Van Halen Explore Sammy Hager Years With New Box Set

Bruce Henne | 08-09-2023

Box set cover art

(hennemusic) Van Halen will release a new box set this fall spotlighting the band's years with singer Sammy Hagar. Due October 6, "The Collection II" will deliver newly-remastered editions of the four studio albums the group recorded with Hagar - 1986's "5150", 1988's "OU812", 1991's "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" and 1995's "Balance" - alongside an exclusive compilation of studio rarities from the era and a brief reunion in 2004. (pre-order here.)

Among the eight rarities is a 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, as well as "Crossing Over," the b-side to "Balance"'s "Can't Stop Lovin' You" (and the band's only non-album b-side), two songs the band contributed to the Twister Soundtrack - "Humans Being" and "Respect The Wind", and three songs from 2004: "It's About Time," "Up For Breakfast," and "Learning To See", which were previously featured Van Halen's second greatest hits collection, "The Best Of Both Worlds."

On the heels of the iconic groundbreaking years with David Lee Roth as frontman, Van Halen teamed with Hagar for four US No. 1 albums over a decade starting with "5150".

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 with Roth.

Get more details and stream the newly-remastered HD video for "Humans Being" here.