Women and Children First
The band members posing together and leaning in toward the camera at a worm's eye view
Studio album by
Van Halen
ReleasedMarch 26, 1980 (1980-03-26)
RecordedDecember 1979 – February 1980
StudioSunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length33:35
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerTed Templeman
Van Halen chronology
Van Halen II
(1979)		 Women and Children First
(1980)		 Fair Warning
(1981)
Singles from Women and Children First
  1. "And the Cradle Will Rock..."
    Released: April 1980

Women and Children First is the third studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on March 26, 1980, on Warner Bros. Records. Produced by Ted Templeman and engineered by Donn Landee, it was the first Van Halen album not to feature any cover songs, and is described by critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as "[the] record where the group started to get heavier, both sonically and, to a lesser extent, thematically."[1]

Background and recording

The opening track, "And the Cradle Will Rock..." begins with what sounds like a guitar, but is actually a phase shifter-effected Wurlitzer electric piano played through Eddie Van Halen's 1960s model 100-watt Marshall Plexi amplifier.[2]

Like the two preceding albums, Women and Children First was recorded in Hollywood at Sunset Studios, within about two weeks. The album features more studio overdubs and less emphasis on backing vocals, partly because two of the songs, "In a Simple Rhyme" and "Take Your Whiskey Home", had already been written and recorded in a 1974 Cherokee Studios demo, before Michael Anthony had joined them, albeit both with some differences lyrically and musically. Two other songs had also been played live earlier: "Fools" as early as 1975, while "Loss of Control" debuted in 1977.[3]

"Could This Be Magic?" contains the only female backing vocal ever recorded for a Van Halen song; Nicolette Larson sings during some of the choruses. The rain sound in the background is not an effect; it was raining outside, and the band decided to record the sound in stereo using two Neumann KM84 microphones, and added it to the track.[4]

The album contains a track at the end of "In a Simple Rhyme," a brief instrumental piece entitled "Growth," beginning at 4:19. While "Growth" faded out on the original vinyl LP and cassette, it was given a cold ending at full volume on the compact disc. At the time the band was considering starting what would become their next album, Fair Warning, with a continuation of "Growth," but did not. "Growth" was a staple of the band's live shows with Roth and often used as the start of their encores.

Several outtakes from these sessions exist, including an unreleased instrumental often referred to as "Act Like It Hurts," which was the title Eddie Van Halen originally wanted for "Tora! Tora!" "Act Like It Hurts" was also the source of a riff used for the song "House of Pain," released on 1984.

The first single from the album was the keyboard-driven "And the Cradle Will Rock..." Although not a success like previous singles "Dance the Night Away" or the cover of "You Really Got Me," the album itself was well-received, went platinum within a year and further entrenched the band as a popular concert draw. The song "Everybody Wants Some!!" was also a concert staple through the 1984 tour, and continued to be played by David Lee Roth after he left Van Halen.[4]

The vinyl LP version included a poster of a photograph by Helmut Newton featuring Roth chained to a fence.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record Guide: The '80sB[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Reviews for Women and Children First were generally favorable. David Fricke for Rolling Stone highlights the songs, "Romeo Delight", "Everybody Wants Some!!", and "Loss of Control", calling them "works of high-volume art". Fricke praises the band, calling them "exceptionally good players".[8] Both Fricke and Robert Christgau compare Eddie's guitar work to Jimi Hendrix. Christgau gives the album a B rating, stating, "[Eddie] earns the Hendrix comparisons, and he's no clone—he's faster, colder, more structural." In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album 4.5 stars out of 5. Erlewine calls the album, "mature, or at least ... a little serious", noting "there's a bit of a dark heart beating on this record".[1]

Kerrang! magazine listed the album at number 30 among the "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time",[9] and Rolling Stone listed the album at number 36 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."And the Cradle Will Rock..."3:31
2."Everybody Wants Some!!"5:05
3."Fools"5:55
4."Romeo Delight"4:19
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Tora! Tora!"0:57
6."Loss of Control"2:36
7."Take Your Whiskey Home"3:09
8."Could This Be Magic?"3:08
9."In a Simple Rhyme"
"Growth" (hidden track)		4:40

Personnel

Van Halen

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Charting Singles

Song Chart Position
"And the Cradle Will Rock..." Billboard Hot 100 55
Canada (RPM) Singles 81

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] 2× Platinum 200,000^
France (SNEP)[24] Gold 100,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[25] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Women and Children First - Van Halen". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  2. ↑ "And The Cradle Will Rock..." Van Halen News Desk. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  3. ↑ 1977.8.1🔶Magic Mountain 1977 - VAN HALEN (Sound Only), retrieved November 18, 2022
  4. 1 2 "Women And Children First". Van Halen News Desk. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ Renoff, Greg. "The Private Photo Shoot that Sparked a War Inside Van Halen". Cuepoint. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Reviews: Women and Children First". Robert Christgau. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Van Halen: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  8. ↑ Fricke, David (June 26, 1980). "Van Halen – Women and Children First". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  9. ↑ Galbraith, David (January 21, 1989). "Van Halen 'Women and Children First'". Kerrang!. Vol. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd.
  10. ↑ "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0203a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Van Halen – Women and Children First" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Van Halen – Women and Children First" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  14. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  15. ↑ "Charts.nz – Van Halen – Women and Children First". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Van Halen – Women and Children First". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Van Halen – Women and Children First". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Van Halen | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Van Halen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2021. 3. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1980". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1980". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Van Halen – Women and Children First". Music Canada.
  24. ↑ "French album certifications – Van Halen – Women and Children First" (in French). InfoDisc. Select VAN HALEN and click OK. 
  25. ↑ "Dutch album certifications – Van Halen – Women and Children First" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved February 26, 2020. Enter Women and Children First in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1984 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  26. ↑ "American album certifications – Van Halen – Women & Children First". Recording Industry Association of America.

Further reading

Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life In Music. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 306–10. ISBN 9781770414839. OCLC 1121143123.

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