Maps of Music

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)

Where the lyrics of For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge take you, and where it was really made.

Sammy Hagar meant the title as a jab at censorship, and the 'F.U.C.K.' acronym people later read into it was a false etymology.

Key places

Recorded at 5150 (1991)

Recording site TRS Studios — The album is listed as recorded at 5150, a studio in the Los Angeles area. The source gives only city-level location, so this pin marks the area, not the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (often abbreviated as F.U.C.K.): ninth studio album by American rock band Van Halen
• Released June 17, 1991, on Warner Bros. Records
• Third album to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar
• Debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and held the top spot for three consecutive weeks

Background

• First time since 1984 that Ted Templeman worked as producer for the band, when David Lee Roth was still lead singer
• Templeman had earlier helped decide the track sequencing for the 1986 album 5150
• The band reconciled with Templeman, who had produced earlier Van Halen albums
• The album was marketed as a return to the band's hard rock roots
• Hagar wanted to push the censorship issue by naming the album with a vulgarity
• Hagar backed away from the outright vulgarity after friend Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini, a former world lightweight boxing champion, told him the word was an acronym for 'for unlawful carnal knowledge' (a false etymology)
• The tour promoting the album was unofficially named F.U.C.K. 'n' Live

Recording

• Work began March 1990 and finished April 1991, two months before release
• Most songs were guitar driven, and synth sounds were replaced by pianos
• Eddie Van Halen recorded the album mainly with his 1989 Soldano SLO-100 because his Marshall was fading
• A prototype of what became the Peavey 5150 series of amplifiers was also used
• Peavey's release of the 5150 series coincided with the album's release
• The year-long production led to what critics called a labored sound

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972.
• The brothers Alex (b. 1953) and Eddie Van Halen (b. 1955) were born in Amsterdam, moved to Pasadena in 1962, and began playing together in the 1960s.
• The band went through the names Broken Combs, Trojan Rubber Co, Genesis, and Mammoth before becoming Van Halen in 1973.
• David Lee Roth joined as lead vocalist in 1972 and Michael Anthony joined on bass in 1974.

Members

• Eddie Van Halen (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Alex Van Halen (drums), David Lee Roth (lead vocals, 1974–1985), Michael Anthony (bass, 1974–2006).
• Sammy Hagar replaced Roth in 1985 and Gary Cherone replaced Hagar in 1996.
• Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son, replaced Anthony on bass in 2006.

Career

• The self-titled debut album (1978) reached No. 19 on the Billboard 200 and was later certified Diamond by the RIAA.
• The album 1984 (1984) produced 'Jump', the band's only number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.
• With Hagar, the band released four U.S. number-one albums, including 5150 (1986) and OU812 (1988).
• Eddie Van Halen died of cancer on October 6, 2020; Wolfgang later confirmed the band had ended.
• The band has sold more than 80 million records worldwide.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone's John Milward rated the album two out of five stars, saying the guitars and vocals are so crowded that the band almost forgets to rock
• Milward wrote that the beats are heavier and the fun is fleeting, calling the album stale
• Entertainment Weekly's Gina Arnold gave the album a C
• Arnold said the title's acronym was more likely a sign of the band's love of bathroom talk than a covert blow against censorship
• Arnold wrote that the album does not contain one mind-numbingly catchy melody
• In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave the album a 'dud' rating

Reappraisal

• A retrospective review by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was mixed
• Erlewine wrote that the title indicates the true nature of the album, which backs away from the diversity of OU812
• Erlewine said Hagar's limited vocal power had a great deal to do with the obvious nature of most of the music
• Erlewine found the songwriting largely undistinguished, with 'Right Now' standing out as the most memorable song

Records

• Debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart
• Held the number 1 position for three consecutive weeks

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Eddie Van Halen's power drill sound in the intro of 'Poundcake' was made with a battery-operated Makita power drill that he held to his guitar pickups
• The instrumental '316' is named for the March 16, 1991, birthday of Eddie's son Wolfgang, though the song predates his birth
• According to Eddie Van Halen, the producer change happened because Hagar did not want to work with Andy Johns
• This was the first album Eddie recorded without his trademark Marshall Super Lead as the primary amplifier
• 'Top of the World' is notable for featuring Steve Lukather of Toto, who performs backing vocals on the song

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact