Wolfgang Van Halen Says Sammy Hagar Era ‘Doesn’t Get Any Respect’
Wolfgang Van Halen has bemoaned what he sees as a lack of respect for the Sammy Hagar era of Van Halen. The topic came up during a conversation with Oklahoma City radio station KATT.
He was asked about his level of involvement with Van Halen band reissues, specifically the upcoming limited vinyl release of the Live: Right Here, Right Now album, scheduled for a Record Store Day release in April.
"[Alex Van Halen] is, obviously, he's the head honcho when it comes to making the decisions," he explained. "Obviously, I default to him on anything that he thinks is the right thing to do. But when it comes to decision-making or at least just kind of helping out, yeah, I am that sort of what would have been my dad's vote for stuff there with Al. So Al and I are kind of that team."
Live: Right Here, Right Now marks the first Van Halen reissue focusing on the band’s Van Hagar era, a fact that didn't seem lost on Wolfgang.
"That era [of Van Halen] doesn't get any respect, I don't think," he noted. "And there's a lot of amazing songs and just obviously brilliant guitar playing on a lot of that - on all of that stuff - and I think people don't give it a chance 'cause they fall into that just exhausting 'this singer is better, this singer is better' crap, when it's, like, just give it a chance. There's some really good stuff in there."
The youngest Van Halen is currently on the road with his band, Mammoth WVH. After completing their run of headlining dates, the group will open for Metallica and Pantera later this year.