“It was dark”: The song Sammy Hagar called the end of Van Halen
Any good band must see every new song as a new creative risk. Even if some tunes sound remarkably similar to others in their catalogue, it shouldn’t matter as long as it helps push them forward, whether that’s how they are micing the kick drum or gives the guitar player some time to shine. Although Van Halen never ran short on fresh ideas throughout their time together, Sammy Hagar thought one particular tune didn’t have what it took to stand next to their other classics.
Then again, Hagar was never the one calling all of the shots in the group. Everything about the band revolved around Eddie and Alex half the time, but looking at what he brought to them, ‘The Red Rocker’ managed to dictate the style and the structure of every single track he worked on with them.
That’s why both the David Lee Roth version of the group and the Hagar lineup had completely different sounds. Sure, Hagar could deliver the classics the band had from back in the day, but outside of playing ‘Jump’, there was no reason for them to go back to their sleazy rock tunes when they were making things more cerebral like ‘When It’s Love’ or ‘Right Now’.
While Hagar’s contributions were welcome for the most part, Balance is the moment all of that goodwill suddenly hit a brick wall. Eddie was trying to get sober, and the band themselves were trying to establish themselves again after grunge hit, so that meant that half of the record was made like it was sent kicking and screaming out the door. There was one classic to be found, though, and that was ‘Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)’.
Even though Van Halen felt like the antithesis of all things alternative, hearing Hagar pen a tearful tribute to Kurt Cobain is one of the most heartwrenching moments the lineup ever made. The riffs were still as hard-hitting as ever, but Hagar was looking to make a tune that put someone in that dark mindset and hoped that they would find some relief in knowing that they weren’t alone in going through those struggles.
Coming from the same band that did songs like ‘Good Enough’ and ‘Poundcake’, though, this was far from what they wanted to hear, and Hagar was inclined to agree afterwards, saying, “I loved [it], but man, it was dark. That song didn’t take us anywhere, and I know why. It wasn’t what Van Halen fans wanted. It showed the darkness of Van Halen, and it was basically the end of the band.”
It also didn’t help that Eddie insisted on changing some of the lyrics and thinking that the song needed a bit more attitude than what Hagar was looking for. For a tune that’s supposed to be paying tribute to a beloved icon, though, making the tune sound tough shouldn’t be the first thing on someone’s checklist in the studio.
Still, it’s nice to know that the band was willing to take chances with their sound towards the end of the Van Hagar lineup. Those sessions may not have been the most fun to work on, but at least their hearts were in the right place when discussing the darkness lurking in the hearts of creative people.
