Former Van Halen bandmates Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony have confirmed they are not involved in the upcoming album being developed by drummer Alex Van Halen and Toto guitarist Steve Lukather.
The new project aims to complete unfinished tracks originally intended for a new Van Halen record before the passing of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen in 2020. Earlier this month, Alex Van Halen told Gastão Moreira that “most” of the bass lines on the upcoming album were recorded by Wolfgang Van Halen, explaining that “these are recordings that were made ready for the next [Van Halen] record.”
During a recent appearance on “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen And Shane McEachern,” Sammy Hagar was asked if he and Michael Anthony were participating and whether they would want to participate if not. The frontman expressed disappointment at being left out of the process.
“No. We haven’t been asked, number one. I can tell you, the day I walked in the studio, in 5150, to basically, if you wanna call it an audition, but to meet the guys and to play music, we played for about eight hours at least. And we recorded everything. Everything that I ever did, and every time we made a record, we recorded hundreds of hours of jam and music, and then we cut ’em up, made songs. That’s the way we did it. So there’s so much stuff from Mike and I and Ed and Al in the studio. Like I said, just the initial day that I went in there, we got “Summer Nights“, we got “Good Enough” and the beginnings of “Get Up” from [the] 5150 [album] — three songs that came from that eight-hour jam. And I remember there was a blues thing we did, and I was making up lyrics. So there’s so much stuff that Al could really choose from, if he wanted to include Mike and I. But, obviously, Al‘s got a reason, and he’s Alex Van Halen; he can do whatever he wants. And, to me, it’s an Alex Van Halen project, and it’s not necessarily a Van Halen project, but I guess we’ll see if it ever sees the light today. But I’m disappointed that Mike and I wouldn’t be invited. It’s, like, what? Are you kidding me? We’re still alive. We’re out here doing it. We’re playing those songs. We can still do it, you know?” he said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Michael Anthony agreed, noting he would have gladly stepped into the studio if asked.
“Yeah. If this is material that we jammed on or whatever, I’d have no problem coming in and singing or [playing bass] or whatever. It’s all good there.”
Despite his willingness to participate, Michael Anthony previously shared his belief that the unreleased tracks should remain vocal-free. Speaking to the WNCX radio station earlier this month, the bassist stated:
“The way I personally feel about it is, if they wanted to do it justice, [the best idea would be] to just finish it up as a great instrumental nod to Eddie. Because getting a new singer in there, we’re not forming a new band, and then you’ve got to work on lyrics and all that stuff. And who knows when anything would be put out at that point.”
A key part of the discussion with Gastão Moreira centered on confirmation that the upcoming album will include previously unheard, unfinished material that Alex recorded with his late brother, Eddie Van Halen.
Clarifying the purpose of the project and addressing questions about its quality, Alex explained:
“Ed [late Van Halen guitarist and Alex‘s brother, Eddie Van Halen] and I had a lot of stuff that we made, that we made musically that we never let go. Many people have asked, what about releasing unreleased stuff? Well, we’re not gonna release it in its embryonic form because it wouldn’t make any sense. But I’ve been fortunate enough to have Steve Lukather, who was a good friend of Ed‘s, and we’re working on putting a record together, but it has to be of the quality and the level of where we left it. Not just to say, ‘Hey, here’s some music that we made. If you like it, that’s great.’ No. It has to be the quality that we expect.”
When asked how Lukather fits into the puzzle of completing these archival tracks, Alex praised the guitarist’s musical intuition and ability to seamlessly tie the elements together:
“I call Lukather Luke affectionately. He is the connective tissue. Luke can play anything… But because of this talent that kind of blends in with everything, he doesn’t get the recognition that I think he deserves. And I may be wrong. Maybe he is recognized the world over. He should be, because I can’t play guitar. And I can work things out on a keyboard, but it takes me too long to figure it out. And by that time, the moment is gone. I went to Steve‘s house several times and we played a piece of music and he goes, ‘Yeah, I got it. That’s it. That’s all we need.’ Then he can do all the connective tissues. He knows where to put the solo, as far as structure and organ and structure and an organization. I have my opinions and he has his, and they are just opinions. So he can facilitate things that would’ve taken me 10 times as long. And I love the guy. We’ve known him for years.”
Alex also confirmed that the foundation of these songs was actually intended for the next Van Halen studio album before Eddie‘s passing. The core instrumentation—featuring Eddie‘s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, on bass—is largely intact:
“Well, these are recordings that were going to be the next [Van Halen] record, and that were stopped because [Ed] didn’t live that long… The drums are already recorded. The drums, the guitar and the bass are already in there. What we didn’t have is a vocalist, and obviously the subtleties and the glue — we call it the glue or the spackle…”
“Most of ’em is Wolf [Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie‘s son and former Van Halen bassist], because these are recordings that were made ready for the next record,” he told when asked who is playing the bass.
With the instrumental tracks largely secured, the massive hurdle remains finding the right singer. Alex revealed that they had initially approached Free and Bad Company legend Paul Rodgers, but health and vocal limitations prevented it from happening:
“We originally had plans to — I think I can probably say without talking outta school, one of the singers who we really, really, really wanted to use for the new stuff was Paul Rodgers, and he has a relationship with Luke and we grew up on Free and all that, but [Paul] can’t do it anymore. And it was very difficult for him to bring himself to say, ‘No, I can’t. Count me out.’ I respect that. I’m saddened and disappointed, but you know, that’s life… He knows he can’t do it — which I think is better than saying, ‘Yeah, I can do it,’ and then not be able to do it.”
The search for the right frontman continues. When the interviewer suggested Led Zeppelin‘s Robert Plant, Alex was open to the idea but noted the importance of finding someone from their specific era who understands the musical context.
“Robert Plant is brilliant. But if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. And he’s out touring, doing his thing. He would’ve been an ideal choice. But nothing is etched in stone. And I really believe that the universe will work something out to where this project will come out the best it can possibly be. We have no other intent other than to have it come to fruition.”
Alex also briefly touched on “Unfinished“, the final piece of music he wrote with Eddie, which was recently released alongside his audiobook, “Brothers“:
“The feedback for that song was incredible. But there was no vocals on it and it was not completed. And that was the whole point… The lineage of how my brother and I did things was some of the stuff that our dad taught us were very deeply rooted, and one of his favorite songs was the ‘Unfinished’ by Schubert. And so this song was unfinished, so I figured we’d call it ‘Unfinished’ and then that’s it. We weren’t even aware that we were going to make this public at any point. This is just Ed and I working at the studio. Unbridled, unpressured, un-anything. And there are a couple of places, if you heard, where the needle goes right through the machine. [Laughs] I hope we didn’t blow up any speakers.”
Earlier on February 21, Rodgers revealed that he turned down Alex.
He wrote in a statement: “To squash the rumours… My health is good. I feel fit and strong and I am rehearsing to perform March 2nd at the Adopt The Arts Sound And Vision Awards in Palm Springs.”
“Thanks to Van Halen for inviting me to work on a track with them, but I am in my acoustic, zen phase of life.”
