Critical reaction to the album has been positive as well, with The Rolling Stone Album Guide praising the feel-good, party atmosphere of the songs. Recording of the album happened at Sunset Studio less than a year after the release of the band's eponymous debut album. The black-and-yellow guitar on the back of the album known as "Bumblebee" is buried with Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell , who was killed December 8, Eddie Van Halen placed it in his Kiss Kasket at his funeral because Darrell had said it was his favorite.
David Lee Roth is shown in a cast in the inner liner notes, as he allegedly broke his heel making the leap also seen in the picture on the back cover art. On Van Halen's first tour, they stayed at the hotel and destroyed the seventh floor, having fire extinguisher fights in the hallways and throwing televisions out windows.
They blamed the incidents on their tour-mates at the time, Journey. In a Rolling Stone review, Timothy White writes, "Scattered throughout Van Halen's second album are various Vanilla Fudge bumps and grinds, an Aerosmith-derived pseudobravado, a bit of Bad Company basement funk and even a few Humble Pie miniraveups," adding that the "LP retains a numbing live feel.
He notes the album is "virtually a carbon copy of their debut," though goes on to say it is "lighter and funnier" and "some of the grandest hard rock ever made. It reached 6 on the Billboard charts [14] and 23 on the UK charts.
Approximately 5. Billboard North America. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Van Halen. Record Review Interview. Retrieved 6 March Retrieved Van Halen News Desk. March 23, VH1: Behind the Music.
