Van Halen - 1982 - Diver down

Diver Down was a really half-assed effort by Van Halen.  
Of the six VH albums released during the David Lee Roth years, Diver Down is probably the least beloved because
it contains shockingly little original Van Halen music.  
If you discount the covers, the novelty tunes (also covers), and the short instrumentals, you are only left with four proper,
original VH songs; Hang ‘Em High, Secrets, Little Guitars, and The Full Bug.  
That’s not to say the fluff isn’t worthwhile (Happy Trails is pretty great!),
it’s just that given the talent of this band it would have been nice to get an album full of original material.

Nevertheless, Diver Down is essential because its Roth-era VH, and everything from those years belongs on yo’ shelf.  
‘Cause even when they were just screwing around, the chemistry of Van Halen was magic.  
Diver Down shows that VH didn’t even need to try, and they were still one of the best bands EVER.  
Of the four original new songs, Little Guitars is my absolute fave.  
I love Eddie’s playing on this one!  
Hang ‘Em High and The Full Bug are two great “deep tracks” from the VH catalog that (happily) haven’t been worn out
by constant radio play.  
Secrets, on the other hand, ain’t all that great.  
Oh well.  
I guess we can forgive VH for being a bit lazy on Diver Down because they did, after all, release a total of six LPs
in six years (’78-’83), which was pretty damn productive.  
And yeah, you need to have all six to call yourself any kind of rock fan.