Dopo il superlativo esordio ed il meno bombastico seguito, i Van Halen carichi anche per gli ottimi responsi ottenuti alle entusiasmanti esibizioni dal vivo (che li avevano anche visti di spalla ai Black Sabbath impegnati nella promozione di “Never Say Die”), con il “World Vacation Tour”, sui quattro non sono potuti piovere altro che consensi, anche errando tra Canada, Europa e Giappone nelle tanto ambite vesti di headliner.Tenendo conto dell’importanza numerologica, il disco numero tre (come specchio della perfezione), rappresenta l’ideale compimento di un percorso già intrapreso, che per questo lavoro pur non riflettendo un esemplare raffinamento, dimostra comunque di essere un ulteriore passo verso l’esemplarità. Il disco registrato ai Sunset Sound in meno di tre settimane sempre ancora sotto l’occhio vigile di Ted Templeman, recupera alla grande la vigoria di stile dell’esordio in un perfetto cocktail dove brama di sperimentare e voglia di sorprendere riescono a stimolare l’appetito di chi ascolta.
A confermare la smania di cambiamento è l’introduttiva “And The Cradle Will Rock…” – scelta anche come singolo -, esuberante e trascinatrice in cui compare anche un piano elettrico, facendo il perfetto paio con il primitivo assalto frontale di “Everybody Wants Some!!” che toglie il respiro dall’inizio alla fine. L’alto tasso di esplosività lievita con “Fools” (battezzata in principio come “I Live With Fools” ed originaria dell’epoca in cui vi era Mark Stone) e la tiratissima “Loss Of Control” il cui video per altro mai realizzato, avrebbe dovuto vedere i componenti della band travestiti da medici chirurghi. L’ambiente si fa più intimo ascoltando la blueseggiante anticamera strumentale di “Take Your Whiskey Home” come la magica aria che si respira ascoltando “Could This Be Magic?”, perfetta per un sing-along estivo intorno ad un falò da spiaggia. Alla sabbahiana “Tora Tora” (in origine “Act Like It Hurts”) nel suo scarso minuto di durata, spetta il ruolo di unica traccia strumentale del disco, mentre nella tiratissima “Romeo Delight” vengono a compenetrarsi momenti adrenalinici con altri più pacati, lasciando alla conclusiva e solida “In A Simple Rhyme” presentarci il nostro Eddie in un delicato arpeggio con una dodici corde elettrica, ad aprire e chiudere il brano….si fa per dire ovviamente, visto che i venti secondi conclusivi (quasi una vera hidden track), dovevano essere una traccia a se stante con il titolo di “Growth”, ma questa è un’altra storia.
L’album fa capolino nelle vetrine dei negozi il 26 marzo 1980, mostrando di concentrare in quella mezz’ora e poco più di musica un eccellente livello qualitativo, in cui oltre a brani incalzanti che si alternano ad altri intelligentemente più frizzanti, è facile scorgere una maggior propensione per qualche divertente divagazione acustica che insieme alla voglia di novità mai appare fuori contesto. Un disco in cui a risplendere è il ruolo da ginnasta della sei corde del più giovane dei fratelli Van Halen, reo di aver riscritto il ruolo della chitarra elettrica nella musica rock, a quasi dieci anni dalla scomparsa di chi ne aveva mutato all’inverosimile collocazione e funzione: Jimi Hendrix! Le impensabili acrobazie ritmiche e solistiche del velocissimo Eddie vanno a legarsi ad hoc con l’abilità vocale ad ampio raggio di David Lee Roth - che oltre ad un incontestabile carisma da vero animale da palco -, riesce ad esaltare modulazioni basse con acuti penetranti, fondendosi con una personalissima armatura ritmica che l’altro Van Halen e Michael Anthony intessono in maniera ideale.
