammy versus Dave” comments that have been overrunning VHND lately will be allowed in the Fair Warning stories. If you must argue about the singers, stick to this story, where the fans are discussing Sammy’s book).

Filed Under: Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, Van Halen

Scottt

Van Halen at their best! Eddie’s best, rawest, brown-est tone. THE marshall sound. Like the album cover…B R O W N!!! The solo on ‘one foot out the door’ is one my favorites. Even the keyboards are ‘ brown’ !!
Halen High

I love Dave’s lyrics across the whole Fair Warning album – so cool, dark and venomous. They are a great example of the chemistry between he and Eddie in that Dave knew exactly what to come up with.
Roth_Leaps_83

@Dooley —-

“You mean it’s all in the past tense for you???
C’mon, man you gotta step it up again. Dave would approve!!”

LOL…..those frisky days are behind me, brah. But no worries — the swagger of CVH still swirls inside me like an unquenchable vat of molten iron.

BTW, one of the coolest things Eddie ever said was in an interview about the making of “Fair Warning” and he commented about “Unchained” — “that is one of those songs that makes my fur rise and I still wonder how I captured that kind of magic”
Dooley

Leaps:

Right, the coda (ending) of “Unchained” is outstanding.
BoyHowdy

I remember hearing Fair Warning for the first time, my older brother bought it the first day it was out, we listened and were shocked. Unchained was classic Van Halen but the rest was so different from the first 3 albums. I didn’t know what to make of Push Comes to Shove, it was no Dance the Night Away or Everybody Wants Some, it was dark and different. My brother told me it needs to grow on you, the more you listen to it the better it gets, he was right.

On Aug.4 1981 we went to Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto to see for the first time Van Halen on the Fair Warning Tour.
It was what every Rock Show could and should be, at 13 I was shocked, exhilarated and left wanting more. From the opening sounds of On Fire and Diamond Dave gesturing to the ushers to let everyone up against the stage I thought a riot would breakout. This insane energy carried throughout from the one two punch of Hear about it Later and So This is Love to the endless ear ringing from Unchained. We were left in awe staring at the giant VH lighting rig hovering over the stage burning a lifelong impression in our young minds.

For this reason Fair Warning is and always will be my favorite Van Halen album, it has so much depth and you seem to pickup up more with every listen. There was a maturity, confidence and pushing the envelope into areas they had never gone before or since musically. I feel privileged to have seen them at the top of their game and in 1981 there was no stopping these Atomic Punks!
Dave Gunger

“Got myself a brand new Oakland scarf right here a yea….”

“Everybody up!”

“Dance Baby”

“You’ll get some leg tonight for sure….”

AWESOME HARD CORE HALEN!

P.S. “No Boozin”
Craig

After hearing the hit songs from 1984 on the radio, Fair Warning was the first LP I purchased – only one in the store at the time. Apprehensive at first, due to never hearing any of the songs, I was absolutely gobsmacked. I fell in love with a band called Van Halen. I have the rest of their albums, but Fair Warning in my opinion was the best of the six. Mean Street being my favorite track.
Nicky D

Holy Shit this album takes my breath away. The guitar work on this record send chills up and down my spine. By far the best guitar work Edward has ever done. Listen to this with headphones on and you will be blown away by Edwards playing. This man is a genius. The most underated VH album. Meanstreet what else can I say. The solo on push comes to shove is a Fuckin Masterpiece. For you people that dont believe put your headphones on and turn it. KEEP ROCKIN!!!!
Ray

Hear About It Later…one of the top 3 best tracks every recorded with DLR/VH. Fair Warning is my favorite album from the DLR years…
Mike On The Bass

Speaking as a musician…this is the best VH album.
I first heard it on the Mighty KMET in L.A. in April of 1981.
I was leaving school and I heard the last 1/2 of “Push Comes To Shove” and it blew my mind.
Something sounded different about this record. The “polish” of the music was there but the “darkness” seemed to overwhelm the ears and create a picture of who was in charge. It was Eddie!
I never forgot that feeling and it’s still is my “All-Time” favorite album.
This is the album I’d have with me on a desert island.

p.s. only 2 months later I was in the 16th row to see it played live. It was nothing short of a religious experience.
John

I’m 45 and haven’t felt my age until you mentioned it’s the 30th anniversary. BOOM! I can’t believe how the time has flown. This album is timeless. Who here isn’t hoping that the new album (*Can I still call it that?) sounds like this one. While Unchained defined the true Van Halen sound my all time favorite will be Hear About It Later. 4 min and 33 sec of guitar bliss with flanger, chorus, dive bombs…everything.
John

