The Four Great Tracks From Van Halen III

A while back I posted an in defense of argument in favor of Van Halen III. The album that really gets run down in the bands catalog. And to be honest, I may have gone a little overboard in my praise for the album. There are some truly cringe worthy moments on it. The ballads don’t work. And a few mid tempo tracks try way to hard to be something they aren’t. However, there are four tracks on the album that rank among some of Van Halen’s best work. I’m talking about: ‘Without You,’ ‘One I Want,’ ‘Fire In The Hole,’ and ‘Ballot Or The Bullet.’

All four tracks are truly some of the best shit Van Halen has ever done. Groovy, funky, heavy, melodic with that classic Eddie Van Halen guitar tone. All in all, it’s everything any Van Halen fan would want from the band. Unfortunately these songs don’t get talked about very much because the rest of the album, give or take a few tracks, is very poor. But that doesn’t change the fact that these four tracks are some of the most overlooked material in all of hard rock.

‘Without You’ was the first single that created the buzz around the album. The music video was successful. And the track is largely responsible for the album debuting at number four on the charts. But once the whole record was exposed the album quickly dropped off. And it still remains the only Van Halen album that hasn’t gone gold. But ‘Without You’ is a classic. There are multiple, addictive riffs in the song. Particularly the funky jam riff after the second chorus. Which sets up one of EVH’s best solos. Not to mention how catchy the chorus is. A perfect, melodic sing along that doesn’t seem trite or overworked.

‘One I Want’ is another funky ass piece from Van Halen. But this one has a prog feel to it. Alex Van Halen’s drums syncopate with the groove oriented verse. And he’s always throwing you off with his on and off beat 4/4 time signatures. The chorus is a catchy ear worm with the classic Van Halen background vocals. The guitar solo is a terrific blues jam done EVH style. All around a great track.

‘Fire In The Hole’ is a fan favorite song. Even those who despise the album acknowledge it’s greatness. Perhaps more than any other song, this represents what really could have been with Gary Cerone had the Van Halen brothers not gotten carried away with song arrangements. It’s absolutely one of Eddie’s strongest power chord riffs. The solo is sleazy and fun. Along with the groove that’s masterfully played by Micheal Anthony and Alex Van Halen. Cerone’s voice soars through the track. Giving Van Halen seemingly new life.

‘Ballot Or The Bullet’ is a slick, heavy political firestorm. Alex Van Halen’s 16th high-hat notes drive the song forward while still keeping the funk alive. Then he moves into a double pedal, driving rhythm during the chorus. Eddie digs deeps to find one of his heaviest riffs in all of Van Halen’s catalog. What also makes the track pop is Michael Anthony’s bass hits at the beginning of each phrase during the verses. And once again, the guitar solo is nearly unmatched. Plus the acoustic slide guitar is a nice touch. All in all, yet another memorable Van Halen masterpiece.

All in all these four stand out tracks make Van Halen III worth the time. And there are some other good songs on the album. The back end of ‘Year To The Day’ is a near masterpiece. But the album gets thrown under the bus as a whole due to the Van Halen brothers’ indulgence on the record. But that doesn’t mean these four tracks aren’t worthy of recognition. What do you think? Are these songs among some of Van Halen’s best?

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