Van Halen III

Van Halen III
Studio album by Van Halen
Released March 17, 1998
Recorded March–December 1997
Studio 5150 Studios, Studio City, CA
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 65:18
Language English
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Mike Post, Eddie Van Halen
Van Halen chronology
Van Halen Best of, Volume I
(1996)
Van Halen III
(1998)
A Different Kind of Truth
(2012)
Singles from Van Halen III
  1. "Without You"
    Released: February 19, 1998
  2. "One I Want"
    Released: 1998
  3. "Fire in the Hole"
    Released: July 1998
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB[2]
Robert Christgau[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

Van Halen III is the eleventh studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released on March 17, 1998 on Warner Bros. Produced by Mike Post and Eddie Van Halen, it is the band's only studio album to feature lead vocalist Gary Cherone, and the last to feature bassist Michael Anthony before he was replaced in the band by Eddie's son Wolfgang in 2006. Work on a follow-up album with Cherone commenced in 1999, but never advanced past a few demos.[5]

Van Halen III was the band's last album for nearly a decade and a half, and their final album of the 20th century. It was also the final album the band released on Warner Bros. When they returned in 2012 with A Different Kind of Truth, it was with Interscope Records.

History

The album's title refers to the fact that it was Van Halen's third recorded line-up, and the band's first two albums having been titled Van Halen and Van Halen II. None of its material is featured on The Best of Both Worlds, the band's 2004 greatest hits compilation.

The album's only significant radio hit was "Without You", which reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart on the March 7, 1998 issue of Billboard, and remained there for six weeks. Other songs receiving airplay on rock radio were "Fire in the Hole" and "One I Want". The album's final song, "How Many Say I", was an unusual acoustic piano ballad featuring Eddie on lead vocals with Cherone on backing vocals.

Another song entitled "That's Why I Love You" was dropped at the last minute in favor of "Josephina". This album also contributed the song "Fire in the Hole" to the Lethal Weapon 4 film soundtrack.

The album is also known for its minimal use of Michael Anthony on bass guitar. Anthony only played bass on three songs on the album; "Without You", "One I Want" & "Fire In The Hole". Eddie Van Halen recorded bass for the rest of the album.

After Michael Anthony's departure from Van Halen, he was asked whether or not it was true Eddie Van Halen dictated to him how to play bass on this record and Anthony confirmed this was true. He said by the time of making this album, Eddie was playing the bass more as well as some drums. "I don't know if Eddie was basically making a solo record, which is what Van Halen III seemed like to me."[6]

The album cover is a still picture from stock footage of Frank "Cannonball" Richards.

Track listing

All songs credited to Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, Gary Cherone and Alex Van Halen.

No. Title Length
1. "Neworld" (instrumental) 1:45
2. "Without You"   6:30
3. "One I Want"   5:30
4. "From Afar"   5:24
5. "Dirty Water Dog"   5:27
6. "Once"   7:42
7. "Fire in the Hole"   5:31
8. "Josephina"   5:42
9. "Year to the Day"   8:34
10. "Primary" (guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen) 1:27
11. "Ballot or the Bullet"   5:42
12. "How Many Say I"   6:04

Personnel

Additional musicians

Production

Chart positions

Album Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1998 The Billboard 200[7] 4
1998 Top Canadian Albums 4

Singles Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1998 "Fire in the Hole" Mainstream Rock Tracks 6
1998 "One I Want" Mainstream Rock Tracks 27
1998 "Without You" Mainstream Rock Tracks 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[8] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. Van Halen III at AllMusic
  2. Sinclair, Tom (March 20, 1998). "Van Halen III Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  3. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Van Halen". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  4. Kot, Greg (March 2, 1998). "Van Halen III". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  5. "Gary Cherone Reflects on his Three-Year Stint In Van Halen". Rolling Stone Magazine. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  6. Rolling Stone magazine, September 2009, Issue 694, "Quick and Dirty with Michael Anthony" by Rod Yates, page114.
  7. "Van Halen - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  8. "American album certifications – Van Halen – Van Halen III". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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