Song#: 3785
Date: 01/28/1989
Debut: 79
Peak: 35
Weeks: 14
Genre: Rock
Pop Bits: Van Halen's second album with new member Sammy Hagar, OU812, would become their second to reach #1. It would also be another multi-platinum success thanks to a pair of Pop Top 20 hits including the #13 "Finish What Ya Started" (#2 Rock). Yet before the LP would wrap up its run, this fourth single was selected for release. The song had already been a hit at Rock reaching #6 back in November of '88, but now it was time for the tune to get a chance on pop radio. It might have been just a little bit too late as the single would stall just inside the Pop Top 40. By this point in time, sales of the LP had started to slow after hitting the three million mark. However, in 2004 that total would be bumped up to four million.
ReduxReview: This keyboard-driven track should have been a much bigger hit. The title of the song was perfect for the feeling it emitted. Although it certainly had a VH rock edge thanks to Eddie's guitar solo, the tune was quite happy and giddy with Hagar's loose vocals swooping over the top of a bubbly wave of rhythm. It was all summer sun and good vibes. I think because it had been a hit on rock stations months earlier, the exposure there hurt its chances at Pop once released. In other words, it had sort of run its course already. That was too bad because it definitely had more potential than a #35 showing. After this album, the band's output became spotty. They eked out a few good songs over the next couple of albums before the travesty that was Van Halen III. The band's final album was more of a return to form with Roth back on board and was enjoyable, but it still couldn't compete with their earlier classics.
ReduxRating: 8/10
Trivia: The band's next two studio albums pretty much stayed the course. Both For Unlawful Common Knowledge (1991) and Balance (1995) would hit #1 and go triple platinum. While each LP would only featured one Pop Top 30 entry, the two works would spawn eight Rock Top 10s with four of them hitting #1. Then in '96 the relationship between Eddie Van Halen and Sammy Hagar broke down, which led to Hagar either being fired from the band or leaving on his own accord (depending who tells the story). For a very short time, Van Halen reunited with former lead singer David Lee Roth, which resulted in two new tracks for a compilation album. But once again, Roth's antics left him out of the band for a second time. VH then tested singer/songwriter Mitch Malloy for the lead spot, but he eventually bowed out. The band then brought on board former Extreme leader Gary Cherone. He would front VH for the 1998 album Van Halen III. While it got to #4 and spawned a #1 Rock hit, the album only went gold and reviews of the LP and Cherone were not favorable. Therefore, VH and Cherone parted ways. After a break, VH brought back Hagar for a tour, but he was gone again afterwards. In 2006, two major changes happened. Long time bassist and key background vocalist Michael Anthony was out of the band and replaced by Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang. Then Roth was once again at the mic. The new lineup would record 2012's A Different Kind of Truth. The LP was well-received and would reach #2. It would be VH's last studio album as they would dissolve following the death of Eddie Van Halen in 2020.
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