OU812

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OU812
Studio album by Van Halen
Released	May 24, 1988
Recorded	September 1987 - April 1988 at 5150 Studios, Hollywood, CA
Genre	Hard rock
Length	50:09
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Van Halen, Donn Landee
Van Halen chronology
5150 (1986) OU812 (1988) For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)

OU812 is the eighth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1988. Its title is allegedly a joke on the band's previous lead singer David Lee Roth's 1986 album Eat 'Em and Smile (OU812 translates phonetically to "Oh, you ate one too?"). However, "OU812" was also seen in the 70s sitcom Taxi written on a wall. The first person to use the phrase was Redd Foxx.^[1] Furthermore, "OU812" is the license plate on the red Ferrari that Cheech and Chong drive in Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (released in 1980).

Van Halen started work on the album in September 1987; it would be finished in April 1988, just one month before its release.

The original European release (as shipped in France, Germany, Italy and the UK) is missing track 10, as are all vinyl pressings of the album. The CD and some cassette versions have track 10. The track listing on the back cover is arranged in alphabetical order, instead of in sequence.

The album is dedicated to Eddie and Alex Van Halen's father, Jan, who died in December 1986 at the age of 66. The inner linings of the album include the words, "This one's for you, Pa". Jan had previously appeared playing clarinet on one track, "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)", on Van Halen's 1982 album, Diver Down.^[2]

Song details

Mine All Mine

"Mine All Mine" kicks off the album. During production in a ten day period, Sammy Hagar was having a hard time writing lyrics to the song, until one day, Donn Landee suggested that everybody leave so he and Hagar could work on the lyrics alone. After seven rewrites and a bottle of tequila, Hagar sang the vocals from beginning to end in one take. When he finished, Landee embraced Hagar, before calling everybody back in the studio, where they heard Hagar's vocals done.

When It's Love

After being picked up by the Van Halen brothers at the airport, Hagar listened, in the car, to the piano and drum tracks of the song by Eddie and Alex from the night before. After repeated listenings, Hagar came up with the lyrics and melodies and it fell into place.

A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)

"A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)" reflects on the energy and the intensity of the band on tour.

Cabo Wabo

"Cabo Wabo" was a reference to the band's, particularly Hagar's, love of the Mexican resort town of Cabo San Lucas. In April 1990, the band opened the Cabo Wabo Cantina in the city. However, the venture was soon bought out to be owned by him in its entirety. Hagar later parlayed this into a premium tequila brand sold around the world, Cabo Wabo.^[3] His involvement with "Cabo Wabo" ended up becoming a major point of contention between him and the Van Halen brothers; and the song, considered by many to be one of the favorites of the Hagar era, was eventually dropped from Van Halen setlists altogether.

Source of Infection

Although it was considered a joke song, some lyrics to "Source of Infection" referred to Eddie's recent health scare. In April 1988, while vacationing with wife Valerie Bertinelli off the coast of Turtle Island (located off the Australian coast) for their wedding anniversary, he was infected by the dengue fever virus. Two days later, his temperature reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit and he had to spend five days recuperating in the local hospital.

Feels So Good

"Feels So Good" was a song that was out of the ordinary for Van Halen. Hagar and Eddie liked the song, but Alex and Michael Anthony did not as they felt it was too pop. As of 2011, this song has never been played live on tour. A music video exists for this song.

Finish What Ya Started

"Finish What Ya Started" was another first for the band, as they explored the acoustic sound. Late one night, Hagar and Eddie jammed on the beach with two acoustic guitars over tequila and cigarettes, and Hagar ran upstairs and downstairs to write lyrics on the spot. In 1990, the group granted permission for the track to be used as the opening theme song to Valerie Bertinelli's short-lived CBS sitcom, Sydney in 1990.^[4]

Black and Blue

"Black and Blue" was a song dripping with sex, based on Hagar's experiences during the tour supporting 5150, where he was actually bruised up pretty badly.

Sucker in a 3 Piece

"Sucker in a 3 Piece" was a song written about a moment, when Hagar was visiting Cabo San Lucas, he saw an attractive 23-year-old woman poolside with a 60-year-old rich man, possibly a suit.

