OU812
Encyclopedia
OU812 is the 8th studio album
by American
hard rock
band Van Halen
, released in 1988. The album title is allegedly a joke on Van Halen'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
. 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; the album 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
'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 Van Halen had previously appeared playing clarinet on one track, "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)". on Van Halen's 1982 album, Diver Down
.
In a magazine interview published some years after the release of the album, Eddie Van Halen expressed his displeasure with the final mix of the album, saying, "Sonically it was shit."
, 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 Sammy's vocals done.
. In April 1990, the band opened the Cabo Wabo Cantina in the city. However, the venture was soon bought out to be owned by Hagar in its entirety. Hagar later parlayed this into a premium tequila brand sold around the world, Cabo Wabo
. Sammy's 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.
off the coast of Turtle Island
(located off the Australian coast) for their wedding anniversary, Eddie 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.
sound. Late one night, Sammy 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
.
, based on Sammy's experiences during the tour supporting 5150, where he was actually bruised up pretty badly.
cover that finishes the album. This is the only cover song Van Halen recorded with Sammy Hagar that was included on a studio album. Coincidentally, Donn Landee used to engineer Little Feat albums, working under Ted Templeman. So when Hagar suggested doing the song to Landee, Donn 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.
song, similar to Whitesnake
.
Rolling Stones 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."
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."
, entitled "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater
." The secret code to reprogram the master television remote in the Buy More store was "O-U-8-1-2."
The Band Mr. Bungle
's 1989 demo was entitled OU818.
' With The Beatles
album cover.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, released in 1988. The album title is allegedly a joke on Van Halen's previous lead singer David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality. Roth was ranked nineteenth by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Singers of All Time....
'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
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
written on a wall. The first person to use the phrase was Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
. Furthermore, "OU812" is the license plate on the red Ferrari that Cheech and Chong drive in Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
Cheech & Chong's Next Movie
Cheech & Chong's Next Movie is the second feature-length film by Cheech and Chong, released in 1980. It was directed by Tommy Chong.-Plot:...
(released in 1980).
Van Halen started work on the album in September 1987; the album 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
Alex Van Halen
Alexander Arthur "Alex" Van Halen is a Dutch-born American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Originally, his brother Eddie had taken lessons for drums, while Alex practiced guitar...
'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 Van Halen had previously appeared playing clarinet on one track, "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)". on Van Halen's 1982 album, Diver Down
Diver Down
Diver Down is the fifth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1982. It spent 65 weeks on the US album charts and had, by 1998, sold four million copies in the US.-Background:...
.
In a magazine interview published some years after the release of the album, Eddie Van Halen expressed his displeasure with the final mix of the album, saying, "Sonically it was shit."
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 tequilaTequila
Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
, 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 Sammy's vocals done.
When It's Love
After being picked up by the Van Halen brothers at the airport, Sammy listened, in the car, to the piano and drum tracks of the song by Eddie and Alex from the night before. After repeated listenings, Sammy came up with the lyrics and melodies and it fell into place.A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)
"A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)" is an adrenaline-pumping song, reflecting on the energy and the intensity of the band on tour.Cabo Wabo
"Cabo Wabo" was a reference to the band's, particularly Sammy Hagar's, love of the Mexican resort town of Cabo San LucasCabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas , commonly called Cabo, is a city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the municipality of Los Cabos in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As of the 2010 census, the population was 68,463 people...
. In April 1990, the band opened the Cabo Wabo Cantina in the city. However, the venture was soon bought out to be owned by Hagar in its entirety. Hagar later parlayed this into a premium tequila brand sold around the world, Cabo Wabo
Cabo Wabo
Cabo Wabo is the name of a chain of nightclubs and restaurants located in Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico, as well as Harvey's Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada and a third location on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada just outside of the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. It is also a popular brand of...
. Sammy's 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 Van Halen's recent health scare. In April 1988, while vacationing with wife Valerie BertinelliValerie Bertinelli
Valerie Anne Bertinelli is an American actress, best known for her roles as Barbara Cooper Royer on the television series One Day at a Time , Gloria on the television series Touched by an Angel and Melanie Moretti on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland .- Early years :Bertinelli was born in Wilmington,...
off the coast of Turtle Island
Turtle Island
- Places :* Turtle Island, Queensland , the name of four islands in Queensland, Australia* Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi, a group of islands in the Southern Philippines...
(located off the Australian coast) for their wedding anniversary, Eddie was infected by the dengue fever
Dengue fever
Dengue fever , also known as breakbone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles...
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. Sammy and Eddie liked the song, but Alex and Mike did not as they felt it was too pop. As of 2011, this song has never been played live on tour.Finish What Ya Started
"Finish What Ya Started" was another first for the band, as they explored the acousticAcoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
sound. Late one night, Sammy 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
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Anne Bertinelli is an American actress, best known for her roles as Barbara Cooper Royer on the television series One Day at a Time , Gloria on the television series Touched by an Angel and Melanie Moretti on the sitcom Hot in Cleveland .- Early years :Bertinelli was born in Wilmington,...
