Van Halen: 'Balance' "Balance" was the tenth studio album by the hard rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1995 and, to date, is the final Van Halen album featuring lead singer Sammy Hagar.
Van Halen is a hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972. They enjoyed success from the release of their self titled debut album in 1978. As of 2007 Van Halen has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide and have had the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. During the 1980's they also had more Billboard Hot 100 hits than any other hard rock, heavy metal band of the decade. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Van Halen is the 19th best selling band/artist of all time with sales of over 56 million albums in the USA and is one of five rock bands that have had two albums sell more than 10 million copies in the USA.
The cover was the brainchild of American photographer Glen Wexler whose first album cover commission was to photograph The Brothers Johnson (“Blam!” 1978), for Quincy Jones Productions and A&M Records. It was censored in Japan.
Other album cover projects include, Van Halen, “Balance”, Black Sabbath, “Reunion”, Rush “Hold Your Fire”, ZZ Top, “Greatest Hits”, Missing Persons “Spring Session M”, Slaughter's “Stick It to Ya”, and Chaka Kahn, “Naughty”. Wexler also created images for Michael Jackson, KISS, Yes, Kansas, Whitesnake, Black Crows, Boston, Steve Miller Band, Peter Frampton, Bob Weir, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and many others.
Notes:
Wexler created a fantasy album cover for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum exhibition “The Greatest Album Covers That Never Were,” which toured nationally 2003-2006. Wexler was invited to lecture about album cover work at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum along with designer John Van Hamersveld in June 2003.
In the fall of 2006, Wexler’s album cover artwork was featured at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' (NARAS) “The Art Of Music” event in Los Angeles.
The instrumental "Strung Out" was actually recorded in 1983, prior to the recording of 1984. The actual recording is Eddie "playing" the strings of a Grand Piano with various objects including ping pong balls, D-cell batteries, knives and forks.
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