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Nov132010

For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

This album (Warner Bros. 26594 [52:08]) was released on 06/17/91 and debuted live on national radio from the 5150 studio on 06/13/91. It was produced by Andy Johns, Ted Templeman and Van Halen. This album was the third Sammy-era Van Halen album in a row to reach #1 on the U.S. charts. It has sold 3.8 million copies in the U.S. It was certified gold and platinum on 08/22/91, double platinum on 11/08/91, and triple platinum on 08/17/94.

This album came after a year-long break for the band. Eddie claims that he barely picked up the guitar in that time. When the band decided to start the new album, they decided to first pick a producer. They knew of Andy Johns from his work with Led Zeppelin, and he came to work so quickly that the band was taken by surprise and had nothing written for the album. The entire process from recording to mastering took 361 days.

The band eventually wrote enough songs to make this a double album, which is why they brought in producer Ted Templeman. He convinced the band to finish enough songs for one album and release it.

At one point the band wanted to try recording at a different studio, but Ted talked them into staying at 5150.

The album was done one song at a time in that each song was completed before moving on to the next.

Originally, "fuck" was suggested as the title, much to Alex's dismay. Boxer Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini informed Sammy that the word was actually an acronym for "for unlawful carnal knowledge," which the band then chose as the album's title. However, fans usually refer to the album simply as "Fuck."

The first pressing of the CD had gold or white lettering on the outer cover and a chalkboard full of phone numbers pictured within the liner notes. One of the numbers on the chalkboard received so many calls that new pressings of the CD had to be made excluding the chalkboard. The newer pressing featured white lettering on the outer cover. The same changes had to be made for the cassette version of the album, which originally had silver lettering.

The album won the Best Rock Album award at the Billboard Music Awards on 12/17/91 from Memphis, TN, and Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal at the 1992 Grammy Awards.

Except for Spanked, Mike used his 1964 Fender Precision bass and his 1964 Fender Jazz bass to record this album.

Sammy used a handheld Peavey microphone in the control room for most of the vocals on this album.

Alex's drum tracks were recorded with 23 different microphones placed at various locations around his kit.

Except for four songs, Eddie used a 1989 Soldano SLO-100 amplifier to record the entire album. Other amps included the Peavey 5150 prototype and his 1969 Marshall Super Lead. He recorded dry, adding touches from an AMS Echo and his Evantide H3000 Harmonizer afterward. His main cabinet was a 75-watt Marshall JCM 800 slant cabinet. Other effects used included a T.C. Electronics 2290 delay.

Tracks:

Singles/Promos:

Serial #: PRO-CD-4884
Label: WB
Tracks: Poundcake (promo)
Country: USA
Release Date: 1991
Format: CD

Serial #: 9362-40126-2
Label: WEA
Tracks: Poundcake, Pleasure Dome, Interview
Country: Germany
Release Date: 1991
Format: CD

Serial #: 9362-40126-0
Label: WEA
Tracks: Poundcake, Pleasure Dome, Interview
Country: UK
Release Date: 1991
Format: 12" vinyl (45 rpm)

Serial #: PRO-CD-4922
Label: WB
Tracks: Runaround (promo)
Country: USA
Release Date: 1991
Format: CD

Serial #: PRO-CD-5027
Label: WB
Tracks: Top of the World (promo)
Country: USA
Release Date: 1991
Format: CD

Serial #: 9 19151-4
Label: WB
Tracks: Top of the World, Poundcake
Country: USA
Release Date: 1991
Format: Cassette

Serial #: PRO-CD-5407
Label: WB
Tracks: Man On A Mission (promo)
Country: USA
Release Date: 1991
Format: CD

Serial #: PRO-CD-5150
Label: WB
Tracks: Right Now (single mix), Right Now (edit) (promo)
Country: USA
Release Date: 1991
Format: CD

Serial #: ?
Label: WB
Tracks: Right Now Right Now (edit), Man on a Mission
Country: USA
Release Date: 1991
Format: Cassette

Serial #: W0066TB
Label: WEA
Tracks: Top of the World, Why Can't This Be Love?, When It's Love Dreams
Country: UK
Release Date: 1991
Format: 12" vinyl (badge and sticker included)

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