Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in October 1978 as the third single from their 1978 debut album, Van Halen.
"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" | ||||
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Single by Van Halen | ||||
from the album Van Halen | ||||
B-side | "Feel Your Love Tonight" | |||
Released | October 1978 | |||
Recorded | 1977 | |||
Studio | Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:50 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Ted Templeman | |||
Van Halen singles chronology | ||||
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This song is one of the few David Lee Roth-era songs that onetime replacement Sammy Hagar was willing to sing in concert when he joined the band in the mid-'80s.[1]
Chuck Klosterman of Vulture.com ranked it the 25th-best Van Halen song, calling it "powerful and it's memorable and I know it's definitive, but it seems like a song for a band with less potential for enthusiasm."[2]
Background and writing
When Eddie Van Halen wrote the song, he did not consider it good enough to show his bandmates until a year later.[1] He said it was supposed to be a punk rock parody, "a stupid thing to us, just two chords. It didn't end up sounding punk, but that was the intention." The guitar solo was doubled in overdubs with an electric sitar.[3]
Legacy
The song has been described as "[laying] down the style and sentiment of what would become 80s hair metal".[4] It has also been called their "most heavy metal track".[5]
Personnel
- David Lee Roth – lead vocals
- Eddie Van Halen – guitar, backing vocals, electric sitar
- Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals
- Alex Van Halen – drums
References
- AllMusic review
- Klosterman, Chuck (October 6, 2020). "All 131 Van Halen Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best A look back at the band's formidable legacy". Vulture.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- "Prime Cuts: Eddie Van Halen Breaks Down 10 Van Halen Classics, from "Eruption" to "Right Now"". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
- "How Van Halen's Debut Album Invented Hair Metal". Dig!. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
- "Ranking Every Van Halen Album From Worst to Best". Consequence. 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2021-06-10.