On the band’s first two albums the recording time had been around two weeks, slotted in between the live gigs the band continued to play. For this third album, a similar occurrence took place, with the festive period of December and into the new year of January 1980 chosen to record their follow up to “Van Halen II”. Though the band continued to utilise a ‘live’ environment in their recording session for this album, there was more studio overdubs on this album, as well as less emphasis on utilising backing vocals and more of David Lee Roth being the sole focus of the vocals. There was also no cover songs played on this album, most likely the result of the band having been able to compose enough songs of their own as they were out on the road, as well as bringing in some songs they had recorded as demos in the years before the band got their recording contract.
All of this came together quickly, with the album being released within a month of the recording and mixing being completely and led to the release of the band’s third album, one that was described by one critic as "[the] record where the group started to get heavier, both sonically and, to a lesser extent, thematically” titled “Women and Children First”.
Van Halen was always a band that wanted to have an opening track that grabbed by the... shirt... and took a hold of you from the opening beat, and the opening here of “And the Cradle Will Rock...” does that again. The opening begins with what sounds like a guitar, but according to Eddie is actually a phase shifter-effected Wurlitzer electric piano played through his amplifier. Yeah, I don’t understand it either, but it sounds great, and once Roth hits in with his vocals and scream of “Wow”, and Eddie’s riffing and soloing over Michael Anthony’s solid bass guitar riff, everything fits together like it should. Put the album on and crank that start and you’ll be immediately drawn in to the album. Following this comes another great song intro, this being the jungle drums from Alex Van Halen, along with Roth doing his best Tarzan impression and the opener slowly building before breaking into the opening riff proper at the 75 second mark, and we’re away! There is another breakdown in the middle of the track with a similar slow build back into the harder tones of the song. There’s lots of Roth squeals throughout and Eddie breaks in and out a couple of times during the track. The song is “Everybody Wants Some!!” and it has also become one of the band’s most loved tracks, with appearances in several movies over time which are all enhanced by having it a part of them.
“Fools” had been written some years earlier and had been played live as early as 1975. It bases itself hard on a blues riff from Eddie and conversational vocals from Dave that he used to love to engage in, along with the requisite squeals that punctuate this album in particular. This is the one track on the album where there is a noticeable heavy influence of blues in the song, albeit in a very Van Halen way. “Romeo Delight” kicks things into a higher gear, powered along initially by Roth’s great vocal delivery, fast and biting and breezing along, followed by Eddie’s guitar chiming in to push into a higher gear. The breakdown in the middle slows it all down before the build to the finish to off the first side of the album in style.
“Tora! Tora!”, the instrumental that opens up side two of the album, endlessly reminds me of the beginning of the Spinal Tap song “Rock and Roll Creation”. Have a listen to them both together one time, and I’d be surprised if you didn’t agree. Spinal Tap ripping off another artist? Insane! This segues straight into “Loss of Control”, a song that had been played live on different occasions all the way back to 1977, which opens with a ripping guitar solo piece from Eddie and then Dave pulling off typical Dave vocals including falsetto backing. This is one of Van Halen’s fastest ever songs, with barely a break between all members of the band before its conclusion. Oh, if only the rest of the album had stayed at this tempo, it would have made for a more fascinating spectacle. Great song.
“Take Your Whiskey Home” is a song that originally came from a demo the band had recorded at Cherokee Studios in 1974, before Michael Anthony had joined the band. The version for this album did have some revisions made to it both lyrically and musically. This settles back into a solid rhythm, with Roth’s vocals mostly set in a normal register tone apart from the squeals that he intermittently lets loose. "Could This Be Magic?" contains the only female backing vocal ever recorded for a Van Halen song, with Nicolette Larson, who is best known for her work with Neil Young, singing during some of the choruses. The rain sound in the background also is not an effect, it came from the rain that was falling during the recording of this song outside. This is followed by “In a Simple Rhyme”, which also originally came from the same demo as “Take Your Whiskey Home”. It has that same sound of that era of the band without the real breakout guitar riffing you may have expected. Michael Anthony’s bass guitar is prominent throughout, and Eddie’s solo DOES mirror the excitement that he provided with such pieces in those years before the band had been discovered. The end of the track has a hidden song titled “Growth” which lasts for about 20 seconds. Apparently at the time the band was recording this album, they were also considering starting what would become their next album, Fair Warning, with a continuation of "Growth," but did not eventually go through with that idea.
It’s always an interesting conversation when you come across a Van Halen fan when you talk about favourite eras of the band and more importantly the progression of the albums in the catalogue. There is a definite skewing of which are the fans favourite depending on what age and what time they found the band, and also just what they are looking for from their music.
“Women and Children First” does seem to be a change in course from the first two albums, and one that continued onto the following release “Fair Warning”. There is a more concerted heavy riff through most of the songs, often at a faster pace than the first two albums, and a reliance more on Eddie Van Halen’s song riffs than the individual spurts of brilliance in his chosen solo slot. There is STILL that of course, he doesn’t skimp on that here, but the songs riffs seem more important here to complete the tracks to a better finish. He and Michael Anthony’s bass lines combine well here to build a harder edge and better filled tracks, a depth in sound that carries through the room out of the stereo or into your ears through headphones. David Lee Roth moves further out front and more in your face on this album as well, taking control of the front of house, something that also continued into the next album.
As I have mentioned before, I came into Van Halen through ‘1984’ like a lot of my generation. It was the album of that time in music, that saw Eddie’s growing love of the synth dominate. From that point in time, mostly over the next decade, I found all of the five albums that preceded that hit, and found a sound that actually moves around and climbs far more than I thought it would when I first listened to those albums. And one of the biggest movements I found was between “Van Halen II” and this album. I was well enmeshed in the heavy metal genre by the time I heard this album, and when I first heard it I more or less guessed that it would mostly of the style that the band had on the debut and sophomore album. So I was truly surprised by songs such as “Romeo Delight”, “Loss of Control” and “In a Simple Rhyme”, which have large moments at least, if not entire tracts, that verge on metal music, in heaviness and speed. And the opening two songs, probably the best known from the album, in “And the Cradle Will Rock” and “Everybody Wants Some”, are only a tiny adjustment and decision away from being full blown metal anthems. That of course would have been an interesting thought for the fan base at the time this album was released. Were they looking for that ramping up in a more aggressive style, or were they just looking for more of the same? I’m not sure, but by the time I’d discovered the album it suited my tastes at that period.
It’s probably easy to see that I really like this album. It had been some time since I had last pulled this album for a listen before the past week, and I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to react to it. And the result has been interesting, because I had listened to it ten times prior to this day on which I am doing this review, and another eight times just today. And I feel like each time I’ve had it on has been more enjoyable. Perhaps its just that I’ve had a pretty ordinary day at work, and this really helped get me through it. But an album that has the capacity to do that is a good album to have.
Out of the 12 Van Halen studio albums, I rank this a very good #5. In some ways it is underrated, but also because of its style perhaps fans of an earlier or later era of the band would feel less positive about it than I do. Individual taste is always the key. For me, this album into the next album is a bloody good era of Van Halen.
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