Follow up question: Who here didn’t spend hours staring at the cover wondering what all that violent imagery was about?
Uncle Mucus

Fair Warning, to me is the best Van Halen album. When I was a senior in high school, it was my sound track to my life for that wonderful time. As a young guitar player, I would get “chicken skin” when I would hear the stacked leads from “Hear About It Later”. I could feel a sense of “frustration” from those leads that, apart from the “tapping” stuff Eddie would do, that part of that song echoed the most soul in his playing I ever heard. It made me want to feel like that, when I would play back then and it was the glue with the blues style of my southern roots that put it all together for me. For that, I thank you Eddie! I am just a regular guy that can enjoy picking up the guitar and playing it alone, or with friends. It is the best high there is in a lowdown world at this time.
“Lemon Scented Pledge” (bbl70)

=VH=Rob: I totally agree with your post. The rythym section was such an incredible peice of VH and alot of people don’t realize it. Mike & Al complement Eddie PERFECTLY andtotally make it look easy–you are so right. I am a drummer too and listening to some of those live recordings of VH in the day make me want to buty a cheap bass and start playing… Yeah I am 41 and maybe too old to really learn a new instrument but why the hell not…

Anyway… I liked your post about building your own massive Al-like kit. Mine had three bass drums but the third was for show. I had parts to about four kits and put them all together. I still have my 1966 Slingerland though and itsmy pride& joy. Someone in here postedthat they had the ACTUAL white 1988 OU812 tour kit in their possession. I always loved that kit. It was kind of like two double bass drum kits and he could just swivel and play the back kit on the fly. But let there be no mistake that there isno comparison to the Fair Warning tour black and white kit. Man that thing is rediculous.
J5150C

So there I was, a 16-year old guitarist tearing the plastic off the LP and wondering what I was going to come across, musically speaking. Threw the viynl on my dad’s Denon turn table and BOOOOMMMM!!! Just like when I heard the first VH album, my head was perplexingly spinning from so much magic coming from such a raw sounding guitar. But wait a second, this time around (Fair Warning) the experience was so different. My head wasn’t spinning. No, it was more like me trying to recover from the absence of my jaw, which literally dropped like an atomic bomb to the ground when the the riff to Mean Street began tearing up my dad’s 100w tube Sansui amplifier and 100w JBL screamers! I was so amazed at what I was hearing and just couldn’t perceive nor comprehend what Edward was doing. It was just as complex as Eruption, to say the least… or perhaps more. Because let’s face it, as a guitarist in the late 70′s and early 80′s, new music from VH was more like being a kid and waiting to see what Santa was going to slip under the tree. But this was more meaningful because I was a young guitarist pondering and questioning what mysteries were waiting to be discovered between the R2 nut and the early 80′s Original FRT saddles on my Strat. But guess what, Edward answered those questions for me and I found out that I was just a jaw-dropping, run of the mill guitarist. What a bummer! But man, for a 16-year old to here such wizzardry coming from the king of 10 fingers and 6 strings, life was entirely well for me back in April 1981. Fair Warning was the ultimate power guitar LP to mezmorize us all once again. So the question still stands: Is Fair Warning my favorite VH studio album? I would have to say that it is, along with VH 1. I’m in it for the guitar. Everything else compliments each track. But if the album had been released only with the guitar tracks, or any VH album for that matter, I’d be even happier. That said…

OUT!!
Darrin

Best album ever
Best VH album cover
Best guitar sound
Best VH videos

Please don’t compare the bubble gum of 5150 to the masterpiece that is Fair Warning.
MICAL VEE

The good old days! FAIR WARNING came out on April 29th,couldn’t wait for VAN HALEN to hit Charlotte,N.C.!!!! The boys came to town on August 24th and ROCK history changed for me FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mike

It’s too bad that Unchained is the only song most know from FW. Unchained is killer but far from my fave on the album – Dirty Movies, Mean Street, and Push Comes to Shove are my top three. To me, none of the previous albums had anything like them. Push Comes to Shove is the song I play for naysayers who claim the mighty VH is “limited” – to me it’s an experiment that wildly succeeded.
Dan

I was eleven years old and lying in bed listening to the radio when the DJ introduced a new song from Van Halen called “Unchained”. To this day, I still get the same feeling I got that first time I heard it. Fist pumping rock n roll. The heaviness of the opening riff combined with the funky guitar in the verse and lead into the chorus make for true guitar heaven!

