10 Rock Songs That Waited Years Before Being Released

Being a member of Van Halen while they were on the rise was a little bit more of a rollercoaster than you might think. Even with the constant touring and blowing away every audience that would have them, there was practically no time to breathe for any of them, rushing them into the studio the minute they got off the road and back to the touring life afterward. That doesn’t always lead to new songs, so it was time to go back to the well.

Coming from Women and Children First though, Van Halen were already entering a much harsher phase than the fans had expected, making songs that were borderline metal in places like Loss of Control and Romeo Delight. Although Take Your Whisky Home was a leftover from their original demo tape, it seems to fit just as well on the proper record. Sure, this is by no means a headbanger since it starts off with some acoustic guitar noodling, but the whole thing has a similar kind of intensity as the rest of the record, with David Lee Roth being left in the doghouse by his girlfriend and being told that he might be heading for a lot more trouble if he comes back with whisky on his breath.

If anything, having this same kind of intensity on only acoustic guitars and being able to pull it off hasn’t really been equaled since the days when Jimmy Page was writing his folk tinged epics. There will never be another Led Zeppelin, but Van Halen managed to get pretty damn close here.