Fair Warning
Encyclopedia
Fair Warning is the fourth studio album
by American
hard rock
band Van Halen
. Released in 1981, it sold more than two million copies, but was still the band's slowest-selling album of the David Lee Roth
era. Despite the album's commercially disappointing sales, Fair Warning was met with mostly positive reviews from critics.http://www.allmusic.com/album/fair-warning-r20985/review
The front cover art features a detail from "The Maze", a painting by the Canadian artist William Kurelek
which depicts his tortured youth. The album was listed by Esquire
as one of the 75 Albums Every Man Should Own.
wished to emphasize the pop influence that emerged on the previous two albums (which brought the band increased attention and a wider appeal), while guitarist Eddie Van Halen
preferred to explore darker, longer and generally more complex song-structures that emphasized his innovative guitar work. Eddie clearly prevailed, as the album in fact featured longer, darker, more aggressive guitar-oriented material. Fair Warning also ushered in the first appearance of synthesized keyboards on a Van Halen record, played by Eddie. Despite the synthesizers, Fair Warning contained no radio hits (although "So This Is Love?" charted briefly) and included one instrumental, the synth-heavy "Sunday Afternoon in the Park".
The album's cover artwork is accompanied by an insert of a black-and-white picture of the band, as well as a view of a ghetto drywall. This drywall has a wire running across it, cracked windows at the top and a Roth-era Van Halen logo with plaster cracked over the left wing. Also on the wall is a lyric from the album's opening song, "Mean Street".
A retrospective review by Allmusic's Steven Thomas Erlewine found the album fairly positive. In the review, he initially stated that "it's a dark, strange beast, partially because it lacks any song as purely fun as the hits from the first three records" and that "whatever the reason, Fair Warning winds up as a dark, dirty, nasty piece of work". However, he contradicted that "dull it is not and Fair Warning contains some of the fiercest, hardest music that Van Halen ever made. There's little question that Eddie Van Halen won whatever internal skirmishes they had, [...] even with the lack of a single dedicated instrumental showcase". He concluded that "nastiness is the defining characteristic of Fair Warning, which certainly doesn't make it bunches of fun, but it showcases the coiled power of Van Halen better than any other album, which makes it worth visiting on occasion."
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
. Released in 1981, it sold more than two million copies, but was still the band's slowest-selling album of the David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
era. Despite the album's commercially disappointing sales, Fair Warning was met with mostly positive reviews from critics.http://www.allmusic.com/album/fair-warning-r20985/review
The front cover art features a detail from "The Maze", a painting by the Canadian artist William Kurelek
William Kurelek
William Kurelek, CM was a Canadian artist and writer. His work was influenced by his childhood on the prairies, his Ukrainian-Canadian roots and his Roman Catholicism.- Life :...
which depicts his tortured youth. The album was listed by Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
as one of the 75 Albums Every Man Should Own.
Background and production
Fair Warning was one of the first albums to reflect the rift in the Van Halen power structure; David Lee RothDavid Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
wished to emphasize the pop influence that emerged on the previous two albums (which brought the band increased attention and a wider appeal), while guitarist Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
preferred to explore darker, longer and generally more complex song-structures that emphasized his innovative guitar work. Eddie clearly prevailed, as the album in fact featured longer, darker, more aggressive guitar-oriented material. Fair Warning also ushered in the first appearance of synthesized keyboards on a Van Halen record, played by Eddie. Despite the synthesizers, Fair Warning contained no radio hits (although "So This Is Love?" charted briefly) and included one instrumental, the synth-heavy "Sunday Afternoon in the Park".
The album's cover artwork is accompanied by an insert of a black-and-white picture of the band, as well as a view of a ghetto drywall. This drywall has a wire running across it, cracked windows at the top and a Roth-era Van Halen logo with plaster cracked over the left wing. Also on the wall is a lyric from the album's opening song, "Mean Street".
Reception
The Village Voices Robert Christgau rated Fair Warning a B-, signifying "a competent or mildly interesting record that will usually feature at least three worthwhile cuts." He stated that 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 explained that "at times Eddie could even be said to play an expressive – lyrical? – role. Of course, what he's expressing is hard to say. Technocracy putting a patina on cynicism".A retrospective review by Allmusic's Steven Thomas Erlewine found the album fairly positive. In the review, he initially stated that "it's a dark, strange beast, partially because it lacks any song as purely fun as the hits from the first three records" and that "whatever the reason, Fair Warning winds up as a dark, dirty, nasty piece of work". However, he contradicted that "dull it is not and Fair Warning contains some of the fiercest, hardest music that Van Halen ever made. There's little question that Eddie Van Halen won whatever internal skirmishes they had, [...] even with the lack of a single dedicated instrumental showcase". He concluded that "nastiness is the defining characteristic of Fair Warning, which certainly doesn't make it bunches of fun, but it showcases the coiled power of Van Halen better than any other album, which makes it worth visiting on occasion."
Track listing
All songs by Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen.- "Mean Street" – 5:00
- "Dirty Movies" – 4:08
- "Sinner's Swing!" – 3:09
- "Hear About It Later" – 4:35
- "UnchainedUnchained (song)"Unchained" is a song from Van Halen's fourth album, Fair Warning. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen wrote the main riff at 4:00 in the morning with engineer Donn Landee while they were doing some overdubbing on the album. The song features prominent use of the MXR M-117 flanger, which became a popular...
" – 3:29 - "Push Comes To Shove" – 3:49
- "So This Is Love?So This Is Love?"So This Is Love?" is a rock song written by the group Van Halen for their 1981 album Fair Warning. It is one of four singles issued for the album. It peaked at #110 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #15 on the U.S...
" – 3:06 - "Sunday Afternoon in the Park" (Instrumental) – 1:59
- "One Foot Out the Door" – 1:58
Personnel
- David Lee RothDavid Lee RothDavid Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
- lead vocals - Eddie Van HalenEddie Van HalenEdward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, backing vocals - Michael Anthony - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Alex Van HalenAlex Van HalenAlexander Arthur "Alex" Van Halen is a Dutch-born American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Originally, his brother Eddie had taken lessons for drums, while Alex practiced guitar...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Production
- Producer: Ted Templeman
- Engineers: Donn Landee, Gene Meros
- Remastering: Chris Bellman, Gregg Geller
- Project coordinator: Jo Motta
- Art direction: Richard Seireeni
- Design: Pete Angelus
- Cover design: Pete Angelus
- Cover artwork: From The Maze by William KurelekWilliam KurelekWilliam Kurelek, CM was a Canadian artist and writer. His work was influenced by his childhood on the prairies, his Ukrainian-Canadian roots and his Roman Catholicism.- Life :...
- Photography: Greg Gorman, Neil Zlozower
- Inlay photography: Greg Gorman
Certifications
Album
Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Pop Albums | 5 |
Singles
Billboard (North America)| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | "So This Is Love? So This Is Love? "So This Is Love?" is a rock song written by the group Van Halen for their 1981 album Fair Warning. It is one of four singles issued for the album. It peaked at #110 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #15 on the U.S... " |
Mainstream Rock | 15 |
| 1981 | "Mean Street (Song)" | Mainstream Rock | 12 |
| 1981 | "Push Comes to Shove" | Mainstream Rock | 29 |
| 1981 | "Unchained Unchained (song) "Unchained" is a song from Van Halen's fourth album, Fair Warning. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen wrote the main riff at 4:00 in the morning with engineer Donn Landee while they were doing some overdubbing on the album. The song features prominent use of the MXR M-117 flanger, which became a popular... " |
Mainstream Rock | 13 |