A band’s dissolution rarely occurs overnight. After a while, even the biggest bands in the world can feel a lot like marriages. If the lead singer decides the guitarist isn’t listening to them anymore, divorce papers will eventually be filed if the two can’t work things out. Even though Van Halen recovered well from their time with David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar identified a particular tour as the turning point for his group’s career.
But can we stand back and acknowledge that Van Halen achieved the impossibility with Hagar? It seems like it should never have worked to replace someone like Roth. However, as soon as 5150 was released, Hagar won over the group and the audience with his enormous range and common sense of humor.
Balance marked the first instance in which the group began to reach a breaking point, after branching out on records such as For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Everyone had previously engaged in infighting, but Hagar and Eddie’s creative tension was particularly bad. Eddie would typically stand his ground if he disagreed with something, and Hagar would simply ignore him.
Hagar let things go when working on The Best of Both Worlds, his 2004 tour. Though, he left the sessions for the next song, “Humans Being,” with one finger raised. Hagar realised that this Van Halen was very different from the one he had known when he actually hit the road.
Eddie was dealing with tongue cancer after the debacle that was Van Halen III. He was also in terrible shape for the majority of the tour. His wilderness period during this tour did nothing to win him over to the rest of the band. Even though he still possesses the skills to play many of his classic songs. Typically, he would struggle through an entire song.
Looking back, Hagar told Howard Stern that he felt that tour was the turning point in the group’s history. He added, “That’s when we bumped heads.” That’s when the worst of it started. Ed was ill. It wasn’t until it was over that I realised how sick he truly was—obviously no one did. It’s unfortunate. If there’s anything I regret, it would be never experiencing any difficulties with Eddie.
Before his cancer returned, Eddie was eventually on the road to recovery and would eventually make his stage debut with Hagar for the last time. During his final years, Eddie reunited with Roth for every Van Halen performance. Ultimately, they mended their differences and even put out a single, farewell album called A Different Kind of Truth.
Hagar eventually had the opportunity to at least make amends with Eddie before he passed away. But it’s difficult to see someone like him depart Van Halen on such a bitter note. But you would never have heard a song like “Dreams” in its original form again if you hadn’t been present when they performed live back in 2004.
