In a new interview with Fox News Digital, former Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar reflected on joining the band in 1985. Following is an excerpt from the story.

Hagar: "I brought a new audience to Van Halen. You know, it's not like they joined my band and brought me the new audience, which would have been great. Then I wouldn't have had to stop being a solo artist for 10 years. But no, I brought a lot of new people in there. And when Dave (Lee Roth) left, it wasn't like they all went with him. You know, it was like, Eddie was the grounding person in that band. Everyone knows that. Looking back now, it's even more obvious, even though the frontman, myself and Dave, in our eras, we always got a lot of attention. But really, that band was built around Eddie Van Halen's guitar playing. And so, the songs we wrote together and all that were good. That's why 5150 made it.. because I brought in a new audience."

"The old people that were in doubt, they heard (imitates keyboard riff notes) 'Why Can't This Be Love?' And they just went, ‘Whoa, this is a new sound for Van Halen.’ You know that keyboard riff sounded like a guitar riff. Where previous stuff like 'Jump' sounded like a synthesizer. So some of the hardcore guitar people rebelled a little bit, but they got a whole new audience with that. And we just satisfied them, and they stayed. And we just went out, and every show sold out in minutes, and we went out and just killed it."

Watch the interview and read the complete story here.

Released October 6, 2023, The Collection II is a 5 CD / 5 LP Box Set spotlighting Van Halen’s second incarnation, with singer Sammy Hagar, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony.

All the music in the set was mastered directly from the original master tapes, a process overseen by the band’s longtime engineer, Donn Landee. The set includes newly remastered versions of four multi-platinum studio albums, along with a selection of rarities recorded between 1989 and 2004. Get your copy now at this location.

In the video below, Hagar and Anthony feast their eyes on The Collection II for the very first time. "Christmas comes early this year. This box set is complete awesomeness" - Sammy. “I’m soooo proud of this. Pinch me, I think I died and went to heaven!" - Mike.

The new set is the long-awaited sequel to The Collection, a compilation released in 2015 that focused on the six studio albums recorded by the band’s original line-up, which featured singer David Lee Roth. The Collection II picks up where its predecessor left off and covers the four consecutive #1 albums released during the Hagar era: 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991), and Balance (1995).

The journey begins with 5150, Van Halen’s seventh studio album and the band’s first to claim the top spot on the Billboard 200. Certified platinum six times in the U.S., the record treated fans to hits like “Dreams,” “Love Walks In,” and “Why Can’t This Be Love,” which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The group returned two years later with OU812, a quadruple-platinum smash that delivered four Billboard Hot 100 hits, including “Finish What Ya Started” and “When It’s Love.”

The accolades continued with For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, which earned Van Halen its first Grammy Award for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Album. Debuting at #1 and staying there for three weeks, the album achieved triple-platinum certification. The record produced an incredible seven singles, including hits like “Poundcake,” “Top Of The World,” and “Right Now.”

In 1993, the band released its first live album, Live: Right Here, Right Now, before returning in 1995 with Balance, its final studio album with Hagar. The album was another commercial triumph, debuting at #1, selling more than three million copies, and earning a Grammy nomination for “The Seventh Seal.”

The Collection II concludes with Studio Rarities 1989-2004, an exclusive compilation that assembles eight gems from the Hagar era for the first time. Among these rarities is “Crossing Over,” the B-Side to Balance’s “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”, and the band’s only non-album B-side.

The compilation boasts other exceptional highlights, including the band’s cover of Little Feat’s “A Apolitical Blues” and the instrumental “Baluchitherium,” which were originally left off the vinyl versions of OU812 and Balance, respectively. Additionally, the set features two songs the band contributed to the Twister Soundtrack – “Humans Being” and the Grammy- nominated “Respect The Wind.”

Rounding out the set are “It’s About Time,” “Up For Breakfast,” and “Learning To See,” which were recorded during the band’s temporary reunion with Hagar in 2004. All three debuted that year on Van Halen’s second greatest hits collection, The Best Of Both Worlds.

The Collection II 5LP tracklisting

LP One: 5150

Side One:
“Good Enough”
“Why Can’t This Be Love”
“Get Up”
“Dreams”
“Summer Nights”

Side Two:
“Best Of Both Worlds”
“Love Walks In”
“5150”
“Inside”

LP Two: OU812

Side One:
“Mine All Mine”
“When It’s Love”
“A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)”
“Cabo Wabo”

Side Two:
“Source Of Infection”
“Feels So Good”
“Finish What Ya Started”
“Black And Blue”
“Sucker In A 3 Piece”

LP Three: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

Side One:
“Poundcake”
“Judgement Day”
“Spanked”
“Runaround”
“Pleasure Dome”

Side Two:
“In ‘N’ Out”
“Man On A Mission”
“The Dream Is Over”
“Right Now”
“316”
“Top Of The World”

LP Four: Balance

Side One:
“The Seventh Seal”
“Can’t Stop Lovin’ You”
“Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)”
“Amsterdam”
“Big Fat Money”
“Doin’ Time”

Side Two:
“Aftershock”
“Strung Out”
“Not Enough”
“Take Me Back (Déjà Vu)”
“Feelin’”

LP Five: Studio Rarities 1989-2004

Side One:
“A Apolitical Blues”
“Crossing Over”
“Baluchitherium”

Side Two:
“Humans Being”
“Respect The Wind”
“It’s About Time”
“Up For Breakfast”
“Learning To See”