Van Halen II

Background and recording

Recording of the album took place less than a year after the release of the band's eponymous debut album; the process was completed in three weeks. Many of the songs on Van Halen II are known to have existed prior to the release of the first album, and are present on the demos recorded in 1976 by Gene Simmons and in 1977 by Ted Templeman, including an early version of "Beautiful Girls" (then known as "Bring On the Girls") and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor". In the band's licensed game, Guitar Hero: Van Halen, four of the ten tracks of this album are available for play: "Dance the Night Away", "Somebody Get Me a Doctor", "Spanish Fly" and "Beautiful Girls".

Artwork and packaging

The black-and-yellow guitar on the back of the album is buried with Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who was killed on December 8, 2004. Eddie Van Halen placed it in his casket at his funeral because Darrell had said it was his favorite. However, Eddie himself stated in interviews that the guitar itself was not actually used on the Van Halen II album, as it had only been completed just in time for the photo shoots for the album. David Lee Roth is shown in a cast in the inner liner notes, as he allegedly broke his heel making the leap also seen in the picture on the back cover art.

In the liner notes, The Sheraton Inn of Madison, Wisconsin is thanked. On Van Halen's first tour, they stayed at the hotel and destroyed the 7th floor, having fire extinguisher fights in the hallways and throwing televisions out windows. They blamed the incidents on their tour-mates at the time, Journey.

Critical reception

In a 1979 Rolling Stone review, Timothy White writes, "Scattered throughout Van Halen's second album are various Vanilla Fudge bumps and grinds, an Aerosmith-derived pseudobravado, a bit of Bad Company basement funk and even a few Humble Pie miniraveups". Also stating, the "LP retains a numbing live feel". In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic rates Van Halen II 4 stars out of 5. He notes the album is "virtually a carbon copy of their 1978 debut", though goes on to say it is "lighter and funnier than the debut" and "some of the grandest hard rock ever made." Erlewine praises Eddie's "phenomenal gift" and Roth's "knowing shuck and jive".

Commercial performance

It reached #6 on the Billboard 200 charts and #23 on the UK charts. Van Halen II was certified 5× Platinum in 2004. Approximately 5.7 million records have been sold in the US as of 2004. In 2000, Van Halen II was remastered and re-released.

Track listing

All tracks written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, except where noted.

Van Halen

Production

Album

Billboard (North America)

Singles

Billboard (North America)