A riflettere la quadratura del cerchio vi è l’artistica foto di copertina in un semplice bianco e nero, che vede un divertito Eddie Van Halen attorniato dai suoi tre euforici compagni, che esterna la perfetta sintonia che vige all’interno della band. Un’intesa in grado più che mai di dar vita ad un ammirevole lavoro il cui spirito può essere simboleggiato attraverso le dirette lyrics di Dave in “Romeo Delight” che lasciano ben poco spazio alla fantasia: “I’m takin’ whiskey to the party tonight And I’m lookin’for somebody to squeeze us”……un’affascinante enunciazione goliardica a cui non si può non reagire come un’inerme vittima, così come ancor di più lo stregato pubblico femminile dovrà fare i conti con il poster incluso che riproduce l’impudico singer ritratto a dorso nudo incatenato ad una rete, immortalato per l’occasione in uno scatto d’autore da Helmut Newton.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 And the Cradle Will Rock... (03:33)
Ow!
Oh yeah, get up!
Ow!
Ow! Ow!
Well, they say it's kinda frightenin'
How this younger generation swings
You know it's more than just some new sensation
Well, the kid is into losin' sleep
And he don't come home for half the week
You know it's more than just an aggravation
And the cradle will rock
Yes the cradle, cradle will rock
And I say rock on, ooh!
Rock on
And when some local kid gets down
They try an' drum him outta town
They say "Ya coulda least faked it, boy", fake it, boy (Ooh, stranger, boy)
At an early age he hits the street
And winds up tired with who he meets
An' he's unemployed
(Unemployed?) Oww!
And the cradle will rock, ow!
And the cradle, the cradle will rock
An' I say rock on
Oh! Say, rock on
Have you seen Junior's grades?
Ooh!
Ow!
And when some local kid gets down
They try an' drum him outta town
They say "Ya could've least faked it, boy, faked it, boy"
And so an early age he hits the street
'N winds up tired with who he meets
An' he's unemployed
His folks are overjoyed
And the cradle will rock
Yes the cradle, the cradle will rock
I say rock on
Hey! Rock on
(Rock on) Rock on
(Rock on) This ain't never been new, babe, child. Ow!
(Rock on) Wow! I said... Rock on
(Rock on) Rock on. Ooh!
(Rock on)
(Rock on)
(Rock on)
(Rock on)
(Rock on)
02 Everybody Wants Some!! (05:08)
Ow!
(Adlib jungle sounds)
Oww!
Ooh yeah!
Oh yeah-ah!
You can't get romantic on a subway line, ow!
Conductor don't like it, says "You're wastin' your time"
But everybody wants some
I want some too
Everybody wants some
Baby, how 'bout you?
Ohh oh yeah!
I took a mobile light, lookin' for a moonbeam, whoa!
Yeah, ya stand in line, ya got lost in a jet stream
But everybody wants some
I want some too, whoa yeah-ah!
Everybody wants some
How about you?
Ohh yeah
Ooh yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
Everybody wants some
I want some too, whoa!
Everybody wants some, hey hey!
How 'bout you?
Yeah!
(Adlib jungle sounds)
Woo! Where'd you get that shit?
Oh, yeah.
I like... I like the little way the line runs up the back of the stockings.
I've always liked those kind of high heels, too, ya know I...
No, no, no, no don't take 'em off. Don't take... leave 'em on.
Yeah, that's it... a little more to the right.
Ow ow!
Hey, hey, hey!
Everybody wants some
I want some too, whoa!
Everybody wants some
Baby, how 'bout you? Yeah!
Everybody wants some
Everybody needs some
Everybody wants some
Everybody needs some
Ahh yeah!
Ahhhh yeah!
Look, I'll pay ya for it, what the fuck?
03 Fools (05:56)
Hah, yeah
Oh-uh-oh
Ha
Ha-oh, ah-ah-ah
Try one together, one time a sec
Ha-oh, ah-uh-oh
Oooh!
Yeah!
Well, I ain't about to go to school
Ooo, an' I'm sick an' tired of Golden Rules, ah!
Oh! They say I'm crazy, from the wrong side of the tracks
I never see them, but they're always so far back, oh
Yeah, baby. How to say...Well lemme tell ya about this one time
How ya gonna tell me
Lemme put it to music, yeah, I say...
Well, I'm sick an' tired of cleanin' room. Oh!
An' it's the final bell for pushing broom. Oh-oh!
Damned if I do an' then I'm damned if I don't
Won't someone tell me what it is they all want?
It makes me blue
Fools, I live with fools
Blue, (Wow!) it makes me blue
Fools, I live with fools
Whoa! Bbbbbbb
I just can't take it
Ah, my teachers all gave up on me
No matter what they say, I, ha, disagree
An' when I need somp'in to soothe my soul
I listen to too much rock n' roll
Don't want no class reunion, the circus just left town
Why behave in public if you're living on a playground?
It makes me blue
Fools, I live with fools
Blue, it makes me blue
Fools, I live with fools. Wow!
(Guitar Solo)
Woo!
Oh, yeah
Oh! Woo!
Blue, it makes me blue. Makes me blue
Fools, (Oh!) I live with fools. Live with fools
(Wow!) Blue, (Hey hey!) it makes me blue. Makes her blue
Fools, (Oh oh) I live with fools. Whoa! Yeah
Ah, ha ha! Uh, uh!
All right, I said
Mmm, here they goin', my way. Woo! (Woo!)
Oh yeah! Oh yeah!
(Vocal ad lib until fade)
04 Romeo Delight (04:19)
Ooh!
I told her "Never in hell, no special reason"
Must've lied 'cause I ain't leavin'
We're in for a very long night
Heard a vicious rumor from your mama's tongue
You a desperate woman, need a man with a gun
High crime zone, in the city o' lights
Baby please, can't take it anymore
Ah, baby please, can't take it anymore
I'm takin' whiskey to the party tonight
And I'm lookin' for somebody to squeeze, uh! Uh!
I hear you're lookin' for somebody to fight
Baby, don't get uptight
Baby, please
Wanna see my ID? Try to clip my wings
Don't have to show you proof o' anything
I know the law, friend
At the 'leventh hour I'm goin' back outside
Mmm, give it a try, I'm your last loose end
Baby please, I can't take it anymore
Oh, baby please, I can't take it anymore
I'm takin' whiskey to the party tonight
An' I'm lookin' for somebody to squeeze, uh! Uh! Uh!
Hear you're lookin' for somebody to fight
Baby, don't get uptight
Baby, please , yeah!
Oww!
Oooh, baby
Oooh, baby
Oooh, baby
Uh feel my heartbeat
Feel my heartbeat
Feel my heartbeat
Oh, yeah
Feel my heartbeat
Feel my heartbeat, ah
Feel my heartbeat
Feel my heartbeat
Feel my heartbeat
Baby please, I can't take it anymore, oww!
Yeah baby, please, ah-ha, I can't uh take it anymore, wow!
Baby please, aah yeah, can't take it anymore
Whoa baby, please, yeah, I can't take it anymore, whoa!
I'm takin' whiskey to the party tonight
An' I'm lookin' for somebody to squeeze, uh! Uh! Ow!
Hear you're lookin' for somebody to fight
Baby, don't get uptight
Baby, please, yeah!
Baby, please
06 Loss of Control (02:39)
Hey!
(Adlib walkie-talkie banter)
Ooh, baby I'm checkin' out, I think you oughta know
I'm only wastin' time I think I better go
You ain't too civilized, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Baby I'm checkin' out, I think you oughta know, yeah
I'm only wastin' time, I think I better go
You ain't too civilized, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
(Guitar solo)
Ah, ha!
Aw, ha!
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
Baby I'm checkin' out, I think you oughta know, yeah
I'm only wastin' time, I think I better go
You ain't too civilized, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
Loss of control
Loss of control
Loss of control
(Guitar solo)
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Hhhh!
