Van Halen - Balance

Artist - Van Halen
Album - Balance
Released - January 24, 1995
Genre - Hard Rock
Reviewed By - The Starchild

Van Halen's last album with Sammy Hagar since he was canned and later on replaced by Gary Cherone of Extreme for the follow up Van Halen III. This album is a mixed bag as it offers good as well as some really bland..disappointing cuts. Album opens up with steady hard rocking "The Seventh Seal" and follows up with a fantastic "Can't Stop Loving You" but the problems start with next song "Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do) as it can be seen that despite of Eddie's fantastic playing, rest of the band isn't taking much efforts to help him out. Rhythm section sounds pretty much same on some songs (While showing flashes of brilliance in certain moments.) and Hagar is inconsistent on record, and is just downright annoying on tracks like "Big Fat Money". Songs like "Aftershock" aren't exactly memorable either.

Though this album might sound like a train wreck, as mentioned above, it has some awe-fucking-some pieces scattered in it. An interesting song is "Strung Out" a piece Eddie recorded in 1983 while wrecking a grand piano with several things like knives and forks and who knows what else which led to this "Fun" exercise being as costly as $15,000. The highlights of album lie in instrumentals which allow ever innovative Eddie to roam around freely and do some great stuff, especially on "Baluchitherium" (Named after a large extinct land mammal by Eddie's wife, and people call writers on this blog weird.) one can see the power of Eddie Van Halen and why people rate him so highly.

The band closes up the album with great song "Feelin" with great performance by Sammy Hagar, killer way to close the album. Though there may be a predictable pair of Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony helping the band here, and no matter how inconsistant Sammy Hagar is here, this album proves one thing yet again, that Eddie Van Halen is a genius who can't be overshadowed and is clearly the winner and an album saver here. If you are a Van Halen fan, it's a must check for how Eddie has grown. Casual fans are better off getting VH I or VH II and 5150. Overall, an average hard rock album, which would have been much better if it had shown some consistency from rest of the band.

By the way, that boy on the cover, I suspect if anyone would have thought that after 12 years, he would be seen playing bass for Van Halen.

Rating - 2.5/5

Tracklisting -

1. The Seventh Seal – 5:18
2. Can't Stop Lovin' You – 4:07
3. Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do) – 5:56
4. Amsterdam – 4:45
5. Big Fat Money – 3:57
6. Strung Out [Instrumental] – 1:29
7. Not Enough – 5:13
8. Aftershock – 5:29
9. Doin' Time [Instrumental] – 1:41
10. Baluchitherium [Instrumental] – 4:05
11. Take Me Back (Deja Vu) – 4:43
12. Feelin' – 6:36
13. Crossing Over (Japanese bonus track) – 4:49