Van Halen: The Essential Album-by-Album Guide

VAN HALEN (1978)
Key Tracks: "Runnin' With the Devil," "Jamie's Cryin'"
Quick Take: Van Halen contains all of the band's hallmarks: the bad-boy boogie of "Runnin' With the Devil," the otherwordly guitar wizardry of "Eruption," a swaggering ode to a slut ("Jamie?s Cryin'"), and a hyperenergized, this-is-the-sway-we-do-it-in-Hollywood cover song (the Kinks' "You Really Got Me"). The group's major weaknesses are evident too, such as its lack of lyrical depth, side two duds, and penchants for oldtimey numbers hammed up for minstrelsy effect ("Ice Cream Man," a lecherous ditty originally by bluesman John Brim).

Van Halen (Warner Bros.)