Book Review: Brothers

I wasn't planning on reading this book. While I enjoyed the first few Van Halen albums—I checked out after 1984—there are a lot more people further up on the fan spectrum than me. But a friend of mine loaned it to me, thinking that I might enjoy reading it (I'd loaned him Bruce Dickinson's What Does This Button Do?, so fair exchange). And yes, to some extent, I did enjoy reading it.

Alex takes a semi-chronological approach: how his parents met, the early years in Amsterdam, moving to America, and growing up in Pasadena with Ed. Music was a large part of the Van Halen brothers' lives growing up as their father played in jazz bands from before they were born. Another large part of their lives was alcohol, and they started young. Different times.

Alex goes to talk about the early formative years of the band, revealing the gradual evolution of what would become Van Halen. Fun Fact: David Lee Roth was the one who suggested they call themselves that. He thought their name sounded "strong" and had "power to it." Alex talks about each album, a little bit about recording, some more about touring and what it's like (for him) to be a musician. But the book pretty much ends with Roth's departure from the band.

Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar are background figures. How the former wound up joining the band is there and the latter is suggested by Ted Templeman (producer) as a replacement for Roth when they went into the studio to record their first album. But that's it. And Gary Cherone doesn't even rate a mention. There are a few people that get discussed (particularly if they wrote a book or conducted an interview with a band member), but it's primarily Roth that gets the focus. Alex berates him in one paragraph and praises him in the next. It sounds sometimes like Roth was the third brother.

Alex pulls in a lot of quotes from other people. He admits this at the end of the book. He felt that they helped to jog his memory (He was 70 when he wrote this). After pulling the quote Alex responds to it. Sometimes it comes across as argumentative, but to be fair, he's just giving his side of things and he does give credit where its due.

I'd recommend this for Van Halen fans who want to know a bit more about the brothers' formative years, the first half dozen albums, and Alex's perspective on life with Ed, music, and the entertainment industry. People forget just how great a drummer he is, having been overshadowed by Ed. But he doesn't brag or begrudge Ed. You can tell how much he loved Ed, how much he loved playing music with him, and how much he misses him. While it would've been great to hear how certain songs came together, but it's like the old saying, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." You pretty much had to be there.

3 1/2 stars

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