Van Halen III

Van Halen III
Studio album by Van Halen
Released	March 17, 1998
Recorded	March – December 1997, 5150 Studios, Studio City, CA
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	65:18
Language	English
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Mike Post and Eddie Van Halen
Van Halen chronology
Balance (1995) Van Halen III (1998) A Different Kind of Truth (2012)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
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Van Halen III is the eleventh studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released on March 17, 1998 on Warner Bros.. Produced by Mike Post and guitarist Eddie Van Halen, it is the band's only studio album to feature lead vocalist Gary Cherone, and the last to include bassist Michael Anthony. Work on a follow-up album with Cherone was begun during 1999, but never advanced past a few demos.

History

The album's title refers to the fact that it was Van Halen's third recorded line-up, and the band's first two albums having been titled Van Halen and Van Halen II. No songs from it are featured on The Best of Both Worlds, the band's 2004 greatest hits compilation.

The album's only significant radio hit was "Without You", which reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart on the March 7, 1998 issue of Billboard, and remained there for six weeks. Other songs receiving airplay on rock radio were "Fire in the Hole" and "One I Want". The album's final song, "How Many Say I", was an unusual acoustic piano ballad featuring Eddie Van Halen on lead vocals with Gary Cherone on backing vocals.

Another song entitled "That's Why I Love You" was dropped at the last minute in favor of "Josephina". This album also contributed the song "Fire in the Hole" to the Lethal Weapon 4 movie soundtrack.

This is the last album to feature Michael Anthony on bass. The cover is a still picture from stock footage of Frank "Cannonball" Richards.

Track listing

All songs credited to Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, Gary Cherone, and Alex Van Halen.

1. "Neworld" (Instrumental) – 1:45
2. "Without You" – 6:30
3. "One I Want" – 5:30
4. "From Afar" – 5:24
5. "Dirty Water Dog" – 5:27
6. "Once" – 7:42
7. "Fire in the Hole" – 5:31
8. "Josephina" – 5:42
9. "Year to the Day" – 8:34
10. "Primary" (Instrumental) – 1:27
11. "Ballot or the Bullet" – 5:42
12. "How Many Say I" – 6:04

Personnel

• Gary Cherone – lead vocals
• Eddie Van Halen – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, lead vocals on "How Many Say I"
• Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Mike Post – piano on "Neworld"

Production

• Producers: Mike Post, Eddie Van Halen
• Engineers: Erwin Musper, Eddie Van Halen
• Mixing: The Edward, Robbes
• Mastering: The Edward, Robbes, Eddy Schreyer
• Programming: Florian Ammon, Ian Dye, Ed Rogers, Paul Wight
• Art direction: Stine Schyberg
• Photography: Dan Chavkin
• Coloring: F. Scott Schafer

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000^
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Charts

Album

Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1998	The Billboard 200	4
1998	Top Canadian Albums	4

Singles

Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1998	"Fire in the Hole"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	6
1998	"One I Want"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	27
1998	"Without You"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	1

External links

1. Van Halen III (1998) Album Review at Rockpedia.co