Van Halen’s fourth album, “Fair Waring,” released on this date 1981. This is one album that I have never grown tired of…If I had only one CD to take on a deserted island…this would be it!
Eddie’s guitar tone and creativeness were at peak levels! The album was also one of the bands heaviest and wrongfully, IMO, their worst seller.
The guitar work on this album to me as a kid arguably changed my life…switched my dreams from baseball player to guitarist….
The cover art was taken from a William Kurelek painting, “The Maze.”
Mike Slayen ~ Guitarist 
This is my favourite VH album without a shadow of a doubt! Eddie’s guitar playing and tone on this is monstrous.
VH1 is more classic, 1984(underrated album) and all the Sammy records were bigger ‘hits’ but Fair Warning is Eddie’s Magnum Opus! Classic and Timeless. My favorite song is Hear About it Later…the way Eddie layered the guitar parts with the delay and flanger blew my mind as a kid….changed my thoughts on music entirely.
Roth is in great form on this too. Love his ad libs on Unchained. The thing that strikes me about this album is how funky it is! It’s so tight. I’m not sure about the timeline of these things but… there’s a lot of Drop-D riffing on this too which seems a bit ahead of it’s time?
Eddie used to tune down a half step until 1984…with all the keyboard stuff.
I agree the album is so tight but it is also so unique compositionally…part of the reasons it has never gotten old in my ears.
Honestly it is what I would like to hear more of if they keep doing new albums. Shes the Woman on their last album has the sound of Fair Warning but missing something….
I really enjoyed the new one but whether it ages as well as Fair Warning has remains to be seen.