A Deep Look Behind the Curtain of A Rock Legend

I've been a fan of Van Halen for most of my life but never the kind of devoted super fan who devoured every micron of information that came out about the band. If you're the latter, you probably already know everything that's discussed in this book and more besides. But for people like me, this is a fascinating deep dive behind the curtain of the career of one of the most important and also troubled bands in the history of rock music.

Van Halen was packed with some of the most talented and hard working musicians of any rock band. They revelled in their success and wealth to be sure but they were also in it for the craft. Unfortunately, that level of passion and creativity is often back ended by a lot of ego and vice. This book gives a detailed account of their rises and falls and shows how all of that combined to make something unique and what miracle it was that they managed to survive as long as they did. Most bands would have imploded very early on when dealing with what Van Halen did.

It should be noted that this book only covers events leading up to the early 2010s. While it does cover the vast majority of the band's history, it does miss some recent events, including the sad passing of Eddie Van Halen in 2020.

I'd listened to Fred Berman's excellent narration of Console Wars and he does just as good a job here. He's one of the best readers on Audible and his energy makes a long listening session a breeze.

As a Van Halen fan, this was the audio equivalent of a page turner for me and I highly recommend it to people who like the band or who just want to hear a good story about the crazy life of a rock band.

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