For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Van Halen
The late
eighties were a time of great change in the music world. It saw the emergence of
rap as a dominant music form, often at the expense of other genre’s.
For rock
bands to survive, they had to be very, very good. So when Diamond David Lee Roth
left Van Halen in 1985, the future didn’t look so rosy to those on the
outside. However, Eddie Van Halen knew differently, and he called (after a
couple of aborted attempts to bring in other vocalists) veteran Montrose
vocalist Sammy Hagar.
Hagar’s
impact was instant, with the band the band putting out two multi platinum
albums; “5150” and “OU812”. With these new albums came a new, more
pop-orientated approach. Van Hagar (as they came to be nicknamed) fans loved it,
but old school Dave-era Van Halen fan’s were often left alienated by the
band’s new direction.
The album
which seemed to cement Van Halen and Sammy Hagar with a more rocking, Dave-era
style of play was the third studio album from the lineup. The title of the album
came from a conversation involving Sammy. Sammy
is heavily into boxing, and was hanging out with pugilist Ray "Boom
Boom" Mancini and they got into a debate about the true origin of the F***
word. Ray claimed that it stood for the phrase "For Unlawful Carnal
Knowledge". Sammy thought “Hey, that would make a great title for an
album”. He broached the subject with the rest of the band, who also loved the
idea, especially as it was the point in time when Tipper Gore and co. had been
suing artists for using sexually provocative lyrics. This new title then
replaced the original working title of the album, the rather less subtle “Fuck
Censorship”.
In the Fall
of 1990, the band began pre-production on the new record . In early January of
1991 prior to the commencement of the album being recorded, Eddie’s 5150
Studio was remodelled. The new improved studio included the installation of a
new console. Also, the size of the studio was doubled, due in part to the
addition of a drum room.
With such
fine facilities entirely at their disposal, Van Halen spent more time than on
previous albums fine-tuning what would be their third consecutive #1 album with
Sammy Hagar
Part of the
process was obviously to find the correct producer. The band plumped for
legendary former Rolling Stones / Led Zeppelin producer Andy Johns. The band
particular wanted to bring Alex’ drums to the fore on what was to become a far
more rocking album than 5150 or OU812. With
the recording process moving along according to plan, what about the songs
themselves? Well, Sammy seemed to have reached a new level in his lyrics,
addressing real life issues more than ever before. The heavier feel that the
record was taking also allowed Sammy to reach deep down and give his best
performances vocally. A lot of the
of the basic tracks were recorded live in the studio, and the
band also had the chance to develop as individuals given Andy Johns' unique
production method’s.
With the
album drawing near to conclusion, the band drafted in their former producer Ted
Templeman to assist in recording and mixing Sammy’s vocals .
Even at this point in the
band’s sky-rocketing career, evidence was emerging of the disharmony which
would would rupture the band within five years.
“I'd say that we
actually had problems on every album exept for 5150.
Sammy wouldn't even work
with (producer) Andy Johns on For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge; he demanded to work
with Ted Templeman, because Ted lets him get away with everything.” – Eddie
Van Halen
After a
long haul ( “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge took a year to record; that's why the
playing on it might sound somewhat labored.”….Eddie Van Halen) the
album was finished.
On
Released
On:
Poundcake
"Poundcake"
(" (which the group performed live on the 1991 MTV Video Music
Awards) was the first video and single off of the album. Eddie created the
opening sound by operating a cordless Makita drill next to his guitar pick-ups.
The drill found its way on tour, with the familiar red, white, and black
stripes. This song is about Sammy's ideal woman, plain and simple.
Coincidentally, the day after the band recorded Poundcake, the first EVH Music
Man guitar prototypes arrived at the 5150 studio.
Judgement Day
: was the very first song to be written in the studio for the album.
Spanked
:
“Spanked" was the band’s seedy tribute to phone sex. Eddie played a
6-string bass on the song, giving it a "heavy" vibe. When the band
toured, Eddie used a double-necked version of his Ernie Ball EVH Music Man with
a 6-string bass and 6-string guitar combined.
Runaround: "Runaround"
had Ed on a 6-string bass and his custom-built Fender Esquire. This song also
featured a rarity for Eddie, a wah-wah pedal.
Pleasure Dome:
"Pleasure Dome" turned out to be the band's second longest song at the
time, at almost seven minutes in duration, Alex
would incorporate this song into his live drum solo on the "F.U.C.K."
tour.
In ‘N Out:
"In 'N'
Out" was extended live with several stop and start sequences. Though many
fans and critics alike interpret these lyrics as sexually suggestive, they
actually deal with how ironic it is that it costs money to be born and to die.
Mike considered this to be the hardest song on the album to play because of all
16 notes.
“Man on a mission”
"Man On A Mission"
was developed from a riff Ed had come up with on a bass.
“The Dream is Over”
"The Dream Is Over" is probably one of the best
"unknown" Van Halen songs and surprisingly wasn't released as a
single.
Right
Now:
"Right Now" was the song
people gravitated towards. With “Man on a
316 :
"316" was written by Eddie for
his song Wolfgang, who was born during the sessions for this album, on
Top
of the World:
This was the other hit single from the album, reaching number 27 in November
1991., with Poundcake as the B side. It
was often performed as an encore. The main riff for this is the same as Eddie's
playing during the outro of "Jump."
F.U.C.K.
entered straight into the charts at number #1,
(staying on the chart for 74 weeks) selling 3.8 million copies in the
The band
supported the album with a mammoth tour which they had to extend twice due to
demand from fans. Tour
support was by The Baby Animals from January
28 to May 31, playing to arena-size audiences. Eddie requested their presence
after his wife Valerie heard their album, and suggested them.
The
tour spawned the band’s next album (the live Right here, Right now) and a live
concert video as well. They also won a Grammy Award for the "Best Hard Rock
Performance With A Vocal" for
the album
For the
first time, Edward did not play keyboards live on stage at all during this tour.
He recorded parts into a sequencer during initial rehearsals before the start of
the tour, then re-recorded them every few days.
The setlist
for the F.U.C.K tour leaned heavily on songs from the album (unusua, as most
bands lean on old material with a smattering of new songs);
For Unlawful Carnal
Knowledge Tour setlist
Poundcake
Judgement Day
Spanked
Runaround
When It's Love
There's Only One Way To Rock
--Bass Solo
Pleasure Dome (Instrumental)
--Drum Solo
A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)
Panama
Why Can't This Be Love
Finish What Ya Started
--Acoustic Solo (Eagles Fly or Give To Live)
--Guitar Solo
Best Of Both Worlds
I Can't Drive 55
In 'N' Out
Jump
You Really Got Me
Top Of The World
Lyrics for
all of the songs recorded on “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge” can be found at
:
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/album/for-unlawful-carnal-knowledge.html