Fair Warning Rewind

[cav]

Couple days ago I put up VH 2 rewind... it was fun, so here goes my 2nd fav VH album Fair Warning... By the way, there is no BEST VH lp/cd.
It's all in what makes you shake/rattle/roll

So here goes ... Fair Warning ...Let's start with WOW !!!!!!!
Ed is at his peak on this album in many regards and so is the rest of VH
I don't give a rats ass about commercial success. This album has only one major flaw and that is that it's too short. I WANT MORE FAIR WARNING !!!
The band really hits there stride on this record
1) Mean Streets - Dark Groove (possibly one of Ed's best grooves)
IMHO best 1st track on any VH album... the ingredients are all there.
Guitar , lyrics/awesome vox bass and drums ... OUTSTANDING
2) Dirty Movies - Another classic "you remember when that girl was prom queen"
3) Sinners Swing - Cool riff, Roth is SOO COOL with the vox/lyrics
This tune is killer
4) Hear about it Later - Classic VH tune in my book.. love it on youtube Oakland 81 footage... simply classic
5) UNCHAINED - For me and several of my life long buds, this is the seminole VH Tune...Doesn't get any better. Brown Sound Rewound and then some. Roth's lyrics seem to fit Ed's guitar so perfect at every turn.
"blue eyed murder in a size 5 dress" Killer !!! No offense to Van Hagar and I shouldn't even bring this up , but Van Hagar never approaches this level at any time in Sams' 11 yrs... It's not a dig, it's just my opinion of why this stuff is the real deal with no equal in VH's history.

6) Push Comes to Shove - Off beat groove, not sure where it's going when you 1st hear it... Feels like something the band might have been using some improv on and it turned into gold... Roth was truly at his peak on this album.
So is Ed... Mike's bass is very cool on this one (notice at the beginning of the tune how the sound is tweaked between the bass and drums as if it almost changes beat a little.. Never get tired of this tune ..
7) So this is Love - To me , this tune is as good as anything VH has ever done. Oakland 81 is on You Tube for this tune.... Just go there and watch it.
I rest my case your honor ..... It's soooo great... I have had this album/tape/Cd forever now and this tune still moves me.
I must say, part of the beauty of this era VH is the minimist approach in the studio. They knew that they had the sound and the tunes.. It's raw and powerful... Thank God for this record... It makes you want to pick up a guitar or sing or at least play air guitar.

8) Sunday afternoon in the Park - Very Cool.... Feels like a leftover idea that fits perfectly with the dark texture of Fair Warning ... Like everything on this record, it just fits so perfect... More EVH tinkering with sounds.
9) 1 Foot out the Door - Half cooked is my way of looking at this one... It leaves me wanting more !!!
I would love to hear out takes from this time period... there must be something kicking around.... Fair Warning leaves me wanting MORE !!!
Bravo Boys... this album kicks ass with the best of em'

[darthadv]

love this platter myself!

there's some heavier than usual riffs on this (at least for vh) that really give the record a kick in the ass!

[SuckaInA3Piece]

Fair Warning and WACF were the last two VH albums I added to my collection. For some reason the cassette was really hard to find, and I didn't have a cd player, so I had to look around for weeks until I could find it.

I still remember putting it on as I sat down to write a sports article for the school paper. My first feeling was just...whoaaa. That's what rock is supposed to sound like. It can be dark, yet still be fun and have a swing to it. The guys just had a swagger that was unmatched.

[dirtymovies]

Couple days ago I put up VH 2 rewind... it was fun, so here goes my 2nd fav VH album Fair Warning... By the way, there is no BEST VH lp/cd.
It's all in what makes you shake/rattle/roll

So here goes ... Fair Warning ...Let's start with WOW !!!!!!!
Ed is at his peak on this album in many regards and so is the rest of VH
I don't give a rats ass about commercial success. This album has only one major flaw and that is that it's too short. I WANT MORE FAIR WARNING !!!
The band really hits there stride on this record
1) Mean Streets - Dark Groove (possibly one of Ed's best grooves)
IMHO best 1st track on any VH album... the ingredients are all there.
Guitar , lyrics/awesome vox bass and drums ... OUTSTANDING

cav, your enthusiasm rocks, but Track 1 on FW is called "Mean Street" Not trying to be a dick, sorry...

