Mention the 3rd Van Halen album, 'Women and Children First', and the chances are that most people only really know it for 'And the Cradle Will Rock' (below):
Earlier today, I gave 'Women and Children First' a first spin in what may be 30 years, and ended up reinforcing my feeling that it's probably the most underrated Van Halen album.
Only seen Van Halen once and that was back in early summer 1980 at Manchester Apollo, two days after seeing Rush at the same place on the 'Permanent Waves' tour (yes, they were truly the days, although I was still only a schoolboy back then).
So what was good about 'Women and Children First'? Well, after the sensational debut Van Halen album ('Runnin' with the Devil'; 'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' etc.) and what many people consider the disappointing follow-up, 'Van Halen II', 'Women and Children First' just sounded interestingly experimental.
So what are my favourite tunes off 'Women and Children First'? Well, over the years, the two tracks that have stayed in my mind (my mental jukebox) the strongest are probably the two Southern-sounding numbers: 'Take Your Whiskey Home' and 'Could This Be Magic?' (the latter being an incredibly experimental tune):
And what about the rest of the album? Well, I guess that the other two standout tunes for me would be 'Everybody Wants Some', and (especially) 'In a Simple Rhyme' (one of the most underrated Van Halen tunes):
While Youtube surfing today, I found the demo version of 'In a Simple Rhyme' from 1976/1977 below:
Finally, 'Tora! Tora!' and 'Loss of Control' have also somehow stuck in my mind for 33-34 years, so I guess that I like these two tracks too:
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