Just like Eddie says “It raises the fur on your arms” Nuff said.
Dean

I totally agree with Rob that FW is Van Halen’s Presence. I’ve noticed that the same people who appreciate these two albums also regard Animals as one of Pink Floyd’s best. It’s just an observation.
charlie

FW was the 4th Van Halen album I ever owned, after I,II, 1984 and F.U.C.K. I remember not liking it very much because it was not what I expected. I played it a couple of times all the way through and started listening to the other tapes instead. After a few months I brought it back out and realized that I was a idiot. Every song is amazing and all together made the best album I have ever listened too. Hear about it later is my favorite song from the album.
Class of ’84

I was a freshman in HS and already a diehard VH fan when FW was unleashed in the Spring of 1981. Each year since their epic debut, I eagerly awaited the next new VH experience…and each album was different and presented it’s own character while maintaining it’s core the classic VH sound and feel. FW did not disappoint. From the opening rif of Mean Street, to the sultry and bluesy slide guitar elements of Dirty Pictures (my personal favorite on this album, if for no other reason than Eddie’s layering in this song…not bad subject matter to fuel male teenage angst either), to Dave’s in your face irreverence in Sinner’s Swing, to the awesome mid album quartet of Hear about It Later, Unchained, Push Comes to Shove, and So This is Love?, to the dark broodiness of Sunday Afternoon in the Park, to the brief and insanely paced One Foot Out the Door, this album thrilled me to the core. I flip flop between FW and Women and Children First as to which is my favorite VH album of time (all incarnations of VH inclusive)…it really depends upon which album I’m in a mood to listen to. The lack of a hit single doesn’t phase me at all, and I’m sure all true VH fans would agree. This is the anti-establishment masterpiece of VH…and it’s gotta be the apex of Eddie’s continual and ongoing search for ultimate tone…brown sound! This is Eddie’s opus of tone, rythym, and solo pyrotechnics. We can only be grateful that Eddie and Donn decided to complete much of the musical work on this album after hours…they produced a masterpiece beyond the comprehension and understanding of the music business establishment. Despite its dark side, I have always found it highly inspiring for Eddie’s inspirational guitar work. Great rock music, epic album, and great memories that will always inspire me and never fade.
pjj

masterpiece
Tater Salad

I searched for Fair Warning for at least a month after seeing the Oakland shows, I had Hear About It Later stuck in my head the whole time. After I got it, I’m sure my friends (who like country/rap/emo) got sick of hearing me say “Fair Warning is so AWESOME!!!”. I gave it a listen this morning, and I think it might be my fave album right now.

When I first listened to it I was in my backyard an it was almost summer. I was getting ready to play fetch with my Golden. Soon as the intro to mean street came on, I had to sit down to take it all in. Still think that is the best intro to an album ever. Pretty soon I was running around the backyard (don’t judge, I didn’t have an iPod that I could take running) because it had so much energy and it made me want to get up and run! Then after school every day I would turn on my walkman(cd) and listen to the album. Then when I go t a memory card in my phone, I would rollerblade while blasting that album on my phone for the whole neighborhood to hear. I got plenty of dirty looks for that then before I went to bed I would turn on my Walkman and listen to it one last time. School sucked but with Van Halen and my dog to keep me company, I had some of the best days of my life.

I love Hear About It Later, it’s such a soothing song yet it still rocks! It reminds me of standing on top of a mountain with the wind blowing through my hair while I’m staring at the amazing views. I want to learn to play it on guitar so bad but i’m not skilled enough yet. And Mean Streets is just an epic song, enough said. Dirty Movies-lol-one of my guy friends was going through my music saw that and gave me the weirdest looks. Then he said I gotta hear that one lol. Then he looked at his phone and started texting(which is a pet peeve of mine). Lol.
hammer

Great album,by far the best guitar by eddie. Hopefully next year we’ll be celebrating the 1′st aniversary of tne next vh album. Come on guys, get to work!
wayne

The Fair Warning cover was a snippet from larger painting called “The Maze” by Canadian artist WIlliam Kurelek who suffered from schizophrenia and depression throughout most of his life. Whether coincidental or not, the agression, angst and torture depicted in the cover formed the basis for many of song themes and definitely the music. Interestingly enough, Ed was reportedly going through many of those emotions at the time this album was made. In retrospect, it was the PERFECT cover to go with the music.
anythingleftinthatbottle

It is ……MEAN STREET…… not ‘Mean Streets’!
Remember when you had to stay up till 2 or 3 in the morning to see the Oakland’ songs on M-TV? We used to party at my buddie “Bear’s” house shootin pool and welcoming whoever came over with some party fav’s. He had a mom who let him do whatever so we did whatever. Had some GREAT keg parties at that house. What a time!
Rocker

The Best of the Roth Era!!
http://www.gemproductionsinc.com kapp

All I can think about when I hear fair warning is that ominous groove that seems to drip off of every song. Edward is so in the pocket and Alex just swings. Mean street just takes you into another dimension of Edward’s playing. Genius is at work throughout this Album! Classic VH at it’s best.
Rude Ricker

EVH at his absolute peak creatively as guitarist- though he wrote better songs in the following years for sure…MEANSTREET intro is fucking berserk. It’s a violent attack that makes sense…then the feedback squeal and fade to the main riff…holy shit (uh what were those chords?)

