Last week, a Dutch newspaper broke the guitar internet when it reported that Alex Van Halen had turned to Steve Lukather to complete a new Van Halen album.
Alex’s pick of the Toto guitarist and revered session shredder made a lot of sense. Lukather and the late electric guitar great Eddie Van Halen had a long-standing relationship, and – among their many collaborations – most famously worked together on Michael Jackson’s Beat It. But now Lukather has taken to Instagram to set the record straight.
As per De Telegraaf’s report, Lukather was quoted as all-but-confirming the story after he was approached by the newspaper for comment while playing the Netherlands with Toto.
“Did Alex say that?” the guitarist had responded to questions of a new album. “Oh, in that case, the news is true. Ed, Alex, and I were very close for years. It is true that we worked on it together.”
Questions, naturally, were raised about the technicalities of such a move, after Alex had first discussed using AI to turn “little pieces” of Eddie’s unfinished solos into completed material. This left many speculating that such a concept may have fallen by the wayside, with others believing Lukather could have been drafted to play guitar on the new record. The truth of Lukather's involvement, though, is a little more straightforward.
“For the record: Ever since Alex Van Halen dropped we were gonna work together I think there is a huge misunderstanding,” Lukather's new statement, commenting on a post remembering Eddie from seven weeks ago, reads. “I will not ever play a guitar note on a VH song ever!
“Al asked me to help him go thru a ton of unfinished recordings of Al and Ed writing and recording that never saw the light of day,” he continues. “As of now, that’s all I got.
“The fact that ANYONE would think for even a second that I would play anything on this is ridiculous.”
“I have too much love and respect for that and... I play nothing like Ed... more as a co-producer or something. I am honored Al would ask me though. Let's see…”
Lukather’s fairly blunt comments may burst the bubble of the many Van Halen fans who had been buoyed by last week’s news, but there are two interesting points to dissect here.
First of all, Lukather has confirmed that he is (or already has been?) involved in some sort of project with Alex, meaning that there is a determination to do something with Eddie’s as-yet-unfinished material.
We’ve already heard one new song, Unfinished, released last year to promote the drummer’s new memoir, and Michael Anthony has spoken about a vast archive of riffs and demos on multiple occasions, meaning there's a depth of material to navigate.
Secondly, if his role is more of a co-producer rather than as a gun for hire, perhaps AI will still play a part. It was vital in helping the Beatles bring one last song, Then and Now to the fore – and win a Grammy for their troubles – and Alex has confirmed he’s already approached OpenAI for discussions.
“A bunch of licks don’t make a song,” he told Rolling Stone last year. AI then, could analyze “the patterns of how Edward would have played something.” He even hoped Robert Plant would get involved.
That could still happen yet, and with Lukather on board in a production or creative director-type role, there is plenty of intrigue as to how this project will come to life.
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