Michael Sweet has expressed a preference for the David Lee Roth era of Van Halen over the Sammy Hagar era.
On Instagram, the Stryper frontman shared, “Alex Van Halen Says Van Halen ‘Not the Same’ After David Lee Roth Left: ‘Magic Was in the First Years,'” and added, “Well, there ya go. Straight from the horse’s mouth. And what I’ve been saying all along.”
In a 2019 appearance on the Cobras & Fire podcast, Sweet said, “I love early Van Halen — everything with [singer David] Lee Roth… My opinion is that the early Van Halen with Roth was the better Van Halen. And the reason why I say that is because of the energy.”
He continued, “There was some kind of a fire lit under all of them, especially on those first three albums and tours, that was undeniable. Yeah, Sammy’s [Hagar] awesome, he’s a legend, he’s amazing, they sounded great, they had hits with Sammy and sold a ton of albums — not to take any of that away, but, man, I miss the old Van Halen.”
Sweet also expressed his belief that, despite their age, Van Halen still had the potential to make their best album. “And I personally believe, while they’re still alive — I don’t care how old they are — if they can still play and sing, their best album still lies within them,” he added.
He previously mentioned that he could help Van Halen recreate the magic of their early albums. “I was just speaking out of respect — nothing but respect for Van Halen coming from me,” Sweet explained on the same podcast. “You’re never gonna hear any disrespect.”
Sweet then shared, “And I felt like, as a producer, writer, singer, guitar player, I would be a perfect candidate to help make that happen. And for people to laugh at that, that’s fine — you can laugh all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s true.”
When the interviewer complimented his confidence, Sweet replied, “It’s beyond confidence. I mean, I have a lot of confidence, but if I don’t have the track record to back it up, I’ve got nothing, and I think I have the track record.”
In his new book, ‘Brothers,’ Alex Van Halen said that David Lee Roth leaving Van Halen in 1985 was the most disappointing moment of his life until the death of his brother Eddie. Alex stated that the band was never the same after Roth left, and that the real magic existed in the early, more experimental years.