TONE: A++
CREATIVITY: A+++
SONGWRITING: A
LYRICS: A
ALBUM COHESIVENESS: A+
BAND PERFORMANCE: A+
COVER ART: A+
ALL-TIME HARD ROCK RECORD RANKING: top 10?
NASTY RIFF RECOGNITION: …dance baby…bridge to solo Meanstreet
PRODUCTION BLUNDER: So This is Love volume dip before Roth enters
SONG THAT WOULD NEVER FIT IN: “JUMP”
I’M DrUNk…
Tom

Easily my favorite VH album and one of my favorite’s period.The songs are are well written and played,the sound and overall production is one of the best they have ever had…even Mike’s bass stands out for the first time,even more so with the remaster.It was darker and not as much a feel good party album as the other VH albums,but how its not certified diamond boggles my mind.Anybody who wants to play guitar should own it and try to learn something from it.Hell,any musician should own it.If you listen to rock or play in a rock band and dont own Fair Warning or like it,you’re a poser…dont even try to tell me I’m wrong
bB

I just finished learning Sunday Afternoon in the Park on drums as a tribute to this album!!! Fair Warning is their best drum album!!
David

I remember the day I walked from the shoe store in the mall where I worked to the record store and bought Fair Warning. Just from the cover, I knew this would be different. It looked “violent” and that is exactly what it is from the opening guitar slapping of “Mean Streets” to the ending synth and guitar solo of “One Foot Out the Door” What a great album. And “Sinners Swing” absolutely is one of the best songs Van Halen ever put out.
vm5150

While it might make no sense. As a teenager, during the winter I would walk my dog everynite around the neighborhood to look at xmas lights on peoples houses. Side one, every time. Looking back, I have no idea why. Melancholy feeling? maybe. Looking at the lights was cool, but I think it was something deeper, and to this day at the age of 40, looking back at the age of 16, I dont know why. Maybe after dinner, and the simple stresses of the teenager, I just wanted to be away from mom and dad. Still though to this day when fall comes, Fair warning goes into the car. The same way 5150 and Diver Down goes into the car (or ipod now) in summer. Listening to the intro to Dirty Movies, Hear about it Later, it was all melancholy to me. However i am NOT calling Fair Warning a melancholy album. Cranking up Unchained and several others can still pump my blood to this day. Fair Warning is a great album from start to finish.
papichulo

My fave VH album, with WACF. I think that most of us guitarists here would agree that this is Eddie’s most masterful playing. His technique is outta control, on all of his albums, but this one stands out to me. You don’t find anybody out there who you can say, “How did he do that?”. There are plenty of speed demons out there, and it’s fun to listen to, but with Ed it’s like classical music. He does things that nobody can do. I remember an interview I read with his guitar tech and he said basically that he has the best job in the world, he gets to watch Ed play the guitar. Then he says that when Ed is noodling he does and plays stuff that nobody can do.
Fair WINNING duh

Ah yes Fair Warning…Astonishing that a 25 year old kid could create this stuff…His creativity, enthusiasm, and overall ATTACK with the instrument is mind boggling…even after the following decades of shred madness Ed’s stuff stands out head and shoulders above the rest…even the greats like Vai, Randy, Dime, Satch, P Gilbert…Ed created that universe because he had to.

Thanks to Ed
Thanks to VH
Thanks to the Creator Above
ALBaby

There’s a lot to be said about the 1st song on the album by anyone’s favorite band. But for the 4th VH record, I was totally blown away when I 1st heard “Mean Streets”. One of the greatest songs in their catalog and with a lot of creative diversity that followed on the remainder of Fair Warning. I couldn’t wait to see it live in the summer of 1981. The band just kicked so much ass and I have great memories of the 2 sold out nights they played in MD. Those songs don’t get old or boring after 30 years! Glad that I had such great fortune to see the REAL thing many times, long live the MIGHTY VAN HALEN!
Joel Selvin

I’ve never heard of this album. Must not have been very good.

