The Collection II – available as either a five-LP or five-CD set – will cover material from Van Halen’s four consecutive No. 1 albums: 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991) and Balance (1995). All of the songs have been remastered from the original master tapes by the band’s longtime engineer, Donn Landee.
It's a notable change from the Van Halen camp, which appeared to avoid Van Hagar reissues in the past. “It seems like since Van Halen did the [David Lee] Roth reunion that they tried to really bury the Van Hagar era,” Hagar noted to UCR in 2021. “They wouldn’t remaster it, they wouldn’t allow it to be in movies. They wouldn’t allow it to be licensed for video games and commercials.”
The Collection II goes beyond the remastered albums by also including a compilation of studio rarities from 1989-2004. Among the material is “Crossing Over,” the B-Side to Balance’s “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” and the band’s only non-album flip. Van Halen’s cover of Little Feat’s “A Apolitical Blues,” the instrumental “Baluchitherium” and two tracks the band contributed to the Twister soundtrack – “Humans Being” and “Respect the Wind” – are also included among the rarities.
Additionally, the collection includes “It’s About Time,” “Up for Breakfast,” and “Learning to See,” a trio of songs recorded during Van Halen’s reunion with Hagar in 2004 and previously featured on the band’s second hits collection, The Best of Both Worlds.
The Collection II will be released on Oct. 6 and is available for preorder now. The set arrives seven years after The Collection, Van Halen’s 2015 compilation that focused on material recorded with original singer David Lee Roth, whom Hagar replaced in 1985.
Van Halen, 'The Collection II' Studio Rarities 1989-2004
Side One
1. “A Apolitical Blues”
2. “Crossing Over”
3. “Baluchitherium”
Side Two
1. “Humans Being”
2. “Respect the Wind”
3. “It’s About Time”
4. “Up for Breakfast”
5. “Learning to See”
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