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[Retro Review] Van Halen ‘1984’

Published

14 years ago

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vanhalen1984retroreviewcover

Ah, 1984, the year I was born in. The year that the Apple Macintosh came out. A year that has become synonymous with dystopian society. It was also the year that Van Halen’s iconic album 1984 came out. While the sixth studio album was a departure from their recognized sound, many critics lauded the album and its exciting foray into new territory. It would also be the last album the band recorded with vocalist David Lee Roth (until this years A Different Kind Of Truth). But does this album still have the same punch as it did nearly three decades ago? Or has age worn this beast down?

Let’s get something clear from the start: filled with many of Van Halen’s most popular songs (Jump, Panama and Hot For Teacher), 1984 is a classic album that achieved the coveted “timeless” status the day it came out.  It’s an album that showed Van Halen daring to break out from what was expected of them and embracing changing times while still managing to sound entirely like themselves. 
The album still sounds fantastic. The guitars sound huge but not overbearing, the synthesizers thick and exciting, the drums boomy in the toms and sizzling in the cymbals, and the bass perfectly mixed in as a concrete solid foundation. Perhaps the most important and enjoyable aspect of this mix is how dynamic it is. Rather than a wall of sound with each section as loud as the previous, this album changes it up and keeps the listener guessing, one hand cautiously close to the volume knob. 
Clocking in at just over 33 minutes with only nine tracks, 1984 can easily be considered short by today’s standards, especially considering the first track is naught more than a synthesizer intro. But length doesn’t matter when songs are as tight and exciting as this. For me, each song is tight, to the point, and has a grab-you-by-the-throat mentality.
The Final Word: As I stated above, Van Halen’s 1984 is a timeless classic that belongs in any music library, regardless of taste. Considering that it’s been 28 years since its release, this only proves how exciting these guys are. 
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Music

Marco Beltrami’s ‘Scream’ Score Gets Deluxe Reissue For 30th Anniversary

Published

1 day ago

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July 9, 2026

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Seminal slasher Scream rewrote the rules in 1996, and for its 30th anniversary,  Varèse Sarabande and Craft Recordings are celebrating with a new anniversary reissue of Marco Beltrami’s landmark score.

The original 14-track album returns to vinyl in a collectible “blood-soaked” sleeve on August 28.

If blood red isn’t your color, there’s good news: the reissue will also be available in many different limited-edition exclusive pressings.

In addition to the wide “Woodsboro Bloodbath” red vinyl pictured below, look for the following exclusives:

An Extended Cut Edition of the Scream (Original Motion Picture Score), featuring all 40 of the film’s cues from the 2022 Scream boxset, will also be available on CD. All formats are available to pre-order or pre-save today.

Top L-R: “Knife’s Edge” silver vinyl with poster (Target), “Surprise, Sidney” metallic blend vinyl (Barnes & Noble), “Don’t Hang Up” clear vinyl (Books-A-Million),
Bottom L-R: “I’ll Be Right Back” blue vinyl (Urban Outfitters), “Final Girl” splatter vinyl (Hot Topic), “Wrong Answer” Blood Red Splatter vinyl (Varèse Sarabande/Craft Recordings), and “Final Phone Call” blue vinyl (Indie Retail)

Marco Beltrami composed the iconic score as a then young, up-and-coming composer—one who, ironically, had never scored or even seen a horror film.

Yet just three years after he completed the University of Southern California’s rigorous scoring program, Beltrami submitted 13 minutes of music for Scream’s opening sequence and his future was forever changed. “We knew in half a minute that we had found our composer,” Craven told Variety in 2012. “The music was haunting, beautiful and totally original. Marco turned out to be shy and soft-spoken, but a fountain of ideas and innovation. I never looked back.”

Scream (Original Motion Picture Score) (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

CD Tracklist

1. Dimension Logo (0:19)

2. The Cue from Hell (10:33)

3. Trouble in Woodsboro (1:52)

4. Sid’s House (1:12)

5. Red Herring (2:13)

6. Killer Calls Sydney (2:52)

7. Chasing Sidney (1:29)

8. Cell Phone (1:00)

9. Backdoor Gale (0:49)

10. Schoolyard 2 (1:17)

11. Sid’s Doubt (1:23)

12. Bathroom (2:58)

13. Mr. Himbry Gets It (2:11)

14. Sherriff and Dewey (1:21)

15. Tatum’s Torture (2:46)

16. Sidney Wants It (3:09)

17. Dewey and Gale (1:57)

18. Off to See Himbry (0:41)

19. Killer Stabs Billy (2:50)

20. Randy Almost Gets It (2:33)

21. Gale Crashes the Van (1:33)

22. They’re Crazy (9:42)

23. Sid Stabs Billy (4:24)

24. Billy’s Back (0:52)

25. End Credits (1:40)

26. Sid’s Window (0:26)

27. Gut Someone (0:13)

28. Sid Looks (0:16)

29. Billy Looks (0:24)

30. Billy to Cell (0:34)

31. Killer Calls Again (0:35)

32. Bang Into Billy (0:12)

33. Girl Talk (0:54)

34. Video Store (0:45)

35. Why She’s Here (0:16)

36. Billy Sting (0:13)

37. Prescott’s Car (0:29)

38. Hairbrush (0:38)

39. The Cue from Hell (Orchestra Only) (6:28)

40. I Don’t Care (Vocals Performed by Dillon Dixon) (3:01)

Scream – Original Motion Picture Score

Vinyl Tracklist

Side A:

1. Dimension Logo (0:19)

2. The Cue from Hell (10:33)

3. Trouble in Woodsboro (1:52)

4. Red Herring (2:13)

5. Chasing Sidney (1:29)

6. Backdoor Gale (0:49)

7. Schoolyard 2 (1:17)

8. Bathroom (2:58)

Side B:

1. Sherriff and Dewey (1:21)

2. Tatum’s Torture (2:46)

3. Sidney Wants It (3:09)

4. Killer Stabs Billy (2:50)

5. They’re Crazy (9:42)

6. End Credits (1:40)

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