Now Available – Van Halen: Remastered Editions of Van Halen & 1984

You may recall a few weeks ago how, when we were in the midst of hyping Van Halen’s new Tokyo Dome in Concert album, we made mention of how the band had also released remastered editions of their self-titled debut as well as the last studio album from David Lee Roth’s original stint with the band, 1984. While we have no doubt that this mention did not go unnoticed, we thought it was worth devoting a separate post to these remastered editions, because – hand on heart- they really do sound fantastic.

But, of course, what would you expect from Chris Bellman? He’s the mastering engineer who took the original quarter-inch tapes of the albums in question, ensconced himself within the walls of Bernie Grundman Mastering Studios, and emerged with both Van Halen and 1984 sounding just as pristine as the boys in the band had wanted them to sound.

As noted in our previous post, the remasters have been made available not only digitally and on CD but also on 180-gram vinyl, so you old-school VH fans can rock out to “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “You Really Got Me,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” and “Jamie’s Cryin’” on your record player just like you used to back in the day. And if you like what you hear on these remasters – and, really, why wouldn’t you? – don’t forget: Van Halen II, Women and Children First, Fair Warning, and Diver Down are all in the works and coming your way in the relatively near future.

VAN HALEN CD
Remastered from the original analog tapes, packaged in a replica of the original LP jacket

VAN HALEN LP
Remastered from the original analog tapes, packaged in a replica of the original LP jacket

1984 CD
Remastered from the original analog tapes, packaged in a replica of the original LP jacket

1984 LP
Remastered from the original analog tapes, packaged in a replica of the original LP jacket