Just in case rock fans need a reminder that Van Halen’s “Unchained” is among rock’s red-hot classics, this video should light a fire under their collective asses.
The folks at The Tapes Archive put together the video above by sourcing four separate videos of Van Halen performing “Unchained”. Below is what they posted along with the remix video:
This Van Halen fan-made video is a mash-up of four TV appearances the band did in 1981-82. Besides lip-syncing the song, David Lee Roth also mimics playing a guitar in two of the videos. “Unchained” is a popular song by the American rock band Van Halen. It was released as the second single from their 1981 album “Fair Warning.” The song was written by the band’s lead vocalist, David Lee Roth, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony.
“Unchained” is known for its energetic and hard-hitting rock sound, which was characteristic of Van Halen’s music during that era. David Lee Roth referred to the song as “Hit the Ground Running” while they were working on it. The song makes significant usage of the MXR M-117 flanger, which became a famous sound and pushed sales of the pedal. The song was responsible for popularizing the sound of the flanger. On the Eddie Van Halen Flanger MXR pedal, a preset was also included for the flanger. It employs a Drop D tuning, and it intersperses suspended fourth chords throughout the piece.
During the song’s interlude, producer Ted Templeman is heard singing for the first and only time with the band, saying, “Come on, Dave, gimme a break!” The line is remarkable because it was Templeman’s only vocal contribution to the band. The song features Eddie Van Halen’s signature guitar work, including his innovative guitar technique. Alex Van Halen’s powerful drumming and Michael Anthony’s backing vocals add to the song’s dynamic sound. David Lee Roth’s charismatic and flamboyant vocals also contribute to the song’s overall energy.
Special thanks to Simon Alkon for the help with the Ted Templeman part.
Source Videos Used:
Van Halen 1982 performing on French TV https://youtu.be/UEmx2PQ-2jc?si=QTHor…
Van Halen Unchained German TV 1981 https://youtu.be/wdH53lMzuHQ?si=jMDBU…
Van Halen Unchained Spanish TV 1981 https://youtu.be/j8Dz3Z0LydU?si=Di9C_…
VAN HALEN Unchained French TV 1981 https://youtu.be/RspeLQKvV5c?si=ls1Fl…
Guitar god Eddie Van Halen is immortalized with his own Funko POP vinyl figure! Our best-seller in years is one of the coolest (and certainly the cutest!) Van Halen items ever!
Eddie’s perfectly captured – wearing his 1984 stage outfit, playing his famous red-white-and-black striped 5150 guitar, airborne in his iconic scissor-kick jump, and smiling as he always did onstage!