Album
Van Halen II
Van Halen II is the second studio album by the American rock band Van Halen, released by Warner Bros. Records on 23 March 1979. It followed their self-titled debut of 1978 and came before Women and Children First in 1980, so it sits right at the start of the band's run of records. Its genres are given as hard rock and heavy metal, and it reached number six on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart.
The singles "Dance the Night Away" and "Beautiful Girls" were both hits, and they capture what the record does best. The Rolling Stone Album Guide praised its "feel-good, party atmosphere", and that is a fair way to approach it: this is Van Halen in high spirits, keeping things bright and loud. By 2004 it had sold almost six million copies in the United States alone.
Van Halen II: tracklist, credits and charts
10 tracks · 31:15Tracklist
- 1You’re No GoodClint Ballard, Jr.3:12
- 2Dance the Night AwayAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:04
- 3Somebody Get Me a DoctorAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen2:51
- 4Bottoms Up!Anthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:04
- 5Outta Love AgainAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen2:49
- 6Light Up the SkyAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:09
- 7Spanish FlyAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen0:58
- 8D.O.A.Anthony, Roth, Halen, Halen4:07
- 9Women in Love…Anthony, Roth, Halen, Halen4:05
- 10Beautiful GirlsAnthony, Roth, Halen, Halen3:56
- Produced by
- Ted Templeman
- Recorded at
- Sunset Sound (Hollywood, California), Sunset Sound
- Recorded
- 10–16 December 1978
- Mixed at
- Westlake Audio
- Engineered by
- Donn Landee
- Labels
- Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros.
- Length
- 31:15
Line-up
- Michael Anthony · bass guitar
- Alex Van Halen · drums (drum set)
- Edward Van Halen · guitar, acoustic guitar
- David Lee Roth · lead vocals
Singles
- “Dance the Night Away” · April 1979
- “Beautiful Girls” · August 1979
- “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” · August 1979 (Japan)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1979 | 6 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1979 | 23 |
| Dutch Albums · 1979 | 11 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1979 | 15 |
| Swedish Albums · 1979 | 22 |
| German Albums · 1979 | 24 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1979 | 30 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2021 | 36 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1979 | 68 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1984 | 2× Platinum |
| France · 1988 | Gold |
| Japan · 1979 | Gold |
| Netherlands · 1984 | 2× Gold |
| United States · 2004 | 5× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
80.1
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
154k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
12k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 23 March
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More from Van Halen
Full discography →
Van Halen
1978
Women and Children First
1980
Fair Warning
1981
Diver Down
1982
Jump!
1983
1984
1984
5150
1986
OU812
1988
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
1991
Live: Right Here, Right Now
1993
Balance
1995
Best Of, Volume I
1996
Van Halen III
1998
The Best of Both Worlds
2004
A Different Kind of Truth
2012
Tokyo Dome Live in Concert
2015
The best of 1979
All of 1979 →
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Pink Floyd · 1979
Highway to Hell
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London Calling
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In Through the Out Door
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Dynasty
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Fleetwood Mac · 1979
Communiqué
Dire Straits · 1979
Lodger
David Bowie · 1979
2000 Man
KISS · 1979
Time Waits for No One
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Down to Earth
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More on Warner Bros. Records
The label →
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Meteora
Linkin Park · 2003
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Rumours
Fleetwood Mac · 1977
A Thousand Suns
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The Hunting Party
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One Hot Minute
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1979-03-26 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 26 March 1979 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 23 March 1979 | |
| Wikidata | 23 March 1979 | |
| US release | 26 March 1979 | earliest US date |
27 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992739122 | other |
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992739122 | other |
| — | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 075992739122 | other |
| 1979 | PT | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1979 | DE | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 26 March 1979 | US | Warner Bros. Records | original | |
| 1987 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 07599273912 | other |
| 1987 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992739122 | other |
| 25 March 1987 | JP | Warner–Pioneer Corporation | 4988014313339 | other |
| 10 September 1988 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014720311 | other |
| 2000 | CA | Warner Bros. Records | 093624773825 | other |
| 2000 | XE | Warner Bros. Records | 093624773825 | other |
| 19 September 2000 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 093624773825 | remaster |
| 27 July 2005 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674057313 | other |
| 21 December 2010 | US | Rhino | 081227979386 | other |
| 23 April 2013 | CA | Rhino | 603497923250 | other |
| 2015 | XW | Rhino | 081227954918 | other |
| 2015 | US | Rhino | 081227954932 | remaster |
| 31 March 2015 | XW | Rhino | 603497892679 | remaster |
| 31 March 2015 | — | Rhino | 603497892457 | remaster |
| 31 March 2015 | — | Warner Bros. Records | 603497892600 | remaster |
| 31 March 2015 | XW | Rhino | 603497894222 | other |
| 10 July 2015 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227954918 | remaster |
| 10 August 2016 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674240487 | other |
| 23 March 2019 | JP | Rhino | 603497923250 | other |
| 20 June 2024 | — | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797203326 | remaster |
| 21 June 2024 | US | Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab | 821797224468 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |