Former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony recently shared some behind-the-scenes insight into the band’s upcoming deluxe reissues, starting with their milestone 1986 album, 5150.
During a recent interview with Matt Bingham on the “Z93” radio station, the legendary bassist explained the band’s approval process and how they collaborate with their team to finalize new releases.
“Well, you know what? We have our longtime old engineer, Donn Landee, went in and mixed stuff. Basically, you let the record company and everybody, they got their ideas and they throw stuff at us, and then we go, ‘yeah’, ‘no’, ‘yeah’, ‘no’. ‘Oh, we love that.’ ‘No.’ And we throw our two cents in. Because a lot of it is marketing and whatever, and I’m not good at any of that. I’m just good at knowing what I hear and see. We definitely throw our two cents in when it comes to that.”
Listening to unreleased tracks and old masters naturally stirs up a lot of memories. Anthony admitted that while he doesn’t routinely spin his own records, working on these deluxe editions often triggers a massive nostalgia trip.
“Yes, because I don’t listen to — a lot of the stuff I won’t listen to. Let’s say an album like OU812 or 5150, I haven’t listened to it in a long time, and then all of a sudden you hear a couple of songs and then the next thing I know I’m going through our whole catalog, playing stuff.”
That deep dive into the Van Halen catalog has had a direct impact on the setlist planning for Sammy Hagar‘s 2026 “The Best Of All Worlds” Las Vegas residency. Anthony confessed that revisiting the classic albums constantly makes him want to pitch forgotten deep cuts for their live shows, much to his frontman’s playful frustration.
“Sammy hates that now, because I go, ‘Hey, Sammy, why don’t we play this song live?’ ‘Why don’t we play that song live?’ ‘We haven’t done this one or that one.’ So I’m always throwing stuff at him to sing, but, obviously, I’ve got to pick and choose in respect to his voice. And that’s how we pretty much put the set together to play, in Vegas and on the tour now, to see what he’s comfortable singing so that we can go out and, and put on a great show and he can give it a hundred percent every night.”
The upcoming Las Vegas shows promise to be a massive celebration of the “Van Hagar” era, featuring a powerhouse backing band consisting of Michael Anthony, guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, acclaimed drummer Kenny Aronoff, and multi-instrumentalist Rai Thistlethwayte.
These performances hold special weight for hardcore fans, given Anthony‘s complicated history with the Van Halen camp. After taking a pay cut and relinquishing his rights to the band’s name to participate in the 2004 tour with Sammy Hagar, the bassist was famously excluded from the 2007 reunion with David Lee Roth. For those subsequent tours and the 2012 studio album A Different Kind Of Truth, bass duties were handled by Eddie Van Halen‘s son, Wolfgang Van Halen.
Fans looking to catch this incredible lineup can see them at Dolby Live at Park MGM across two separate blocks of dates this year.
“The Best Of All Worlds” 2026 Las Vegas Residency Dates:
- March 11-21, 2026 – Las Vegas, NV @ Dolby Live at Park MGM
- September 18-26, 2026 – Las Vegas, NV @ Dolby Live at Park MGM
