Album of the Day

Treading similar ground as their debut but with even greater confidence, Van Halen's second album was released on this day in 1979. With producer Ted Templeman back behind the boards, the SoCal quartet serves up 10 hard rock anthems with deceptive ease, including “Beautiful Girls,” “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” and the irresistible “Dance the Night Away.” Eddie Van Halen's fretwork is dazzling throughout (in particular on acoustic instrumental “Spanish Fly”), and frontman David Lee Roth's humor and energy give the collection appeal far beyond headbangers. A Top 10 hit that eventually went 5x platinum, VAN HALEN II is a near-perfect party record.