According to Van Halen producer Mike Post, Eddie Van Halen isn’t to blame for the failure of the Gary Cherone album, ‘Van Halen III.’
During a recent chat with The Bluegrass Situation’s Army Reitnour Jacobs, Post reflected on why the record was a commercial disappointment:
“Basically all I did was get out of the way. It’s not a very good album. It’s nobody’s fault. It was an experiment. Unfortunately, [Alex Van Halen] was going through a terrible time in his life. So Al didn’t play on that. Eddie played everything. It just didn’t have magic. That’s all.”
What Did Cherone Teach Eddie?
‘Van Halen III’ is the only album that features Cherone as the singer. Last year, the singer spoke with Jeremy White and explained how he introduced new songwriting methods to Eddie during his time with Van Halen:
“As far as Eddie, I think our writing partnership was different than the other guys in the sense that I would show him a lyric, it was the first time he would write to a lyric he said. It was something that me and Nuno did forever. But that was something new for him which inspired him in different directions. He would sit on a piano…”
He continued:
“He had all this material, I can only speak for myself, I think with the Sammy era, not that there was pressure from the record company, I think they did what they did but they knew who they were. With me coming into the fold, we were discovering who we were. ‘Year to the Day’ was something bluesy. Not that he didn’t do anything bluesy but I thought that a little song like ‘Once’ or ‘From Afar’ was from left field.”
Previously, Cherone also expressed his eagerness to participate in a possible Van Halen tribute tour for Eddie Van Halen. The vocalist also noted that Alex Van Halen would have the final say on whether the tribute tour happens. Sammy Hagar will tour with Michael Anthony to honor Van Halen songs but Alex isn’t part of it.