Unchained (song)

"Unchained"
Single by Van Halen
from the album Fair Warning
B-side	"Push Comes to Shove"
Released	July 1981 (1981-07)
Recorded	March–April 1981
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	3:29
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Edward Van Halen Alex Van Halen Michael Anthony David Lee Roth
Producer(s)	Ted Templeman
Van Halen singles chronology
"So This Is Love?" (1981) "Unchained" (1981) "(Oh) Pretty Woman" (1982)

"Unchained" is a song from Van Halen's fourth album, Fair Warning. The song was released as a single in various countries, including Germany, Spain, and Japan.

Writing and composition

Vocalist David Lee Roth's working title for the song was "Hit the Ground Running". The song features prominent use of the MXR M-117 flanger, which became a popular sound and spurred sales of the pedal. A preset for the flanger was also included on the EVH Flanger MXR pedal. It uses a Drop D♭ tuning with suspended fourth chords interspersed. The song is producer Ted Templeman's only vocal contribution to the band, when he says "Come on, Dave, gimme a break!" during the interlude of the song.

Reception

A 2011 Rolling Stone reader's poll placed the song at number one on a list of the 10 best Van Halen songs.

Chuck Klosterman of Vulture.com named it the second-best Van Halen song, writing that it "merely feels like insatiable straight-ahead rock, but the lick is freaky, obliquely hovering above the foundation while the drums oscillate between two unrelated performance philosophies."

Further reading

• Van Halen Guitar Anthology. Van Nuys, California: Alfred. 2006. pp. 101–12. ISBN 9780897246729. OCLC 605214049.