The Van Halen that Sammy Hagar nonetheless left in 1996 wasn’t the pretty exact same as the 1 he returned to in 2004.

On June 11, 2004, Hagar and his former bandmates reunited onstage for the pretty very first time in almost nine a extended time. Considering the truth that the singer fired or was quit — depending on who you believe — on Father’s Working day 1996, Van Halen had endured some difficult situations.

Initially, they attempted a studio reunion with their main frontman David Lee Roth, which flamed out spectacularly and in comprehensive see of the neighborhood at the MTV Tunes Awards. Then they recruited Extreme’s Gary Cherone as their third guide singer, which resulted in 1998’s improperly been provided studio album Van Halen III and a tour that failed to mild up the box workplace to their usual considerable requirements. Cherone was dismissed in 1999, and Van Halen all but vanished for the up coming 5 decades.

Hagar had stayed occupied provided that the split, releasing 4 new studio albums involving 1997 and 2002 and touring closely — such as a drama-stuffed co-headlining trek with Roth. His output undermined Alex and Eddie Van Halen’s claim that Hagar’s shoddy get the job completed ethic was partly to blame for his departure from the group.

Originally intending only to rekindle their friendship, Hagar attained out to Alex Van Halen in 2003, which ahead of extended led to the recording of 3 new tracks for the band’s profession-spanning The Finest of The two Worlds compilation album and styles for a summer time time 2004 tour.

Hagar returned to a group that was a lot additional targeted on showcasing its total job. Following which involve only the most plain tracks from the Roth decades (“Bounce,” “Panama,” “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Appreciate” and their guard of the Kinks’ “You Genuinely Received Me”) at reside reveals by means of Hagar’s decade in the band, Van Halen introduced lover favorites this sort of as “Imply Street” and “Dance the Night time Absent” back once more in the course of their 1998 tour with Cherone.

That improvement ongoing on opening evening of the 2004 tour, which bundled 6 Roth-era songs. In addition to the 4 music outlined earlier talked about, Hagar handled direct vocals on the Honest Warning gem “Unchained,” when bassist Michael Anthony (with eager backing help from Hagar) took on Van Halen II’s “Somebody Get Me a Physician.”

Read by means of Extra: Just about each and every David Lee Roth-Era Van Halen Song Sammy Hagar Sang

Oddly for a Hagar reunion tour, the clearly show began with the greatest hit of Van Halen’s Roth era, “Bounce.” They also stopped playing complete-band renditions of Hagar’s solo hits. On preceding excursions, they had teamed up to play “I Are unable to Generate 55” and “There is certainly Only One Way to Rock,” with the latter featuring a show-highlighting guitar duel amongst Hagar and Van Halen. On the 2004 trek, Hagar only supplied solo acoustic renditions of his tunes “Where Eagles Fly” and “Further Kinda Like.”

In an admirable but at some point misguided endeavor at showcasing their newest item, Van Halen performed all 3 of the new songs from The Most helpful of Each Worlds compilation — “Up for Breakfast,” “It really is About Time” and “Learning to See” — on opening evening. These songs did not precisely stand the exam of time, and their inclusion intended the exclusion of Van Hagar-period concert favorites this sort of as “Summer season Evenings,” “End What Ya Started” and “Adore Walks In.” (“Learning to See” was dropped ideal right after 12 demonstrates and replaced with Equilibrium‘s “The Seventh Seal.”)

Check out the Opening Night of Van Halen’s 2004 Tour

The 2004 Tour Was a Disastrous End to Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar Era

Regrettably, mainly because of to lingering individuality conflicts and Eddie Van Halen’s worsening habit struggles, Van Halen’s Most helpful of Both equally Worlds tour swiftly descended into turmoil and ended just quick of catastrophe. In his 2011 guide Pink: My Uncensored Daily life in Rock, Hagar said that a prospective $5 million penalty was the only aspect retaining him from quitting just right after 4 shows.

“I was just hoping it was most likely to be terrific and each and every individual was heading to be content and a big adore fest and just go at it once more,” Hagar explained to NBC in 2011, “but it was not that at all. It was the finish reverse.”

Neither Hagar nor Anthony carried out with Van Halen yet again following the tour’s ultimate demonstrate on Nov. 19, 2004, in Tucson, Arizona. In 2007, Van Halen reunited with Roth and recruited Eddie’s son Wolfgang to take in excess of bass duties for a very profitable tour. This lineup would mount two far more such excursions and launch the 2012 studio album A Various Type of Truth of the matter prior to the guitarist’s demise in 2020.

Van Halen June 11, 2004 Greensboro, S.C. Established Record
1. “Bounce” (From 1984’s 1984)
2. “Runaround” (From 1991’s For Unlawful Carnal Expertise)
3. “Human beings Currently becoming” From 1996’s Tornado Soundtrack)
4. “Up for Breakfast” (From 2004’s The Greatest of Both equally Worlds)
5. Bass Solo
6. “Any person Get Me a Health practitioner” (From 1979’s Van Halen II)
7. “Poundcake” (From 1991’s For Illegal Carnal Know-how)
8. “It definitely is About Time” (From 2004’s The Most effective of Both equally Worlds)
9. Drum Solo
10. “Top of the Earth” (From 1991’s For Unlawful Carnal Information)
11. “Unchained” (From 1981’s Reasonable Warning)
12. “Why Can’t This Be Enjoy” (From 1986’s 5150)
13. “Eagles Fly” (From 1987’s I Hardly ever Explained Goodbye)
14. “Deeper Kinda Like” (From 2000’s 10 13)
15. “Finding out to See” (From 2004’s The Finest of Both equally Worlds)
16. “Ideal of Equally Worlds” (From 1986’s 5150)
17. Guitar Solo
18. “Dreams” (From 1986’s 5150)
19. “Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love’ (From 1978’s Van Halen)
20. “Appropriate Now” (From 1991’s For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge)
21. “You Seriously Received Me” (Kinks deal with from Van Halen)
22. “Panama” (From 1984’s 1984)
23. “When It is really Enjoy” (From 1988’s OU812)