“Hear About It Later” is the fourth track on Fair Warning.
This song was originally written on a keyboard. It was later recorded on a Fender Stratocaster.
The video for this song (shown below) was one of three live videos released for this album recorded at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA, during a three-day stint, 06/11/81 through 06/13/81.
“Hear About It Later” offers another classic Edward Van Halen introduction, possibly using effects such as a flanger, but somehow made wholly unique in its execution. With the sole exception of the opening of Van Halen II’s “Women in Love“, the intro to “Hear About it Later” is Edward Van Halen’s most melodic opening to a song in his recorded career and it does not rely on the lightning fast pyrotechnics of his solos on, most noticeably, “Eruption” from the first album, “Spanish Fly” from Van Halen II, and even of the opening of Fair Warning’s “Mean Street“.
Once the listener has settled in to the beauty and resonance of the opening of the album, Roth’s howl and Eddie Van Halen’s overdubbed riffing initiate another more serious song with “Hear About It Later”, with the speaker wanting to be left alone from complaining neighbors and onlookers, wanting to run for his money, that’s all, without wasting time. Roth’s nearly spoken-word approach with Edward Van Halen’s subtly crunching riffing combine with the thunder of Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony’s booming rhythm section. But the best part occurs mid-song. Not delivered as a typical solo, the “solo” section begins with a total dropout of the guitar, relegated to several bars of a cowbell-drums-bass groove setup. Then, Edward Van Halen joins in, first riffing, then exploding into a solo with the other players, before an outro that engages his considerable skills of speed without losing feeling. When Roth returns, we do not get another verse so much as an extended chorus with a grandiose finish. When Roth produces a final yelp, we have been taken on a musical journey unfamiliar to Van Halen fans to that point in the band’s career.
Official Music Video
Eddie’s isolated guitar
David Lee Roth’s original hand-written lyrics from 1981:
