Women and Children First (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Women and Children First
Type = Album
Artist = Van Halen


Released = March 26, 1980
Recorded = 1980
Genre = Hard rock
Length = 33:13
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Producer = Ted Templeman
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:9ptxlfde5cqi link]
*"Rolling Stone" "1980 Review" (Not Rated) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/vanhalen/albums/album/235992/review/5945525/women_and_children_first link] |
Last album = "Van Halen II"
(1979)
This album = "Women and Children First"
(1980)
Next album = "Fair Warning"
(1981)

"Women and Children First" is the third album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1980. It basically continues the trends laid out on the first two albums, relying on the vocals of David Lee Roth and the guitar playing of Eddie Van Halen.

This is the first Van Halen album to feature all original band compositions. This album strays from the more pop-sounding Van Halen II and has a more raw sound. For example, the opening track, "And the Cradle Will Rock...", begins with what sounds like guitar chords, but is, in fact, a phase shifter-effected Wurlitzer electric piano played through Van Halen's 1960's model 100-watt Marshall Plexi amplifier.

"Everybody Wants Some!!" was featured in the 1985 comedy "Better Off Dead", during a sequence featuring a singing, guitar-playing claymation hamburger.

"Could This Be Magic?" contains the only female backing vocal ever recorded for a Van Halen song — Nicolette Larson sings during some of the choruses. The rain sound in the background is not an effect - the studio was hot during the recording of this song, so they opened the outside door for some fresh air. It was raining outside, and they decided to leave the sound of rainrdrops on the recording.

The album contains a hidden track at the end of "In a Simple Rhyme," a brief instrumental piece entitled "Growth." It was supposed to start the band's next album, "Fair Warning", but this did not occur. "Growth" was a staple of the band's live shows with Roth and often used as the start of their encores.

Only one single was released from the album, the keyboard driven "And the Cradle Will Rock...." Although the single was not a success like the previous singles "Dance the Night Away" or the cover of "You Really Got Me," the album itself was well received and further entrenched the band as a popular concert draw. The song "Everybody Wants Some!!" was also a concert staple through the 1984 tour, and continued to be played by David Lee Roth after he left Van Halen.

Several outtakes from these sessions exist, including an unreleased instrumental titled often referred to as "Act Like It Hurts", which was the title Eddie originally wanted for "Tora! Tora!".

Track listing

All songs by Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth, Edward Van Halen and Alex Van Halen

ide One

#"And the Cradle Will Rock..." – 3:33†
#"Everybody Wants Some!!" – 5:08
#"Fools" – 5:57
#"Romeo Delight" – 4:21

ide Two

#

"Tora! Tora!" – :57
#"Loss of Control" – 2:38
#"Take Your Whiskey Home" – 3:10
#"Could This Be Magic?" – 3:11
#"In A Simple Rhyme" – 4:39

† denotes a single

Personnel

*David Lee Roth - lead vocals
*Eddie Van Halen - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
*Michael Anthony - bass, backing vocals
*Alex Van Halen - drums

Production

*Producer: Ted Templeman
*Engineers: Donn Landee, Gene Meros
*Remastering: Chris Bellman
*Project coordinator: Jo Motta
*Creative consultant: Pete Angelus
*Art direction: Richard Seireeni
*Cover art concept: Pete Angelus
*Cover photo: Norman Seeff

Charts

Album

Billboard (North America)

ingles

Billboard (North America)

ee also

*HMS Birkenhead (Origin of the phrase "women and children first")