You really got me.

''I live my life like there's no tomorrow and all I've got I had to steal, least I don't need to beg or borrow, yes, I'm living at a pace that kills.

Runnin' with the devil.''

Do you ever get bored and take one of them online quizes? I seem to do that often. During times when I really should be paying attention to the world around me. I already learned fascinating things about myself. For one facebook seems to be certain that at some point I will be a math teacher. Ha ha ha. Are you kidding me? I hate math, I suck at math. This could never happen. Also married to an Italian with three kids? As if.

But that aside, there's quizes about rockstars that can't really give a wrong anwser, which 80's rockstar is your soulmate? Which 80's rockstar would date you? Which 80's hair metal musician would fall for you? You get the point right? Anyways the one musician that I keep getting seems to be David Lee Roth. So in that spirit here we are today....

Do you have albums, songs, musicians that you feel are just completly underrated? Not appreciated as they should be? Don't get as much love as they deserve? I actually feel Van Halen are one of them. They actually created this whole new wave of hard rock music. Honestly look at it back in the 78' between punk and disco, rock music was barely holding on. This was the re birth of hard rock, you've got two extraordinary talents together, Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth. And yet somehow when speaking about revolutionary rock albums they never seem to make the cut.

But don't you think it should get more attention? Don't you think that Eddie completly changed the perception or what a guitar can do? Sure okay they're not Led Zeppelin or the Rolling stones but I believe they are still just as iconic as any of the ''big guns'' are. This was a how do they call it a ''pedal to the metal'' kinda album that came onto the scene what it seemed like out of nowhere. And it's still one of the top debuts of all times. When I said Eddie changed how we see guitar playing forever that was because the speed and flair he plays with? That is nothing short of jaw dropping. All the solos and riffs on this album and any follow up album are amazing.

They are originally from Southern California, formed by the brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen, which is where the name comes from. Did you know that they were actually born in the Netherlands to a jazz musician? Roth joined them somewhere in the 1974 I believe, his father being quite wealthy and his uncle owned a cafe which had names such as Dylan and Hendrix playing it it. Amazing huh? I guess it's not hard why they picked him to he the frontman. All that sass and charisma and charm and essentially looks as well. Makes sense.

They started out playing anything, from private parties on someones backyard to Sunset strip night clubs. Cute story in 76' Gene Simmons saw them preform and offered to produce a demo tape for them. Of course later he backed out of the deal because the band wouldn't change their name into, what is that one spider with really long legs? Oh right! ''Daddy longlegs''. Seriously Gene what kind of a name is that for a band? Comforting to see that his ''smart'' comments are not a recent thing, obviously he's always been ''smart''. After that Kiss's managment told them that the had no chance of making it. Well hell, they sure showed them haven't they? The very next year a man from Warner Bros saw them play and was so impressed that he got them a recording contract. Which turns out to be a bit shady, or so the band is saying these days.

So there are nine original songs and two covers on this album. And right from the get go with Runnin with the Devil, it's hard and heavy, I feel like it's something that should be played in one of them fantasy movies when Godzilla or whatever else is popular at the moment, rampages through Hollywood boulevard or Manhattan, swatting planes from the sky. Funny thing about it is that it never made it to the charts as a single but today it's one of the most known songs by them.

Then you've got the Eruption, instrumental and probably one of the best guitar pieces ever recorded. Slash baby, I love you and I'm so sorry, I feel like I'm cheating on you but what's true is true, also I did say one of. Hah. I read about a man once that was born on a Van Halen concert during this song. I mean how cool is that? To say ''oh I was born at a Van Halen concert, during Eruption''? Eruption wasn't supposed to be on the album it was Eddie rehearsing and the guy that gave them a record deal heard it and loved it, same story as Sweet Child O Mine's intro, just Slash rehearsing. Can you imagine that? Reaching a point where your rehearsing is that good? And not to mention that both Eruption and the begining of Sweet Child which has to be one of the most iconic guitar riffs could never happen? Bloody nightmare.

Eruption goes into You really got me, as cliche as it is it's one of my favorites. Obviously. Who doesn't know or love that song? Riff after riff and those vocals in the chorus, cmon. It's perfect. And guess what? Unlike Runnin with the Devil this one made the top 40 single chart.

''I’ve been to the edge and there I stood and looked down, you know I’ve lost a lot of friends there baby, ain’t got time to mess around…”

Ain't talkin' bout love is rather dark don't you think? As opposed to You really got me which is basically all fun and games. But to be fair I think a great and really underrated song is actually the last song on the first side which is I'm the one. Kinda bluesy and dynamic and a slight acappella part, I really don't understand how this song doesn't get more attention. You know what Nikki Sixx once said? That he loves vinyl because there's no skipping, you put on a record and just listen, that's why bands had to do an album where all the songs were good not just the single. Honestly I love that about vinyl too, I came to realize many times that there's songs I love far more then the singles on those albums I listened too. Single isn't always the best song.

Alright part two. Feel your love tonight, Jamie's cryin'? Pop rock. Although they're nice and their catchy choruses really should put them on the radio and play them untill we hated them, they never were. Hm. I wonder why. And Atomic punk that's between them is more of a ''dangerous'' title then anything. Little dreamer is actually what got my attention, the guitar is perfect and the way it blends with the drums and the bass is perfect and somehow I feel like Davids singing is different on this song. Somehow better then the rest of the album. I don't know maybe I'm imagining things.

Everything about Van Halen is big, and the simple rhythms give David and Eddie room to run free and wild. Have you ever seen a live video? David's strutting up and down the stage? Or the dirty jokes? And there were plenty of those but that's exactly what I love about him, the sass, the flare, he is not A frontman he is THE frontman. These are the songs that changed rock n roll music, they're still fresh and fun today 30 something years later. And this record went Diamond in the US, selling over 10 million copies, while the albums that followed, Van Halen II, Women and children first, Fair warning and Diver down only got, 5,3,2 and 4 times platinum *in the US* until the revolution that is 1984 that also came out in 84' which was Roths last album with the band and it also went straight to Diamond. Amazing album that one.

I give this album a straight 10 out of 10 stars. *guess who has star grading on her blog now?*

It's amazing, I love it from start to finish, if you don't have it, you're missing out, pick it up and give it a chance, I'm willing to risk the name calling if you happen to be disappointed. But you won't be, I promise. And if nothing else at least enjoy the picture in the back. It's one hell of a picture.

P.S. to all my readers in Texas, Florida, Mexico, and anywhere else where something nasty is happening, stay safe and look after one another. 2 huge storms in such short time period, hey Donald, you still think global warming is a hoax? *coughidiotcough*. Be strong guys.

''I found the simple life ain't so simple when I jumped out on that road. I got no love, no love you'd call real ain't got nobody waiting at home.

Runnin' with the devil.''