07 Take Your Whiskey Home (03:11)
(Words by Van Halen)
Uh-uh
Uh-uh-uh-uh-ah!
Well, my baby, she don't want me around
She said she's tired of watchin' me fall down (He-he-he-yuh!)
She wants a good life, ah! An' all the best
But I like that bottle better than the rest
Chorus:
And she said, "I think that you're headed for a whole lot of trouble, ah!
Well, I think that you're headed for a whole lot of trouble
Well, I think that you're headed for a whole lot of trouble
If you take your whiskey (home)"
Ow!
Well, that liquor in the night time leaves strange memories
Seems a lifetime, ooh, since yesterday
Come the daybreak, and come tomorrow
That woman's waited up all night for me again
(Chorus)
(Guitar Solo)
Some goes to women, ooh, some goes to Jesus
That I'm absolutely certain both's all right
Yeah, but it takes me at least halfway to the label
'Fore I can even make it through the night
(Chorus)
(Guitar Solo)
Oh! Ooh baby, take your whiskey home, yeah!
Ooh, a la la la la la la yeah
08 Could This Be Magic? (03:09)
You ready? (Yeah)
One, two, one, two, three, four
Out upon the islands on a cool summer night
Buddy, you don't got to hurry, take your time
What you need is on the menu and you get it tonight
Buddy, you got womens on your mind
Could this be magic? Or could this be love?
Could this turn tragic? You know that magic often does
And I see lonely ships upon the water
Better save the women and children first
Sail away with someone's daughter
Better save the women and children first
I hear music on the landin' an' there's laughter in the air
Just could be your boat is comin' in
Yeah you're leanin' back an' yeah, a-foot tappin'
Ain't got your head right
There's a full moon out tonight
Baby, let's begin
And she said "Could this be magic? Or could this be love?", uh oh
An' I said "Could this turn tragic? You know that magic often does"
And I see lonely ships upon the water
Better save the women and children first
Sail away with someone's daughter
Better save the women and children first
Edward?
Thank you
And she said "Could this be magic? Or, could this be love?"
And I said "Could this turn tragic? You know that magic often does"
An' I see lonely ships upon the water
Better save the women and children first
Sail away with someone's daughter
Better save the women and children first, yes, ah
09 In a Simple Rhyme (04:40)
Well, back in the past when I was, treated so coldly
My love life was a darn disgrace
Needed someone to love n' hold me
That's one of the reasons that I was outta place
So, this is love? Well she finally kissed me
Had me all worked up inside
I wanted love but cupid missed me
She up and left and I almost died
But I was young and I was far from lonely
I been that way for a long, long year
Needed a girl to call my one and only
Is that you?
Ya think ya got the interest?
Come on an' take the time
'Cause you know, I wanna be
Yours in a simple rhyme
Wow!
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Well, ain't life grand when ya finally hit it?
I'm always a sucker for a real good time
Woke up in life, found I almost missed it
Ain't I glad that love is blind?
But I was young an' I was, far too crazy
Been that way for a long, long time
Needed a girl but I was just too lazy
Now that I've found you
Ya think ya got the interest?
Come on an' take the time
I'm gonna be, yours in a simple...
Rhyme. Rhyme
N' she made the mountains sing
Birds against an icy sky
And I heard bells ringin'
I think I heard an angel sigh
And she said, "There'll be times. There will be times."
(Ah ah) You're gonna hear the angels singin'
(Ah ah) You're gonna hear the angels sing, they'll say
(Ah ah. Ah ah. Ah ah ah)
Ow!
(Guitar Solo)
Oh!
Oh, yeah!
Ha! Ah! Yeah
Ya think ya got the interest
Come on an' take the time
I'm gonna be yours in a simple...
Rhyme. Rhyme. Rhyme
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Altre recensioni
Di the green manalishi
Van Halen è sinonimo di puro divertimento, voglia di vivere, di suonare, di amare.
Basta ascoltare 'And the Cradle Will Rock'… e la culla dondolerà.