"Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" is a song by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in September 1978 as the fourth US single from their 1978 debut album, Van Halen.
| "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Van Halen | ||||
| from the album Van Halen | ||||
| B-side | "Feel Your Love Tonight" | |||
| Released | June 1978 (Japan)[1] September 1978 (US)[2] | |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Studio | Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 3:50 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Ted Templeman | |||
| Van Halen singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
This song is one of the few David Lee Roth-era songs that subsequent replacement Sammy Hagar was willing to sing in concert when he joined the band in the mid-1980s.[3]
Guitar World readers ranked Eddie Van Halen's guitar riff in the song as the fifth-best metal riff of all time.[4]
Background and writing
editWhen Eddie Van Halen wrote the song, he did not consider it good enough to show his bandmates until a year later.[3] He said it was supposed to be a punk rock parody, "a stupid thing to us, just two chords. It didn't end up sounding punk, but that was the intention." The guitar solo was doubled in overdubs with an electric sitar.[5]
Legacy
editThe song has been described as "[laying] down the style and sentiment of what would become 80s hair metal".[6] It has also been called their "most heavy metal track".[7]
The opening riff was sampled in Apollo 440's 1997 song "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Dub".
The Minutemen covered a stripped down version of the song during their live performances; they also recorded it several times.
Personnel
edit- David Lee Roth – lead vocals
- Eddie Van Halen – guitar, electric sitar
- Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals
- Alex Van Halen – drums
References
edit- ^ "Van Halen - Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" (in Dutch).
- ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 866. ISBN 9780862415419.
- ^ a b Prato, Greg. "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love - Van Halen". AllMusic. Song Review.
- ^ "'Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love' Voted Fifth Greatest Riff of All Time by Total Guitar, Guitar World Readers". Van Halen News Desk. June 5, 2021.
- ^ "Prime Cuts: Eddie Van Halen Breaks Down 10 Van Halen Classics, from 'Eruption' to 'Right Now'". Guitar World. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ^ "How Van Halen's Debut Album Invented Hair Metal". Dig!. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
- ^ "Ranking Every Van Halen Album From Worst to Best". Consequence. February 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.