Later this month, Alex Van Halen will share Brothers – his upcoming tell-all memoir, which will see the former Van Halen drummer chronicle his career and his relationship with Eddie Van Halen.
Ahead of the book’s release, Alex Van Halen has now shared a four-and-a-half minute audio excerpt dubbed “Overture” via Spotify. In it, he can be heard paying tribute to his late brother, eulogizing his one-of-a-kind musicality.
He also discusses the burden that EVH carried with him after being dubbed “the world’s greatest guitarist”, and revealed that the late electric guitar great “never liked” such a tag.
“It's been almost four years since you passed, Ed, but sometimes it feels like it just happened this morning,” Alex begins (transcription via Blabbermouth).
“That sensitivity is part of what made you a brilliant musician,” he continues. “The world's greatest guitarist is what everyone says. It's kind of a dicey title. You never liked it. I can tell you this much, saying you're the greatest implies there are many more like you.
“But there is only one, Edward Van Halen. You could play just a single note and it sounded different, distinct. Miles Davis said it's not the notes, it's the intent. It's that intangible essence that makes the difference between one sound and another.
"From the first time you picked up a guitar – my guitar, actually – the resonance and intonation were unique. Long before people were going crazy for your finger tapping, the talent was already there. Even when you just played a chord, you always said you didn't know where it came from.
"People tell me, you'll always have the music and the best tribute anyone can give you is to listen to our songs. I'm listening to Loss Of Control as I write this. It's the stuff in between the licks that gets me.
“It's so particular, such a distinctive way of playing you had. And then within seconds you've already changed the lick. You've let it evolve ever so slightly in the most interesting way, and you weren't even aware of it half the time. Music just came through you.”
The new excerpt follows the partial release of Unfinished – a previously unreleased preview of the last song Alex and Eddie ever worked on, which features some EVH soloing.
Brothers will arrive on October 22, and has been tipped to “set the record straight on Edward’s life and death”.
Visit the Van Halen Store website to find out more.
