It’s time to review another rock ‘n’ roll book. One of my fave bands is Van Halen, and one of my fave drummers is Alex Van Halen. So when his book became available at Kobo, I snatched it up. Yes, it took me a bit to get to reading it since my TBR pile is a mile high, but once I started reading, I devoured every single word.
Title: Brothers
Series: N/A
Author(s): Alex Van Halen, Ariel Levy
Genre: Non-Fiction, Rock ‘N’ Roll, Autobiography, Memoir
Length: 240 pages
Release Date: October 22, 2024
Publisher: Harper Collins
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Blurb: In this intimate and open account—nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you’ve ever read—Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band mate.
Told with acclaimed New Yorker writer Ariel Levy Brothers is seventy-year-old drummer Alex Van Halen’s love letter to his younger brother, Edward, (Maybe “Ed,” but never “Eddie”), written while still mourning his untimely death.
In his rough yet sweet voice, Alex recounts the brothers’ childhood, first in the Netherlands and then in working class Pasadena, California, with an itinerant musician father and a very proper Indonesian-born mother—the kind of mom who admonished her boys to “always wear a suit” no matter how famous they became—a woman who was both proud and practical, nonchalant about taking a doggie bag from a star-studded dinner. He also shares tales of musical politics, infighting, and plenty of bad-boy behavior. But mostly his is a story of brotherhood, music, and enduring love.
“I was with him from day one,” Alex writes. “We shared the experience of coming to this country and figuring out how to fit in. We shared a record player, an 800 square foot house, a mom and dad, and a work ethic. Later, we shared the back of a tour bus, alcoholism, the experience of becoming successful, of becoming fathers and uncles, and of spending more hours in the studio than I’ve spent doing anything else in this life. We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime.”
There has never been an accurate account of them or the band, and Alex wants to set the record straight on Edward’s life and death.
Brothers includes never-before-seen photos from the author’s private archives.
Available at:
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Being a Van Halen fan and having read the many biographies and autobiographies about the band, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Alex’s memoir (I purchased the e-book version). After finally finding some time to sneak this into my reading schedule, I can say I enjoyed this autobiography. Did I love it?
Well, let’s say I always compare these types of memoirs to Don Felder’s Heaven and Hell, because it’s one of my favourites, one I can re-read. Would I re-read Alex’s? Probably not. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed what Alex had to say, and found some passages quite touching. It’s filled with many stories I haven’t heard before and goes into detail about his early life.
Was I looking for dirt? Nope. That’s not what attracted me to Don Felder’s Heaven and Hell. I simply enjoyed the way the guitarist for the Eagles went deep into the account of his life. Does Alex? In some ways, yes. But I also remembered that this was a “love letter” to his brother. He didn’t write this to share about his life. He wanted to write about his and Edward’s.
He does. He also goes into detail about the albums they made, how they were made, and what inspired them. This part I loved. I’m a music geek, so digging deep into how the brothers worked together to produce some great songs was a real treat. I also enjoyed learning about his parents, especially his dad, who was also a musician.
Then there is the account Alex gives about the music business reality: just because a rock star is touring with a hit album doesn’t mean he’s sleeping with a mattress full of money, and lighting his cigar with dollar bills.
I learned about Alex, too. He’s a deep, spiritual man who’s always looking within. Was he always this way? Probably not. But as we age, we learn there’s more to life than sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll.
The memoir is filled with many quotes from Eddie during interviews with Guitar World, other books, and so on. I did like this, because it included Eddie’s words in the book, instead of Alex saying, “Ed felt this or Ed felt that.” He showed a lot of respect for his brother to not speak for him, but let Ed speak for himself.
Sure, there are stories about backstage parties, etc. But the meat of the story is the bond Ed and Alex shared. And this came through in the book. Were there stories I was aware of? Yes. Having read so many Van Halen biographies, of course, I knew about a lot of them. But as I said earlier, the keepers are the new ones that Alex shares.
If you are a Van Halen fan, I’d recommend this book. It’s touching. Tender at times. You can feel how much Alex misses his brother. And he also gives plenty of information on the band, how they came together, and what tore it apart. He doesn’t simply say “And we parted ways with Dave.” Instead, he tells stories of Dave with a lot of respect, to explain to the reader why the mighty Van Halen moved on with a new singer after 1984. I enjoyed getting another’s perspective on Dave and why the band imploded after their biggest album up until then.
It does end in 1984. So if you are looking for the years with Gary Cherone and Sammy Hagar, you won’t find that here. Will there be another book with Gary and Sammy? I don’t think so. I feel like Alex said what he needed to say, so I will be surprised if there is a part two.
All in all, a good read.
Maggie Blackbird 