VAN HALEN – I can recall the day I bought Van Halen’s Diver Down. It was during my Summer vacation in 1982, my sophomore year of high school was over. I was just getting my Hard Rockin’ taste buds delighted by the Van Halen catalog of albums during this time period. I remember borrowing the first four albums from friends all the time, therefore, Diver Down was my first Van Halen album that I owned.
The album cover didn’t resonate that Van Halen mystique, still I didn’t really care. The diver down flag album cover… it is what it is. The back cover to this album is more like it though, with a panoramic picture of Van Halen live and onstage. Plus, there are four live concert photos of each band member shown as well. Like I used to do with so many album covers (and still do), I held it and stared at the back cover and inside record sleeve in pure awe at the band I was listening to.
My favorite song on Diver Down is the cover of The Kinks classic: Where Have All The Good Time Gone. I swear I played this song on it’s own hundreds of times over… it is what it is and Metal be thy name. What’s amazing is that I have never grown tired of this song either, wether it’s The Kinks original or this Van Halen cover. Simply amazing.
(Van Halen – Diver Down: back cover)
The record sleeve had a very cool group photo of Van Halen, just a vintage shot, in my Metal opinion. I laugh now at the memory of my liking the striped shirt that Alex Van Halen was wearing in this group photo. I liked that striped shirt so much, that I went searching for it at every department store or any store that sold teen clothing. I never found it.
This fifth album from Van Halen may never be considered their best work, yet that doesn’t matter much to me. Diver Down was a good times Hard Rockin’ album for me back in 1982 and it still holds that same vibe for me in 2011. Metal be thy name.
* A long time ago, in a Metal world far, far, away, I once wrote a concise review on Diver Down. Click here to read it: VAN HALEN – DIVER DOWN
You might just like it.
LONG LIVE DIVER DOWN.
Stone.
Every once in awhile, well, I tend to be slightly comedic. What better way to get away from the white useless noise of MSNBC than to have some comic relief that incorporates Heavy Metal? Here are some Heavy Metal happenings that will never, ever, happen in a million Metal years:
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
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