"Dreams" by Van Halen

Song#:  2739
Date:  05/24/1986
Debut:  55
Peak:  22
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The Sammy Hagar era of Van Halen got off to a great start when the song "Why Can't This Be Love?" reached #1 Rock and #3 Pop. It was the first single from their album 5150 and it seemed that folks were on board with the band's new lead singer. Up next for release was this track that made it to #6 at Rock. The tune just missed out on the Pop Top 20, but it was still another good showing for the band.

ReduxReview:  It seems odd to say this, but I've always thought this was VH's sweetest song. I liked the sentiment of the lyrics and even the chord structures and chorus melodies leaned towards a sound that just made you feel good. I also like the dense sound of the tune fluffed out with Eddie's keyboard. Add in Hagar pushing his voice to the limits and a classic from this era of the band was born.

ReduxRating:  8/10

Trivia:  When this song came out it was accompanied by a video that ended up being quite popular on MTV. The odd thing was that the band didn't appear in the video. Instead, the stars of the video were the U.S. Navy's A-4 Skyhawk jets. Footage of the famous Blue Angels team of pilots performing maneuvers and aerobatic skills was edited specifically for the song. The timing of using the Blue Angels for the video was perfect as the hit film Top Gun had just hit theaters and interest in Navy aviation programs grew significantly. The movie was about fighter pilots who attend the Navy's Topgun training school and after the film became the top grossing of the year, the U.S. Navy reported a big spike in recruitment mainly due to folks who saw the film and decided they wanted to be a pilot. Van Halen's video at the time probably helped as well.

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