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(Review) Brothers

It's been almost 50 years since the late Eddie Van Halen burst onto the music scene.  He revolutionized guitar playing, the impact of which is still felt today.  Millions of fans bought Van Halen records and were mesmerized by his virtuosity (yours truly included.)  You're lucky if you ever get to see greatness live once, and we did on multiple ocasions over decades. It was devastating when Eddie died in 2020 at just 65 years old after battling cancer.  Tributes flowed in from all corners of the globe, as his legacy was celebrated.

There was one notable name who has been mostly quiet over the past four years.  A man who knew Eddie Van Halen long before the rest of us.  A man who shared a boat ride with him and his parents from Amsterdam to the United States when they were both young children and was there for every stop along the rest of the journey.  We obviously speak of Alex Van Halen, who breaks his silence about his brother with his new memoir, Brothers (Out now.)

The older Van Halen sibling (along with New Yorker writer Ariel Levy) takes the reader on an engrossing journey that starts with their father's history as a professional musician during World War II and eventually leads to his sons dominating rock music.  The brothers were a musical act on that boat ride from Amsterdam, and they knew from an early age that being musicians like their father was their dream.  Right from the start as immigrants who didn't speak English when they arrived in a new country, it was Alex and Eddie vs. the rest of the world. 

One of the most striking features about Brothers is that yes, Alex proudly touts his brother's musical genius (while he himself was no slouch on the drums), but these two put in the work for many years before they were ever signed to a contract.  Their father Jan instilled in them the importance of taking their music seriously.  It's not that they wanted to be rock "stars," they wanted to be professional musicians who could unleash the power of rock music and take their audiences on adventures.  (Mind you, they still had their fun along the way.)

Their early musical groups are discussed, but of course everything goes up a notch when David Lee Roth enters the picture.  Alex seems to have a great appreciation that Roth's need to be famous, and the singer's love of glamour and glitz, counter-balanced the Van Halen brothers' emphasis on putting the music first.  By approaching things from opposite ends of the spectrum, the conflict generated amazing results for years (until egos famously got in the way, of course.)

The Van Halen work ethic is on display again in Brothers when Alex writes about how the young group hustled to get gigs at backyard parties and then eventually the Sunset Strip.  They had to fight for their spot, but once they got there, the right people eventually noticed they were something special.

It's also noteworthy that as Alex takes the reader behind the scenes of the making of the early Van Halen albums, bassist Michael Anthony barely gets more than a passing mention.  He doesn't seem to have much ill will towards, "Mikey," but apart from quickly highlighting Anthony's singing abilities, you'd have no idea he was there during this time period.  Anthony was officially removed from the band in 2006 so that Wolfgang Van Halen could play with his father and uncle.  However, you can't help feeling like the brothers would have liked to make that move years earlier.

Brothers highlights time and time again Alex and Eddie's closeness.  Their father emphasized the importance of staying focused on their group, which led to hard feelings when Eddie ended up playing his legendary solo on Michael Jackson's "Beat It."  Alex still seems angry about that decision, and among other things, he apparently feels it was a point in Roth's favor when the singer said he also wanted to do outside projects.  One could argue this lifelong extreme dependence on family was in some ways unhelpful to the brothers' creative process, but after reading the book, you can see how Alex gets there.

At only 226 pages, some readers will likely argue that the book could/should be twice as long.  It ends with Roth splitting from the group after the 1984 tour, and that leaves all sorts of questions:  Why would Alex Van Halen omit the roughly 40 subsequent years? Does he dislike the "Van Hagar" catalog?  Does he currently feel such ill will towards Sammy Hagar that he'd rather ignore that entire era?  Is it that Alex is still struggling with his brother's death, and the early years of their lives are all he can discuss right now?

Don't get us wrong.  Alex Van Halen has every right to tell whatever story he likes about his time with Eddie.  Brothers is an moving, insightful, and at times very funny, look at much of what the siblings accomplished together.  Hopefully writing it brought Alex some level of peace, and perhaps he will eventually return with a second installment.  In the meantime, this book is a thoughtful and honest tribute to his beloved sibling.

 

Alex and Eddie Van HalenBrothers forever.  (pic via www.guitarworld.com)

 

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