March 23, 1979. How do you follow up one of the all-time greatest debut rock albums? If you’re Van Halen, you get right back into the studio.
Here’s the timeline: Van Halen released their self-titled debut on February 10, 1978. On March 3, 1978, they kicked off their first World Tour, which encompassed 174 shows and ran through December 3 of 1978. One week later–December 10, 1979–the band went into the studio to start work on Van Halen II. Talk about work ethic.
And it payed off. The band was able to build on the atmosphere and momentum of their first album and carry into their second. That Van Halen vibe is there from the start on opening tracks “You’re No Good” and “Dance The Night Away” and it continues all the way through album closer “Beautiful Girls.”
You can revisit those tracks below, but make time to go back to the full album. I mean, given all that’s going on in the world right now, time is likely something you have plenty of. And that party vibe that Van Halen captures on II might do a bit to lift your spirits if your spirits need lifting.