Alex Van Halen is drumming up interest in his forthcoming memoir Brothers with the final recording he made with his late brother Eddie Van Halen, “Unfinished”. The instrumental will soundtrack Alex’s audiobook, out October 22nd via HarperCollins.
Ahead of the book’s release, Alex shared a portion of “Unfinished” on social media. The ambient instrumental track is a far cry from Van Halen‘s 1980s hard rock mania, set to a simple kick-snare drum beat and Eddie on acoustic and electric guitars. Though the tempo is subdued, the playing is unmistakably Eddie as he carries the track with soaring leads straight out of Top Gun.
Alex shared “Unfinished” without comment and has remained reclusive since his brother passed away in October 2020 from a stroke. The elder Van Halen has not performed publicly or done any interviews since Eddie’s death but announced his book back in March. Co-written with New Yorker writer Ariel Levy, Alex called Brothers, “my tribute to my brother; my way of saying goodbye. Ed, I love you and miss you. When I see you again, I’m gonna kick your ass!”
Related: Remembering Eddie Van Halen With A Volcanic Live “Eruption” From 1986 [Video]
“I was with him from day one,” Alex wrote of his brother, whom he called Edward or Ed, but never Eddie. “We shared the experience of coming to this country and figuring out how to fit in. We shared a record player, an 800-square-foot house, a mom and dad, and a work ethic. Later, we shared the back of a tour bus, alcoholism, the experience of becoming famous, of becoming fathers and uncles, and of spending more hours in the studio than I’ve spent doing anything else in this life. We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime.”
While Alex has shied away from the public eye, former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar recently completed the cross-country Best of All Worlds Tour. The Red Rocker’s tribute to Eddie and the legacy of Van Halen featured an all-star lineup including his former bandmate Michael Anthony, guitar wizard Joe Satriani, and drummer heir Jason Bonham. In addition to hits from his era with Van Halen like “Why Can’t This Be Love”, “Right Now”, and “5150”, Hagar also dusted off some David Lee Roth-era gems for the tour like “Jump” and “Panama”, which he hadn’t performed since the band’s disastrous 2004 reunion tour.
Check out the clip of “Unfinished” by Alex and Eddie Van Halen below and find a copy of Brothers here.
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