Just kidding. It’s me. Sparks in ’11. Fair Warning is my desert island disc. I remember going to Woolworths in 1981 when I was 12 with my Mom. I studied that album cover in the store for about a half hour. There is nothing I don’t love about FW. I would definitely love to hear of any songs that were left off of that album.

Had myself one of those dreams of a new song that was pretty realistic. I always chuckle a little when I read of people having them in hear, but not any more. The song I dreamt I heard had a groove that was a cross between Best of Both Worlds and Drop Dead Legs. I even remember listening to the very end on the radio for confirmation, and the DJ said something like, “and there you have it, ‘Gimme My Summertime’ by Van Halen!” I’d say my subcontious is working overtime in overdrive right now. I can taste it!
john

I was seriously influenced by this album and especially the songs Mean street and Hear about it later…VERY dark but very Van Halen….saw them on that tour and they sounded the best back then…..just listen to Eddie on that tour…he was getting sounds that others just drooled over….he is STILL the King…when I first heard that guitar tone on meanstreet….that is what got me hooked…but they cant top their best song….Me Wise Magic….nothing cooks more than that one
http://www.spoolphotography.com Neal Pritchard

Still remember the first time I heard this record round 1982 blaring out of a mates car speakers. Mean Street and the drum intro to So this is love screaming out of those car speakers I am sure added to my hearing loos in my mid 40′s … Not sure I can say it is my favourite record as those 1st 6 records hold so many memories and and killer tracks picking just one over the other I can not do … But Mean Street is my favourite VH tune, the intro alone even after listening to it a 1000 + times still gives me chicken skin each time … KIller tune on a Killer record ….
hdosch

Eddie got me started on guitar. From the beginning the solo from Hear About it Later and the outro from One Foot Out the Door had me mesmerized. 1984 is my favorite as an album, but FW has my favorite ‘moments’.
JoePhishVH

Fair Warning is the best Van Halen album. Period.
Roth_Leaps_83

I dont know if it’s already been mentioned, but early ’81 were dark times in America and I wonder if that affected the angry tone of “Fair Warning”?

CVH wasn’t a socio-political band like U2 or the Clash, but there was a lot of shitty stuff going down early 1981 in the USA and I cant help but think it affected the mindset of the VH boys while they were recording the album.

John Lennon was murdered in Dec. ’80, the Iran Hostage Crisis lasted until Jan. ’81, then President Reagan gets shot in March ’81. Plus, the economy was sliding into recession that year. Overall, not the happiest of times in America.

I’ve never heard Eddie or Dave acknowledge that current events had any influence on the recording of FW, but you cant help but think it affected them at some level.
SCAR

From Meanstreet to One foot out the door – FUCKING AWESOME ASS KICKING ROCK N ROLL!!!! Do your ears a favor and give them a rock n roll treat, Crank up some Fair Warning!!!
Jeff

I bought it first day it came out (11th Grade) and to this day it my favorite album. My only thing with this Album is its 20 minutes to short.
Musicalmike

A boy from Illinois in 1981, already a huge fan of the miracle that was Van Halen, I was BLOWN AWAY by the opening to Mean Street. Rewind, rewind, rewind, rewind… It took me an hour to get to Dirty Movies.. I cherished each second when I listened to the whole album for the first time. I was saying to myself, how in the hell can anybody deny their dominance anymore? I went to school and said “OK, put ur Rush, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath away… Put this in ur boom box and smoke it!!” And later, The Oakland videos only cemented them as the Kings of Rock- n- Roll!! God Bless Van Halen and Happy Birthday FAIR WARNING!!! *Alex Van Halens drumming on the record is equal to Eddies masterful work!*
Waborita

Good to see VH3 getting some love on this message board…..vastly underrated. Hear About It Later is equally underrated and could be the best track on the Van Halen album which has held up best over time – Fair Warning.
ALS

Thank you Edward, Alex, David, and Michael for all the music you have given us. God Bless you all.
hammer

Best guitar by eddie by far. The tone on each instument is perfect. Ed seemed to synch his guitar with Daves voice perfectly. I always liked VH, but when this came out, I was hooked. I had to get a louder stereo in my big block Road Runner so I could make more beutiful noise. I hope VH has a tone similar to FW on their forthcoming album.
Jeff Cohen

I’ve said the same thing for 30 years and I’ll say it again. If I was stuck on a desert island and only had one album to listen to, it would be Fair Warning. Hands down the most perfect album. I remember as a kid cranking Sinner’s Swing as loud as possible to piss my parents off.