Van Halen: Van Halen - Hybrid UltraDisc UHR DSD256 SACD, Limited, Numbered, Remastered

MoFi - Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab

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SKU:
UDSACD2243
UPC:
0821797224369
Availability:
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Calculated at Checkout
Edition:
1x Hybrid SACD, Limited, Numbered, Remastered, Paper Hardcover Pack, Playable on SACD player or standard CD player. Original Master Recording. Sourced From The Original Analog Master Tapes For Audiophile Sonics. Mastered by Shawn R. Britton @ Mobile
File Format:
DSD256
Disc Format:
UltraDisc UHR
SACD Disc Type:
Hybrid
MoFi - Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Cat#:
UDSACD2243
Released:
15.12.2023 in US
Original Release:
1978 Label Warner Bros. Records Cat# M5 3075
Genre:
Pop-Rock
Artist:
Van Halen

Out of stock, send us order at orders@sepeaaudio.com.

Definitively Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes: SACD Plays with Reference Clarity, Superb Dynamics, and Lively Immediacy.

Van Halen did more than announce to the world the earthshaking arrival of a revolutionary guitarist. Performed by an enterprising California quartet that took its name from two of its principal members, the 1978 debut ripped headlines away from punk, injected fresh energy into a then-moribund rock 'n' roll scene, reimagined how heavy music and throwback pop could coexist, and invited everyone to experience the top-down pleasures of a beachfront Saturday night every day of the week no matter where they lived. Painstakingly restored by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, and the first of a multi-album series in an exciting partnership between the famous reissue label and Van Halen, Van Halen delivers feel-good thrills and hormonally charged desires like never before.

Mastered from the original analog master tapes and housed in mini-LP-style packaging, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition hybrid SACD reissue allows fans to experience Van Halen's original blend of raw power, Hollywood flair, and vaudeville fun for generations to come. Playing with reference-setting sonics that elevate a 10-times-platinum landmark whose importance cannot be quantitatively measured, this definitive digital version provides a clear, clean, transparent, balanced, and turn-the-volume-up-to-11 view of an album that birthed entirely new styles.

Indeed, could a piece of music that transformed how countless guitarists approached their instrument be more fittingly named than "Eruption"? Likely not, and in just 102 seconds, Eddie Van Halen rewrote, reimagined, and reconfigured a vocabulary last significantly updated a decade earlier by fellow six-string wizard Jimi Hendrix. Akin to the Washington State legend, Eddie Van Halen developed his own techniques and tones all the while making his seismic accomplishments seem effortless. Devoid of the pretense, ego, and showiness that infected many of his imitators, the Dutch native sticks to a straightforward approach that underlines the authority, prowess, and visionary scope of his playing and then-unheard-of finger-tapping skills. Throughout Van Halen, he establishes himself as an instant idol—a savant whose otherworldly combination of breadth, poise, feel, speed, force, and melody seems beamed in from another galaxy.

As does nearly every song on the record, whose cohesiveness and dynamic put into perspective the advanced chemistry and one-for-all spirit the youthful band had out of the gates. Having paid its dues for years in bars and clubs—going as far as recording a 24-track demo for Kiss bassist Gene Simmons at Village Recorders only to be spurned by management companies that felt its music wouldn't go anywhere—Van Halen finally got a deserved break when Warner Bros. executives signed the group in 1977. The subsequent recording sessions further testify on behalf of the band's synergy and alignment. Completed in just a few weeks with producer Ted Templeman, Van Halen was primarily cut live in the studio with minimal overdubs and edits. The explosiveness, energy, and electricity remain definitive, and as heard on this UD1S set, put the group on a private stage—humming amplifiers, Frankenstrat guitar, bright spotlights, sweaty headbands, and then some.

Van Halen yielded just one hit in the form of a Top 40 single (a breathless cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me") but practically every song on the revered LP has become a staple. Named the 202nd Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone and considered by countless experts as one of the best debuts in history, the record displays what can happen with four distinct talents gel and strive for the same purposes. In Van Halen's case, the latter almost always involved partying, freedom, sex, and, in the immortal words of singer David Lee Roth, living "life like there's no tomorrow." The celebration manifests from the opening notes of the strutting "Runnin' with the Devil"—announced with the blare of droning car horns, Michael Anthony's robust bass line, and Alex Van Halen's thumping drumming—and continues through the conclusion of the white-hot "On Fire," goosed by Eddie Van Halen's race-track-ready lines, Roth's flamboyant deliveries, and the rhythm section's cat-like pounce.

Picking out individual highlights on Van Halen is akin to trying to count all the stars in a clear nighttime desert sky: There are far too many to identify, once you see one you notice another dozen you didn't spot before, and the cluster is best enjoyed as a whole. What's evident over repeat listens is the sheer diversity, a fact that's often overlooked: The high harmonies and background funk of "Jamie's Cryin'"; the insistent cane-and-a-tophat shuffle and doo-wop shoo-bop vocal break on "I'm the One"; the throwback acoustic blues that spreads into fast-paced, single-entendre wildfire on the Roth-led standout interpretation of John Brim's "Ice Cream Man."

Original Master Recording
UltraDisc UHR, Gain HD with 4x DSD
Mastered by Shawn R. Britton at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Sebastopol, CA on the Gain HD System
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab gratefully acknowledges and thanks these individuals and companies for their technical support and expertise: Tim de Paravicini, Pass Labs, Lipinski Sound, and Sound Application.

© & ℗ 1978 & 2023 Warner Records Inc.

Housed in a gatefold card sleeve. No booklet.

Tracklist

1 Runnin' With The Devil
2 Eruption
3 You Really Got Me
4 Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
5 I'm The One
6 Jamie's Cryin'
7 Atomic Punk
8 Feel Your Love Tonight
9 Little Dreamer
10 Ice Cream Man
11 On Fire

Recording information:

Title: Van Halen
Artist: Van Halen
Genre: Pop-Rock
Media: 1x UltraDisc UHR Hybrid SACD Stereo DSD256, Limited, Numbered, Remastered, . Playable on SACD player or standard CD player. Original Master Recording. Sourced From The Original Analog Master Tapes For Audiophile Sonics. Mastered by Shawn R. Britton @ Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab on The Gain HD System.
Label: MoFi - Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Cat#: UDSACD2243
Released: 15.12.2023 in US
Original release: 1978 by Warner Bros. Records M5 3075
EAN: 0821797224369
Discogs rel.#: 29147056

SACD recordings carry 2 year warranty if treated properly. No returns of used product.