[Double Down]

Cav - Your song by song breakdown is excellent, I agree 100% with everything you say. I look at your review and if I didn't know any better I'd think it was something I wrote. Every one of these songs is a 9 or 10 in my book.

But for a different spin on this thread I'll take you back to my first impressions after I bought this in 1981 when I was 13:



Mean Street - Couldn't believe the guitar intro. Really left me speechless. Liked the song but it was the Ed's work that stole the show for me on this one.

Dirty Movies - Liked it a lot. The whole imagery of Dave and the boys sitting in a movie theater is what always played in my head when I listened to it.

Sinners Swing - Loved it right away. I true VH rocker.

Hear About It Later - From the word 'go' this song was my favorite (neck and neck with Unchained) and to this day still is. Everything about this song blew me away. I freaking loved the guitar intro, the chorus, the solo....everything. From the first listen I fell in love with it. Fucking killer song.

Unchained - This was it. This was VH. "C'mon Dave, gimme a break. One break coming up!" was the line to end all lines. I bought this album for the sole purpose of being able to listen to this song a million fucking times. I then discovered the whole album, but for me this song was the cream of the crop on FW.

Push Comes to Shove - Hated it, thought it sucked. Seriously, I did. Don't ask me why I did, but I did. I don't now, of course, but in '81 I couldn't stand it.

So This Is Love - Another one I loved instantly. It was right up there with HAIL and Unchained. The groove, the lyrics, the solo, it all blew me away. I remember sitting there thinking, "how the hell can someone play guitar that good?" To this day I can't figure out why this doesn't get more love.

Sunday Afternoon - Liked it, didn't love it.

One Foot Out The Door - Too. Fucking. Short. I thought that then and I think it now. I think they were one or two more verses away from elevating this to an all-time VH classic. I couldn't crank up the outro guitar solo loud enough. Ed at his finest.


Fair Warning is virtually impossible to criticize. A VH masterpiece.

[Chop]

This album has stood the test of time I would definetly like to hear any leftover tracks from this era . Alright we're sinners !

[cav]

Thanks for the props .... It's a band that has brought me much joy..
Quite frankly, all the negatives around VH in the past 10 yrs has worn me out. I've decided to focus on the good times that this bands music shared with my youth... It was the soundtrack for many of us...

[bsbll4]

I was just listening to Fair Warning today, and I've always wondered why Sinner's Swing wasn't more of a success for VH. To me, it's one of my favorites, and it's got all the VH ingredients: good riff, good vibe, great harmonies, good hook, great lyrics. So what gives?

The only thing I can come up with is that Dave drops the F bomb in there which scraps the chances of radio play. Even still, I'm shocked it didn't become a staple at concerts. It's my understanding that they didn't even play it after the Fair Warning Tour. Never could quite grasp that.

[Menlow]

I was just listening to Fair Warning today, and I've always wondered why Sinner's Swing wasn't more of a success for VH. To me, it's one of my favorites, and it's got all the VH ingredients: good riff, good vibe, great harmonies, good hook, great lyrics. So what gives?

The only thing I can come up with is that Dave drops the F bomb in there which scraps the chances of radio play. Even still, I'm shocked it didn't become a staple at concerts. It's my understanding that they didn't even play it after the Fair Warning Tour. Never could quite grasp that.

I never really understood why Hear About It Later and Dirty Movies didn't receive more love from radio or VH either.

Hell, they didn't even play Dirty Movies on the FW tour.

[vhrocker]

Fair Warning is virtually impossible to criticize. A VH masterpiece.

I couldn't said it better myself.