Van Halen will release a new boxed set this fall spotlighting the iconic band’s second incarnation, with singer Sammy Hagar, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony. The upcoming set includes newly remastered versions of four multi-platinum studio albums, along with a selection of rarities recorded between 1989 and 2004.
The Collection II will be available on October 6th on five LPs for $124.98 and five CDs for $49.98. 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 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 lineup, which featured singer David Lee Roth. The Collection II picks up where its predecessor left off and covers the four consecutive No. 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 No. 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 No. 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 No. 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 5-LP track listing
LP One: 5150
Side One:
1. Good Enough
2. Why Can’t This Be Love
3. Get Up
4. Dreams
5. Summer Nights
Side Two:
1. Best Of Both Worlds
2. Love Walks In
3. 5150
4. Inside
LP Two: OU812
Side One:
1. Mine All Mine
2. When It’s Love
3. A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)
4. Cabo Wabo
Side Two:
1. Source Of Infection
2. Feels So Good
3. Finish What Ya Started
4. Black And Blue
5. Sucker In A 3 Piece
LP Three: For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge:
Side One:
1. Poundcake
2. Judgement Day
3. Spanked
4. Runaround
5. Pleasure Dome
Side Two:
1. In ‘N’ Out
2. Man On A Mission
3. The Dream Is Over
4. Right Now
5. 316
6. Top Of The World
LP Four: Balance
Side One:
1. The Seventh Seal
2. Can’t Stop Lovin’ You
3. Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)
4. Amsterdam
5. Big Fat Money
6. Doin’ Time
Side Two:
1. Aftershock
2. Strung Out
3. Not Enough
4. Take Me Back (Déjà Vu)
5. Feelin’
LP Five: Studio Rarities 1989-2004
Side One:
1. A Apolitical Blues
2. Crossing Over
3. Baluchitherium
Side Two:
1. Humans Being
2. Respect The Wind
3. It’s About Time
4. Up For Breakfast
4 Responses
FINALLY! I recently bought sealed copies of OU812 & 5150 on vinyl. They are both original club versions and they sound great but I definitely want the remasters. These sets are actually reasonably priced which is shocking! Already pre-ordered the vinyl and cd sets! Now watch all those folks trying to sell Balance & For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge for over $500 start dropping their prices haha.
Finally! Finally!! Been waiting for the Hagar era material to be remastered forever!!! Now release all the live performances during the Roth era on DVD!
Is it just me; but having watched the Humans Being video attached to this post, am I the only one who feels that Eddie hasn’t gone anywhere?
I know that we are only a couple of months away from the third anniversary of his passing (already!), and maybe it’s because he is such an icon in the guitar player’s world and that he’s left behind a whole batch of material to enjoy infinitively, that it just makes it feel that he’s still with us.
What do you guys think / feel?
What would have really been cool (although it’s pure fantasy on my part) is if they’d REMIXED 5150 and OU812. To my ears, 5150 always sounded really thin and too treble-heavy to me – especially Ed’s guitars. The hi-hat throughout out the album is also a constant hiss. I realize that the album’s production and mix were “very 1985-6,” but compared to the stellar fidelity of the first six albums, 5150 has just always sounded inferior to me and hasn’t really aged well. And as for OU812, where is Michael Anthony’s bass???