Ep. 443 Today's Peep Issues A Fair Warning

Fair Warning turns 45 and it messes with my head, because it still sounds like a band pushing the amps into the red right now. A Michael Anthony clip sent me down the rabbit hole, and once I started thinking about how long 1981 really was, I couldn’t stop. 

I trace that feeling back to 1978, when rock music seemed to reboot overnight. Van Halen’s debut hit like nothing else, and The Cars brought a new wave sound that felt just as fresh in a totally different way. I also share a personal story from my days working at an Oregon truck stop, when someone casually told me, “You’ll find out soon” about a band called Van Halen, before most of the country even knew the name. 

From there we get into a full-on Fair Warning appreciation session: why it’s often called the slowest-selling David Lee Roth era Van Halen album, why that “least commercial” edge makes it special, and why I think it’s some of the fiercest, hardest classic hard rock the band ever made. I talk Alex Van Halen’s underrated drumming, Eddie’s guitar aggression, Michael Anthony’s harmonies, and tracks like “Mean Street” and “Unchained,” plus the little synthesizer hint that foreshadows where the band goes later. 

If you love Van Halen, album deep-dives, classic rock history, and the messy gap between critics and fans, hit play, then subscribe, share the podcast with a friend, and leave a review so more rock obsessives can find us.

Transcript

Breath, Friday Vibes, And Hello

SPEAKER_00 0:00

When you get up in the morning, stand erect, shoulders back, take a real deep breath like this. Welcome to Pat's Peeps four hundred and forty-three on a Friday. It's a Friday. Good to be with you. Not only is it a Friday, but it's beautiful weather outside as I look out my studio window into the beautiful foothills of Northern California. The sun is out, is a nice breeze. I'll bet it's in the mid-70s. Absolutely gorgeous, so this is a really nice day. Thank you for listening once again. My name is Pat Walsh, host of the Pat Walsh Show, my radio show heard Monday through Friday, 7 to 10 p.m. KFPK News Radio, 93.1 FM at 1530 AM. And as we do, stream live everywhere on your free iHeart app, this podcast, the Pat's peeps, on all of your streaming platforms. Thank you. Um yeah, so today I got to thinking I saw this uh little clip from Michael Anthony. Michael Anthony is the uh was the bass player for Van Halen. Now he hangs out with Sammy Hagar, all of Sammy's projects from the Circle and Chicken Foot, all of that stuff. Uh, you know, Michael Anthony. I love that dude, man. What a you know, what a great guy. He and Sammy. I just, you know, those guys seem like they'd be so fun to hang out with, you know. And uh so he had he had this clip, and I thought it was today, but it isn't. It was from April 29th, so we're heck. Today's the 8th of May. Already the 8th of May. But he was talking about this album from Van Halen, and again, it just gives you that real perception of time, like, wow. You know, it's like one of those things, how could that have been that long ago? It just couldn't have been that long ago. The thing about Van Halen to me is my graduating year of 78, you know, there was two records, two bands that it to my mind came out that year and released records, released albums that were game changers. I mean, like, I never heard this before. This is really something new. One of them being Van Halen, their debut album, and the other one being The Cars. Like, I had never being a guy who enjoys all kinds who enjoyed even at that time, all kinds of rock, everything from you know, from Credence Clearwater Revival to Black Sabbath and Judas Priest and Littlefeet, everything in between, Frank Zappa, I I have an appreciation for the dead, all of that music. Um, but I had never heard anything like the cars. I mean, there was Devo and there was craft work, craft work, I think, was kind of the forerunner of this sort of oh, I don't know, technail techno you know, from Germany, you know, Otto Bahn and Trans-Europe Express, and then Devo, and so here comes the cars with a kind of a different sound. This new wave sound. And I remember first hearing it and thinking, wow, this is so different. But the same thing with Van Halen. Even though I was listening to heavy rock, all sorts of rock, like I say, including heavy rock. No, we had never heard anything like that first record with running with the devil. You know, talking about love, atomic punk. You know, of course the kings, the remake of the kinks. Eruption the Van Halen style, the Eddie Van Halen guitar style, the little screech from Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, and always overlooked drums Alex Van Halen. I had never heard anything like that before, quite honestly. And I remember I was working at a truck stop as a cook, I swear, as a line cook in Wilsonville, Oregon, at the Iron Skillet. And they had just hired a new cook. And so this guy, me and him, were getting ready for the dinner rush for the truckers to come in. And we're talking about music. I was 18. This guy was older than me, maybe 22, maybe something like that, I don't know. Early 20s. And he says to me, You ever heard of a band named Van Halen? No one had heard of Van Halen unless you lived in LA and were checking out the rock scene. They were not, Van Halen was not on the national scene yet. I said, Nah, I never heard of him. And I had heard of a lot of music, but I never heard of these guys, Van Halen. He goes, Well, you will soon. And I thought, alright. Well, we'll see. And sure enough, so that was 70, I don't know, probably well, 70, I guess early 78. He says, You're gonna find out. And the next thing you know, here comes his album. Wow! Heavy, super different. I want to say today, happy birthday to Alex Van Halen. The drummer for Van Halen, Eddie's brother, often overlooked in the band for whatever reason. Honestly, one of the better drum solos I've ever seen live in concert. Alex, happy birthday, 73 today. Of course, we lost Eddie. And so going back to what I saw with Michael Anthony with his post, it was April 29th, I believe. 28th, 29th. Well, I'll tell you, I'll tell you when it was. April 29th, yeah. He was talking about this album, which is the fourth album by Van Halen. Released April 29th, 1981. So it was the 45th anniversary, and that just made me think, wow, you gotta be kidding me. 45 years. There's people listening to me right now, not even 45 years old, and I'm rocking on to this thing, like many of you might have been. By the way, this is apparently the slowest-selling album of the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen. Slowest selling. I will always say that the Van Halen, the first one, is my favorite just because of what it was, what it means to me. Um, I listened to it over and over and over. So I'm always gonna be that's my favorite. But if I had the other favorite, because this is also my favorite. If that's okay, if I can have two. It is just unbelievable. You know, but to me, it's the heaviest of the hard-driven Van Halen. A lot of the other ones had uh, you know, cover songs. You know, dancing in the street. It was just which I like. But this one was heavier to me. They decided they would uh really rock it out on this particular album. The album went to number five on the Billboard 200. The single, so this is love, failed to even reach the Billboard Hot 100. This is one of the things I love about this record, honestly, is it is one of the least commercial. I'm surprised that it went to number five. It went to um well it went to very like 110 on another list here, but it doesn't matter. But the album sold more than two million copies in the US, but again, it was still the band's slowest-selling album of the David Lee Roth era. Despite the record's commercially disappointing sales. See, that's the thing. And I will tell you that Michael Anthony was saying that this is his favorite, one of his top favorite records. I agree wholeheartedly. If I go to Van Halen, even though Van Halen won is still my favorite, I'll put it on once in a while. But the honest truth is I played it so much that I had to give it a break because I'd listen to it all the time, especially Eruption and You really Got Me and things like that. So this is my go-to of all the Van Halen's now. Van slowest selling David Lee Roth album, but and commercially disappointing, but this album was met mostly with positive reviews from critics and those of us who were really into the Van Halen thing, the heavy part. It was actually listed by Esquire as one of the 75 albums every man should own. Not everyone should own. Oh, that's a good topic for my show tonight. Every an album every man should own. I think I'm gonna play some of this. Now remember, I don't own the rights to this, I have to tell you. But Mean Street, off of fair warning, the album is so good, track by track.

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Pats peeps, four forty-three on a Friday wife, sting in the street, that's the craziest time I fly, and I see the same old faces, and I hear that same old time. And I'm searching for the latest thing I bring is Mr. Team. I'm talking some new kids. What's like if you ain't never seen this?

