intothewellsabyss

Jun 18, 20236 min read

𝗩𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻 — 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 (1991)

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

On June 17th in 1991, Van Halen released their ninth studio full-length studio “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” (often abbreviated as F.U.C.K.) via Warner Bros. Records.

It is the third to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart and maintained the position for three weeks.

The album marked the first time the band had Ted Templeman working in a producer capacity since “1984”, when David Lee Roth was still lead singer. He had, however, assisted in determining the track sequencing for the 1986 effort “5150”.

Background:

The album's title came from lead singer Sammy Hagar, who wanted to push the issue of censorship by naming Van Halen's album with a vulgarity, stating, "That's when censorship was a big issue. I wanted to name the album just Fuck." Hagar eventually backed away from the outright vulgarity after he was told by his friend, former world lightweight boxing champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, that the word "fuck" was an acronym for the phrase "for unlawful carnal knowledge" (though this is a false etymology).

Their tour promoting the album was unofficially named “F.U.C.K. 'n' Live”. Prior to recording, the term "for unlawful carnal knowledge" was used by the band Coven as a track on their album “Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls” in 1969.

Van Halen started work on the album in March 1990 and finished in April 1991, two months before its release. The album itself was marketed as the "return" to Van Halen's Hard Rock roots, with most songs being guitar driven, and the synth sounds being replaced by pianos.

The band also reconciled with producer Ted Templeman, who produced earlier Van Halen albums to return to work on the album. According to Eddie Van Halen (R.I.P.), this happened because singer Sammy Hagar did not want to work with Andy Johns and Templeman "let him get away with everything". The year-long production led to the labored sound.

This was the first album that Eddie recorded without his trademark Marshall Super Lead serving as the primary amplifier. The Marshall was fading, so Eddie went with his 1989 Soldano SLO-100 to record the album primarily, though the Marshall was used sparingly. A prototype for what would become the Peavey 5150 series of custom amplifiers was also used. Peavey's release of the 5150 series coincided with the release of the album.

"Poundcake" featured the sound of a battery operated power drill, which Eddie held to the pickups of his guitar and revved, creating the intro. The song "Top of the World" features a riff that was first heard during the outro of the 1984-era hit "Jump". For this reason, "Top of the World" is frequently played directly after "Jump" and appears immediately after it on the “Best of Both Worlds” compilation.

The instrumental "316" is named for the March 16 birthday of Eddie's son Wolfgang, who was Van Halen's most recent bass player, although the song predates his birth (as part of it was used by Eddie at the beginning of his guitar solo on tour, as seen on "Live Without a Net", and was originally written for 5150).

Critical Reception:

Rolling Stone's John Milward rated the album two out of five stars, explaining that it "is so stuffed with zigzagging guitars and blustery vocals that it almost forgets to rock. Eddie Van Halen, who probably has more guitars than teeth, upends such a tackle box of hooks that they only start to surface after repeated listenings. Tasteful simplicity, which is never really simple at all, would have proved a better course to follow." He concluded that the guitars "are busier, the beats are heavier, and the fun is fleeting. Van Halen has chops to burn, but “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”, like its lumbering opening track and first single, 'Poundcake,' is stale."

Gina Arnold of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C and said, "It would be nice to believe that the acronym formed by the title of Van Halen's new, top-charting album was intended as a covert blow against censorship in America. Unfortunately, it's far more likely that the punny name merely indicates VH's love of the kind of bathroom talk that third graders think is funny. ...”For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” doesn't contain even one mind-numbingly catchy melody. Only 'Top of the World' and 'The Dream Is Over' come close to working up a truly fist-thrusting chorus, and the gist of the latter—'dream another dream, this dream is over'—may well be advice that Van Halen and their fans ought to take to heart."

In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave the album a "dud" rating.

A retrospective review by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was mixed. He stated that the title "indicates the true nature of “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”... Backing away from the diversity of “OU812”, the band turns in some of the most basic, straightforward rock & roll of its career." However, he also stated that it was "undeniable that (Sammy Hagar's) limited vocal power had a great deal to do with the obvious nature of most of this music." He concluded that, even though the band continued to be tight and professional, the songwriting "is, by and large, undistinguished, with the anthemic 'Right Now' standing out as the most memorable song of the batch, mainly because of its incessant chorus."

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour:

The For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour (often abbreviated as the F.U.C.K. Tour or simply The Fuck Tour) was one of the band's longer tours, divided into 99 dates.

It featured shows in Hawaii and Mexico, places Van Halen rarely played in their history.

Sammy Hagar chose Alice in Chains to be the opening act after seeing the music video for their hit single "Man In The Box" on MTV.

(𝗩𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲, 1991)

At the two Fresno, California, shows, the band filmed and recorded material for the live double album Live: Right Here, Right Now and live VHS Van Halen: Right Here, Right Now – Live (later also released on laserdisc and DVD).

Promotion for these live works was the foundation of the band's next tour.

This tour included the song "Jump" in the set list. This song from the album "1984" had been the band's only US Hot 100 No. 1, but in his attempt to 'forget' the band's past, Sammy Hagar had refused to sing it when he joined the band in 1985. Now an established member of the line-up, he agreed to sing it more often.

This tour also marked the first time that keyboards were not performed live on stage by Eddie Van Halen. Keyboard and piano parts were performed off stage by Night Ranger keyboardist Alan Fitzgerald.

The tour was managed by touring veteran Scotty Ross, who has also managed the tours of Poison, Dio, Saliva and Celtic Woman.

Setlist:

August–December 1991:

"Poundcake"
"Judgement Day"
"Spanked"
"Runaround"
"When It's Love"
"There's Only One Way to Rock" (Sammy Hagar song)
Bass Solo
Drum Solo
"A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)"
"Panama"
"Why Can't This Be Love"
"Finish What Ya Started"
"Eagles Fly" (Sammy Hagar song)
Guitar Solo
"Best of Both Worlds"
"I Can't Drive 55" (Sammy Hagar song)
"The Dream Is Over"
"Jump"
"You Really Got Me" (The Kinks cover)
"Top of the World"

January–May 1992:

"Poundcake"
"Judgement Day"
"Runaround"
"When It's Love"
"There's Only One Way to Rock"
Bass Solo
"Pleasure Dome"
Drum Solo
"Panama"
"Right Now"
"Why Can't This Be Love"
"Finish What Ya Started"
"Give to Live"
Guitar Solo
"You Really Got Me"
"I Can't Drive 55"
"Best of Both Worlds"
"Top of The World"
"Jump"
"The Dream Is Over"

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge/319402445

Click this link to watch the official music video for “Poundcake”: https://youtu.be/o1GJxVmYv-E

Click this link to watch the official music video for “Right Now”: https://youtu.be/rMV-fenGP1g

Click this link to watch the official music video for “Top of the World”: https://youtu.be/ZBGTCQa6AHY

Click this link to follow Van Halen on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VanHalen

Click this link to follow the official Eddie Van Halen Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/eddievanhalen

Click this link to follow Alex Van Halen on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/AlexVanHalenOfficial/

Click this link to follow Sammy Hagar: https://www.facebook.com/SammyHagar

Click this link to follow Michael “Mad” Anthony: https://www.facebook.com/MadAnthonyBassman/

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells