Warner Bros. 26594
Producers: Andy Johns, Ted Templeman, Van Halen
Track listing: Poundcake /Judgement Day / Spanked / Runaround / Pleaure Dome / In ‘n’ Out / Man on a Mission / The Dream Is Over / Right Now/ 316 / Top of the World
July 6, 1991
3 weeks
Van Halen intended its ninth album to be its “masterpiece,” says singer Sammy Hagar. “We decided we were going to go into the studio and overwrite. We were going to spend as much time as it takes to make the greatest record we could ever make. For once, we were going to get together as a band and work hard.”
Yet the band’s best intentions went slightly awry. “We were going to produce ourselves, basically, but we got so damned lost we had songs that were 20 minutes long,” Hagar says. “So we called in Ted Templeman. Andy Johns had been there working with us, but he wasn’t so much producing — he was there for the sound.”
With two consecutive Number One albums, 5150 and OU812, Van Halen were feeling confident that a “masterpiece” was within their reach. “That was our intent,” says Hagar. “And it was close. I think that’s a great record. Song by song, each song was pretty good, but no one was there to beat me up on the lyrics, so I just sang the first thing I wrote.”
Although For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was a year in the making, Hagar doubts it would have ever been completed if the band hadn’t turned to Templeman. “If we would have brought Ted in from the beginning, it would have been done a lot sooner.” Templeman, a veteran staff producer at Warner Bros., had worked with Hagar in the early ’70s when he was a member of Montrose, and also produced the early Van Halen records, but For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge marked the first time that Templeman had worked with Van Halen since Hagar had replaced original vocalist David Lee Roth in 1985.
Unlike Van Halen’s prior two albums, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge didn’t spawn any top 10 hits. “Right Now,” the second single released from the album, stalled at number 55 but became one of the group’s best-known songs, thanks to extensive album rock play, a striking video that won the band an MTV award, and its subsequent use in a Pepsi commercial. “It’s been used in every football game, every baseball game, every basketball game, and by Pepsi,” says Hagar. “It wasn’t because we sold out, it was just because all these people wanted to use our song, which is very flattering.”
The album’s title wasn’t just a joke like OU812. Says Hagar, “That’s when censorship was a big issue. I wanted to name the album just Fuck. I thought, ‘How are they going to stop us? We’re one of the biggest bands in the world. We are worth all this money to all these people. If the big chains aren’t going to carry it, the mom-and-pop stores will.’ I wanted to be rebellious. I guess I was a couple years younger then, but I wanted to push the censorship issue, because I thought it was bullshit. People were blaming rock bands for all the violence in the world.”
Yet Hagar’s original plan was a little too radical. As a compromise, he turned to his friend, boxer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, who told him “fuck” was actually an acronym for “For unlawful carnal knowledge.” Says Hagar, “I thought that was great, we will enlighten our fans. We thought it was pretty intellectual for Van Halen.”
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge entered The Billboard 200 at the top, giving the band its third consecutive Number One album.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of July 6, 1991
1. For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, Van Halen
2. Slave to the Grind, Skid Row
3. Spellbound, Paula Abdul
4. No Fences, Garth Brooks
5. Gonna Make You Sweat, C + C Music Factory