Worker fatigue can lead to serious problems on the job, including drowsy driving. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provides resources to help employers reduce the risk of fatigue-related crashes and injuries. The Song of the Week is also doing its part with a Van Halen classic, 1981’s “Unchained,” that is guaranteed to rouse you from your stupor.
Included on the band’s Fair Warning album, “Unchained” features Van Halen at the peak of its powers. The song has a monster riff from guitarist Edward Van Halen and some of singer David Lee Roth’s most powerful vocals, including a hilarious breakdown after the guitar solo in which Roth busts producer Ted Templeman’s chops for wearing a nice suit to the studio.
The album reached #5 on the Billboard 200 chart but was a commercial disappointment for Van Halen, although in retrospect, many fans consider Fair Warning their favorite of the band’s catalog. Van Halen would make two more albums with Roth before in-band tensions led to the singer’s departure; he was replaced by Sammy Hagar, who led another successful era for the group. Hagar would eventually leave, there was a stint with Gary Cherone on vocals, and then Hagar returned for a tour in 2004. Roth returned in 2006 and the band toured a few times before releasing A Different Kind of Truth in 2012. The band split up after Edward Van Halen’s death from cancer in 2020.