Fair Warning is the fourth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on April 29, 1981, it sold more than two million copies,[3] but was still the band's slowest-selling album of the David Lee Roth era. Despite the album's commercially disappointing sales, Fair Warning was met with mostly positive reviews from critics.[4]
The album's cover artwork is accompanied by an insert of a black-and-white portrait of the members of the band, in addition to another black-and-white photo of an exterior wall featuring cracked windows and a lyric from the album's opening song "Mean Street" in handwritten graffiti. This second photo was taken by famed rock photographer Neil Zlozower.[citation needed]
The Village Voice's Robert Christgau rated Fair Warning a B−, signifying "a competent or mildly interesting record usually featuring at least three worthwhile cuts." It featured "not just Eddie's latest sound effects, but a few good jokes along with the mean ones and a rhythm section that can handle punk speed emotionally and technically." He also explained "at times Eddie could even be said to play an expressive – lyrical? – role. Of course, what he's expressing is hard to say. Technocracy putting a patina on cynicism".[8]
A retrospective review by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine found the album fairly positive. In the review, he initially stated "it's a dark, strange beast, partially because it lacks any song as purely fun as the hits from the first three records" and "whatever the reason, Fair Warning winds up as a dark, dirty, nasty piece of work.
"Dull it is not and Fair Warning contains some of the fiercest, hardest music Van Halen ever made. There's little question Eddie Van Halen won whatever internal skirmishes they had, [...] even with the lack of a single dedicated instrumental showcase
"Nastiness is the defining characteristic of Fair Warning, which certainly doesn't make it bunches of fun, but it showcases the coiled power of Van Halen better than any other album, which makes it worth visiting on occasion."[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide, however, gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of five, stating that "the most significant musical development is the synthesizer introduced at the end of Fair Warning, which would be exploited to greater effect on later albums."[10]
^ abChristgau, Robert. "CG: Van Halen". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
^Nicholls, Mike (May 23, 1981). "Review: Van Halen — Fair Warnings" (PDF). Record Mirror. p. 21. ISSN 0144-5804. Retrieved May 24, 2021 – via American Radio History.
^ ab"Van Halen: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
^Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 319. ISBN0-646-11917-6.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – Van Halen – Fair Warning" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Van Halen – Fair Warning" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life In Music. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 311–16. ISBN9781770414839. OCLC 1121143123.
January 30, 2023
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Fair Warning is the fourth studio album by American rock band Van Halen Released on April 29 1981 it sold more than two million copies 3 but was still the band s slowest selling album of the David Lee Roth era Despite the album s commercially disappointing sales Fair Warning was met with mostly positive reviews from critics 4 Fair WarningThe photo is taken from a painting by William Kurelek Studio album by Van HalenReleasedApril 29 1981 1981 04 29 RecordedMarch April 1981StudioSunset Sound Los Angeles 1 GenreHard rock heavy metal 2 Length31 11LabelWarner Bros ProducerTed TemplemanVan Halen chronologyWomen and Children First 1980 Fair Warning 1981 Diver Down 1982 Singles from Fair Warning So This Is Love Released June 1981 US Unchained Released July 1981 Europe Mean Street Released 1981 Europe Hear About It Later Released 1981 NL The album was listed by Esquire as one of the 75 Albums Every Man Should Own 5 Contents 1 Packaging 2 Critical reception 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 4 1 Van Halen 4 2 Production 5 Charts 5 1 Weekly charts 5 2 Year end charts 6 Certifications 7 References 8 Further readingPackaging EditThe album s cover artwork features a detail from The Maze a painting by Canadian artist William Kurelek which depicts his tortured youth 6 7 The album s cover artwork is accompanied by an insert of a black and white portrait of the members of the band in addition to another black and white photo of an exterior wall featuring cracked windows and a lyric from the album s opening song Mean Street in handwritten graffiti This second photo was taken by famed rock photographer Neil Zlozower citation needed Critical reception EditProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 4 Christgau s Record Guide The 80sB 8 Record Mirror 9 The Rolling Stone Album Guide 10 The Village Voice s Robert Christgau rated Fair Warning a B signifying a competent or mildly interesting record usually featuring at least three worthwhile cuts It featured not just Eddie s latest sound effects but a few good jokes along with the mean ones