
5150 (pronounced “fifty-one-fifty”) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on March 24, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records and was the first of four albums to be recorded with lead singer Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth. The album was named after Eddie Van Halen’s home studio, 5150, in turn named after a California law enforcement term for a mentally disturbed person. I bought the album in the mid 90s – I think by 1994 and listened to it a lot!
The album starts with a banger in Good Enough – actually it starts off with Sammy yelling “Hello Baby!” Second track and it was the group’s first single with Sammy and off the album. With Eddie’s keyboard riff dominating the song until the guitar solo, it went to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit number one on the Cashbox Top 100, the week of May 16. It was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany and a top 20 single in Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden. Get Up is more rockier and probably my least favourite song on the album. Up next is second single and the best song in the album – dare I say it’s their best ever song. Dreams captures so many emotions, especially after the death of Eddie Van Halen. A lot of musicians chose this song to pay their tribute to a guitar legend.
It reached # 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as #24 on the Cash Box Top 100 and was on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie & soundtrack. The now nostalgic Summer Nights which is the fun number and live favourite that is up next. Another fun rocker is Best Of Both Worlds which works so well live. One of my favourite semi-ballads of Van Halen, Love Walks In is the third single and the keyboard heavy song was the first song that the band wrote with Hagar. It peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart, and reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. The title track and live concert staple was never a major single but it is a fan favourite with it’s awesome guitar riffs. And the album ends with another of my favourites with Inside – that chorus is so cool.
The album hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, surpassing the band’s previous album, 1984, which had peaked at number 2. The artwork features an Art Deco depiction of Atlas kneeling while holding a mirror-polished metallic sphere on his shoulders. The model for the album was ESPN BodyShaping‘s Rick Valente. The Van Halen logo wraps around the sphere.