Van halens debut album

Answer 1

The band became a staple on Hollywood's Sunset Strip during the mid-1970s, consistently playing at well known clubs like the Whisky a Go Go. In 1977 Gene Simmons, from Kiss, saw Van Halen and financed their first demo tape, flying the band to the Electric Lady Studios, New York City to record "House of Pain" and "Runnin' With the Devil". Eddie disliked the demo, because he was not using his own equipment and had to overdub guitar parts.[7] Simmons wanted to change the band's name to "Daddy Longlegs" and had designed cover art (a daddy longlegs wearing a top hat), but the band stuck with Van Halen. Simmons then opted out of further involvement.[7] In 1977, Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman of Warner Bros. records saw Van Halen perform at the Starwood in Hollywood. Although the audience was small, the two were so impressed with Van Halen that within a week they offered them a recording contract, and in October of that year, Van Halen recorded their eponymous first album at Sunset Sound Recorders studio. All of the tracks were laid down in about three weeks, with little over-dubbing or double tracking. Minor mistakes were left on the record and a simple musical set-up was used to give the record a live feel. After adding vocals, the album was essentially ready to be mixed. Despite its simple components, Van Halen proved innovative in musical technique, production, and arrangement. On release, Van Halen reached #12 on the Billboard pop music charts, one of rock's most commercially successful debuts.[9] It is a highly regarded hard rock album.[10] The album included songs now regarded as classics, like "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and Eddie's guitar solo "Eruption", generally regarded as the world debut of the now-common style of lead Electric Guitar known as 'finger-tapping'. The band toured for nearly a year, opening for Black Sabbath and establishing a reputation for their performances.