Critics, Darkness, And Track Highlights

SPEAKER_00 10:51

The village voices Robert Christga rating this album fair warning of B-Whates? Come on, Robert, what do you know, man? Signifying a quote, competent or mildly interesting record, usually featuring at least three worthwhile cuts. It featured not just Eddie's latest sound effects, but a few good jokes along with the mean ones, and a rhythm section that can handle punk speed emotionally and technically. He also explains at times that Eddie could even be said to be to play an expressive lyrical role. He's ex- What he's expressing is hard to say. Well, listen for yourself. B minus? Particular because it lacks any song as purely fun as the hits from the first three records, and whatever the reason, Fair Warning winds up as a dark, dirty, nasty piece of work. That's right. It certainly does. For some of us Van Halen fans, we were very happy not to have that. We wanted the darker sound that you're talking about. We didn't want the just at least I can speak for myself, just the purely fun hits. I wanted a little something nastier and more menacing from Van Halen. And I thought this one provided it very well.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

So what's the back down like you won't find my hotel?

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Going back to what Stephen Thomas Earl Wine had to say, dull it is not, and Fair Warning contains some of the fiercest, hardest music that Van Halen ever made. He's right. Says there's little question that Eddie won whatever internal skirmishes that they had, even with the lack of a single dedicated instrumental showcase. I'm happy about that too. No instrumentals on this.

SPEAKER_01 14:27

See what they're seeing.

SPEAKER_00 14:32

You know sucks though, Rolling Stones who gave the album two and a half stars out of five stars. Two and a half out of five. Man, that is just come up. Again, Rolling Stone used to be a worthwhile magazine way, way, way, way back when. They were two into um Swing Boy George and Culture Club at this time.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

Danger in the rear of your menace, trouble in the wheel.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

This is too dangerous for Rolling Stone magic.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

It looks so fucking good, so sexy.

SPEAKER_00 15:33

Hear about it later, but you just go right down the record. In my opinion, there is not a bad song on this record. And you know what I love about uh Van Halen? Some about underrated harmonies. I love it when Michael Anthony harmonizes and almost gives that juvenile sounding harmony in there. I don't know how to describe it. But he really gives Van Halen that really special sound. There he is right there. Yeah, I love that sound. Unchained, one of my favorite Van Halen out songs is on this one. I mean, come on. So good, Batch Peeps, 443. Happy Friday.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

I can't get that from here, boy. I don't care where we're from going. Here's New York and Red Blain. I'm something no more.

unknown 17:39

But you never miss me till I got a fast city of dress.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

I don't know. I gotta give it better than a B minus. What do you think? I know music is very subjective. Push comes to shove, so this is love. I mean god, it's a good record. Hey, make sure to listen to my show tonight. I may have to do that quest that that thought they had. Records that every man should own. I kinda like that.

SPEAKER_01 18:22

Does it seem cold in here to you? What's there to do tonight? Anything? Give me another cigarette over here.

SPEAKER_00 18:35

Clutch would be another one, I think. Clutch would be another album, one of an album by Clutch that every man should own. Man, back there, back then, David had a sultry, cold voice.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Some people live apart. They break your heart, so damn you sell. And then one night and sunny victory.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Yeah, no real hits on this, which I loved, you know, because it didn't burn any of it out. You know, they'd play this one on the radio once in a while. Now, it's not bassine. You know, Michael Anthony working with Alex right there, the birthday boy.

SPEAKER_01 19:27

I'm a living proof. Catch that smiley and I'll be double take my keyboard.

Synth Hints, Jump Foreshadowing, Goodbye

SPEAKER_00 19:53

I'm just getting ball going out my way Yeah, some bands are just so good, man. Ah, Van Halen. Sunday afternoon in the park. I mean, this is getting down. This is this is menacing, grungy, nasty. I love that. And you're starting to hear what right there. At the ending of this album, the synthesizer is introduced, which of course would then be exploited to greater effects on later albums. Can you say jump 1984? Finally, one foot out the door. So you could argue that Sunday afternoon in the park, the previous one, that some would say, yeah, well, that's an instrumental. Well, it's kind of a lead-in to this song, One Foot Out the Door. I also have One Foot Out the Door. I gotta go to work. Happy Friday to you. I agree with you, Michael Anthony. It is one of my favorites, right there at the very top. Have yourselves a great Friday. See you on the radio.