's short-lived CBS sitcom, Sydney
Sydney (TV series)
Sydney is an American situation comedy series that aired on CBS in 1990. It was created and written by Michael J. Wilson and Douglas Wyman and starred Valerie Bertinelli, Matthew Perry and Craig Bierko.-Synopsis:...
.
Black And Blue
"Black And Blue" was a song dripping with sexSex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, based on Sammy'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 Sammy 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 FeatLittle Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
cover that finishes the album. This is the only cover song Van Halen recorded with Sammy Hagar that was included on a studio album. Coincidentally, Donn Landee used to engineer Little Feat albums, working under Ted Templeman. So when Hagar suggested doing the song to Landee, Donn 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 it wasn't finished in time, so it wasn't released. According to Sammy Hagar, it was supposed to be a traditional heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
song, similar to Whitesnake
Whitesnake
Whitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
.
Reception
Reviews for OU812 were initially mixed. The Village Voices 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."Rolling Stones 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."
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."
In popular culture
The title of the album was referenced in Season 1, Episode 7 of the American TV series, ChuckChuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
, entitled "Chuck Versus the Alma Mater
Chuck Versus the Alma Mater
"Chuck Versus the Alma Mater" is the seventh episode of the first season of Chuck. It aired on November 5, 2007, and finds Chuck returning to Stanford to track down a data disk, and answer questions about his past...
." The secret code to reprogram the master television remote in the Buy More store was "O-U-8-1-2."
The Band Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...
's 1989 demo was entitled OU818.
Track listing
All songs written by Van Halen, except where noted.- "Mine All Mine" – 5:11
- "When It's LoveWhen It's Love"When It's Love" is a song recorded by Van Halen. It was released as a single from their album OU812. It was the most popular song from that album, hitting #1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks charts and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has been a live performance staple since it was...
" – 5:36 - "A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)" – 4:28
- "Cabo Wabo" – 7:04
- "Source of Infection" – 3:58
- "Feels So Good" – 4:27
- "Finish What Ya StartedFinish What Ya Started"Finish What Ya Started" is a song by Van Halen taken from their 1988 album OU812. The song is different from the band's usual style, with influences from American blues and country music. Eddie Van Halen recorded his guitar part on a Teisco Del Rey ET-220 using a clean sound with lots of reverb....
" – 4:20 - "Black and BlueBlack and Blue (Van Halen song)"Black and Blue" is a rock song written by the group Van Halen for their 1988 album OU812. It is one of six singles issued for the album, and was the first from the album to hit #1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart....
" – 5:24 - "Sucker in a 3 Piece" – 5:52
- "A Apolitical Blues" (Lowell GeorgeLowell GeorgeLowell Thomas George was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, who was the main guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Little Feat.- Early years :...
) – 3:50
Personnel
- Sammy HagarSammy HagarSam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
- lead vocals, rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Eddie Van HalenEddie Van HalenEdward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, backing vocals - Michael Anthony - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Alex Van HalenAlex Van HalenAlexander Arthur "Alex" Van Halen is a Dutch-born American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Originally, his brother Eddie had taken lessons for drums, while Alex practiced guitar...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
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
Album Cover
It is unknown whether this was the intention or not, but the album cover for this album bears resembalance to The BeatlesThe Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' With The Beatles
With the Beatles
With The Beatles is the second studio album by the English rock group The Beatles. It was released on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, and was recorded four months after the band's debut Please Please Me...
album cover.
Certifications
Album
Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Billboard 200 | 1 |
Singles
Billboard (North America)| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | "Black and Blue Black and Blue (Van Halen song) "Black and Blue" is a rock song written by the group Van Halen for their 1988 album OU812. It is one of six singles issued for the album, and was the first from the album to hit #1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.... " |
Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 34 | ||
| "Cabo Wabo" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 31 | |
| "Feels So Good" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6 | |
| "Finish What Ya Started Finish What Ya Started "Finish What Ya Started" is a song by Van Halen taken from their 1988 album OU812. The song is different from the band's usual style, with influences from American blues and country music. Eddie Van Halen recorded his guitar part on a Teisco Del Rey ET-220 using a clean sound with lots of reverb.... " |
Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2 | |
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 13 | ||
| "When It's Love When It's Love "When It's Love" is a song recorded by Van Halen. It was released as a single from their album OU812. It was the most popular song from that album, hitting #1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks charts and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song has been a live performance staple since it was... " |
Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 | |
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 5 | ||
| "Mine All Mine | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 50 | |
| 1989 | "Feels So Good" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 35 |