A Apolitical Blues

"A Apolitical Blues" was a Little Feat cover that finishes the album. This is the only cover song Van Halen recorded with Hagar that was included on a studio album. Coincidentally, Landee used to engineer Little Feat albums, working under Ted Templeman. So when Hagar suggested doing the song to Landee, he agreed and suggested to the band that they use the same setup Little Feat used to record the song, which was the band played together in one room with two microphones on each corner.

Numb to the Touch

"Numb to the Touch" was written and supposed to be on the album, but wasn't finished in time, so it wasn't released. According to Hagar, it was supposed to be a traditional heavy metal song, similar to Whitesnake.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
Robert Christgau	(C)[7]

Reviews for OU812 were initially mixed. The Village Voice's Robert Christgau rated the album a C, which signifies "a record of clear professionalism or barely discernible inspiration, but not both." He noted that "trading Dave for Sammy sure wrecked their shot at Led Zep of the '80s--master guitarist, signature vocalist, underrated rhythm section." However, he stated: "Eddie's obsessed with technique, Roth's contemptuous of technique, rhythm section's got enough technique and no klutz genius. But Sammy . . . like wow. If I can't claim the new boy owns them [...], you can't deny he defines them."^[7]

Rolling Stone's David Fricke rated the album three-and-a-half out of five stars. He said of "Source of Infection": "While Eddie Van Halen sprays you with a machine-gun succession of speed-metal-guitar arpeggios, Sammy Hagar sends out the party invitations with his usual savoir-faire — "Hey! All right! Whoo!" Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony, of course, take him at his word, shooting into hyper-beat space before you can say, "Jump."" He noted that "Van Halen, contrary to purist grumbling, did not wimp out when Diamond Dave hit the bricks. Nor did the band go — ugh! — pop: the 5150 ladies' choice "Why Can't This Be Love" wasn't really a ballad; it was more like Big Rock Melancholia. In fact, all the 5150-model Van Halen did was replace one mighty mouth with another and trot out some hip, new songwriting tricks." Still, he stated that "the curve balls [...] don't always hit the strike zone. "Finish What Ya Started" is an unexpected turn into wheat-field-rock country." Despite this, he concluded that "maybe Eddie and company haven't been pushing the envelope, so to speak, far enough in terms of songwriting. But "Mine All Mine" is a good teaser for the future, the slow stuff is classy radio fare, and at its best, OU812 is a veritable feast of great white rock & roll wow."^[6]

A retrospective review from Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was fairly positive. Erlewine stated that "when David Lee Roth fronted the band, almost everything that Van Halen did seemed easy – as big, boisterous, and raucous as an actual party – but Van Hagar makes good times seem like tough work here." Still, he stated that "the riffs are complicated, not catchy, the rhythms plod, they don't rock, and Sammy strains to inject some good times by singing too hard." However, he concluded that "if it isn't as good as [Fair Warning] (even if it's nearly not as much fun), it's nevertheless the best showcase of the instrumental abilities of Van Hagar."^[5]

Packaging

The album cover for this album bears resemblance to The Beatles' Meet The Beatles!/With The Beatles cover artwork.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

All songs written by Van Halen, except where noted.

1. "Mine All Mine" - 5:11
2. "When It's Love" - 5:36
3. "A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)" - 4:28
4. "Cabo Wabo" - 7:04
5. "Source of Infection" - 3:58
6. "Feels So Good" - 4:27
7. "Finish What Ya Started" - 4:20
8. "Black and Blue" - 5:24
9. "Sucker in a 3 Piece" - 5:52
10. "A Apolitical Blues" (Lowell George) - 3:50

Personnel

• Sammy Hagar - lead vocals
• Eddie Van Halen - lead guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Michael Anthony - bass guitar, backing vocals
• Alex Van Halen - drums, percussion

Production

• Producer: Van Halen, Donn Landee
• Engineer: Donn Landee
• Assistant engineer: Ken Deane
• Mastering: Bobby Hata
• Art direction: Jeri Heiden, Maura P. McLaughlin
• Photography: Eika Aoshima, Stuart Watson

Certifications

Charts

Album

Billboard (North America)

Singles

Billboard (North America)

In popular culture

The Band Mr. Bungle's 1989 demo was entitled OU818.^{[citation needed]}

In 1988 Boston punk/metal band Gang Green released an EP named I81B4U as a jokey response to Van Halen's OU812.

References