Album of the Day

Van Halen's 4th studio album for Warner Bros., FAIR WARNING, displays a darker side of the legendary hard rock quartet. While it's produced by old hand Ted Templeman and includes the usual radio-friendly singles (“Unchained,” “So This Is Love?”), the collection sees Eddie Van Halen's guitar work becoming more complex and involved, and frontman David Lee Roth's lyrics becoming tougher and grittier (as titles like "Mean Street" and "Dirty Movies" suggest). It was a focused attack that said “the party's over,” though even with its serious tone, it still made the Top 10 and sold more than 2 million copies. Released 40 years ago today, FAIR WARNING is well worth revisiting for fans whose taste for pop-metal leans toward the metal side - as Allmusic puts it, the set “showcases the coiled power of Van Halen better than any other album.”