Van Halen at 50

“I get up and nothin’ gets me down
You got it tough, I’ve seen the toughest around
And I know, baby, just how you feel
You got to roll with the punches to get to what’s real
Ah, can’t you see me standin’ here?
I’ve got my back against the record machine
I ain’t the worst that you’ve seen
Ah, can’t you see what I mean?
Ah, might as well jump (jump)” – Van Halen: Songwriters: Alex Van Halen / David Roth / Edward Van Halen

This is a nice book for fans of Van Halen. This book talks about the tours, the albums, their concerts, musical skills, the important dates, and major events for the band. It also discusses the issues between the band members ranging from personality issues, difference of opinions concerning music and artistic clashes. The title of this book comes from the author showing 50 milestones on the band’s 50th anniversary.

I found the book to be a little clunky at times and I felt it had a flow issue as a result. This was due to the author breaking down the album art and the concerts. Having said that, I enjoyed the pictures, the album art, learning some things that I did not know about the band, and the individual band members and their side gigs. Although the book does talk about the band, it gave a lot of attention to Eddie Van Halen (much deserved), David Lee Roth and Sammy Hager.

An overall interesting and informative book for fans of the band. I liked the personal approach to describing the members of the group and showing them as not only Rock gods but as people with had their own struggles in life. Plus, you get to see some memorabilia and great pics.

Thank you to Motorbooks and Edelweiss who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.