and a rhythm section that can handle punk speed emotionally and technically He also explained at times Eddie could even be said to play an expressive lyrical role Of course what he s expressing is hard to say Technocracy putting a patina on cynicism 8 A retrospective review by AllMusic s Stephen Thomas Erlewine found the album fairly positive In the review he initially stated it s a dark strange beast partially because it lacks any song as purely fun as the hits from the first three records and whatever the reason Fair Warning winds up as a dark dirty nasty piece of work Dull it is not and Fair Warning contains some of the fiercest hardest music Van Halen ever made There s little question Eddie Van Halen won whatever internal skirmishes they had even with the lack of a single dedicated instrumental showcase Nastiness is the defining characteristic of Fair Warning which certainly doesn t make it bunches of fun but it showcases the coiled power of Van Halen better than any other album which makes it worth visiting on occasion 4 The Rolling Stone Album Guide however gave the album two and a half stars out of five stating that the most significant musical development is the synthesizer introduced at the end of Fair Warning which would be exploited to greater effect on later albums 10 Track listing EditAll tracks are written by Van Halen Side oneNo TitleLength1 Mean Street 4 582 Dirty Movies 4 083 Sinner s Swing 3 094 Hear About It Later 4 35 Side twoNo TitleLength5 Unchained 3 296 Push Comes to Shove 3 497 So This Is Love 3 068 Sunday Afternoon in the Park instrumental 1 599 One Foot Out the Door 1 58Personnel EditVan Halen Edit David Lee Roth lead vocals Eddie Van Halen guitar synthesizers backing vocals Michael Anthony bass guitar backing vocals Alex Van Halen drumsProduction Edit Pete Angelus cover design Chris Bellman remastering Gregg Geller remastering Greg Gorman photography inlay photos William Kurelek cover artwork from The Maze Donn Landee engineer Gene Meros engineer Jo Motta project coordinator Richard Seireeni art direction Ted Templeman producer Neil Zlozower photographyCharts EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1981 PeakpositionAustralia Albums Kent Music Report 11 97Canada Top Albums CDs RPM 12 11Dutch Albums Album Top 100 13 13Finnish Albums The Official Finnish Charts 14 20German Albums Offizielle Top 100 15 37Japanese Albums Oricon 16 61Norwegian Albums VG lista 17 27Swedish Albums Sverigetopplistan 18 18US Billboard 200 19 5 Year end charts Edit Chart 1981 PositionUS Billboard 200 20 71Certifications EditRegion Certification Certified units salesCanada Music Canada 21 Platinum 100 000 United States RIAA 22 2 Platinum 2 000 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone References Edit Studio 2 Legendary Recordings Sunset Sound amp Sound Factory Archived from the original on November 14 2016 Retrieved November 14 2016 Van Halen Biography Rolling Stone Recording Industry Association of America RIAA Archived from the original on June 26 2007 Retrieved February 24 2012 a b c Erlewine Stephen Thomas Fair Warning Van Halen at AllMusic Retrieved October 12 2011 Best Music Albums Ever Top Album List with Covers Esquire March 9 2009 Retrieved February 24 2012 The Maze by WILLIAM KURELEK Peter Nahum At The Leicester Galleries Leicestergalleries com Retrieved March 22 2012 British Journal of Psychiatry 2001 a b Christgau Robert CG Van Halen The Village Voice Retrieved October 12 2011 Nicholls Mike May 23 1981 Review Van Halen Fair Warnings PDF Record Mirror p 21 ISSN 0144 5804 Retrieved May 24 2021 via American Radio History a b Van Halen Album Guide Rolling Stone Archived from the original on December 10 2012 Retrieved November 25 2012 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 319 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Top RPM Albums Issue 0359 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved August 3 2021 Dutchcharts nl Van Halen Fair Warning in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved August 3 2021 Pennanen Timo 2006 Sisaltaa hitin levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 in Finnish 1st ed Helsinki Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava ISBN 978 951 1 21053 5 Offiziellecharts de Van Halen Fair Warning in German GfK Entertainment Charts Retrieved August 3 2021 Oricon Album Chart Book Complete Edition 1970 2005 in Japanese Roppongi Tokyo Oricon Entertainment 2006 ISBN 4 87131 077 9 Norwegiancharts com Van Halen Fair Warning Hung Medien Retrieved August 3 2021 Swedishcharts com Van Halen Fair Warning Hung Medien Retrieved August 3 2021 Van Halen Chart History Billboard 200 Billboard Retrieved June 20 2017 Top Billboard 200 Albums Year End 1981 Billboard Retrieved August 3 2021 Canadian album certifications Van Halen Fair Warning Music Canada American album certifications Van Halen Fair Warning Recording Industry Association of America Further reading EditTempleman Ted Renoff Greg 2020 Ted Templeman A Platinum Producer s Life In Music Toronto ECW Press pp 311 16 ISBN 9781770414839 OCLC 1121143123 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fair Warning Van Halen album amp oldid 1126625637, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
