Greg Prato, reporting for Ultimate-Guitar.com:
A lot of classic rock and metal bands went through some unexpected lineup changes throughout the 1980s and the 1990s. Among many examples, we have Van Halen with Extreme's Gary Cherone fronting the band. Although not as popular as the band's David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar eras, this period yielded one album, 1998's Van Halen III, and has a special place in the hearts of diehard Van Halen fans. On the other hand, some may also feel that, just like with other rock bands, the combo just didn't really work out.
As bassist Michael Anthony said in a recent interview with Ultimate Guitar, he also feels like it wasn't the best fit, although he does admit that the Gary Cherone era had its good sides. While he was still preparing to go out on the road with Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham, Anthony shared his thoughts on the matter.
Ultiimate-Guitar.com: Looking back on it now, what are your thoughts about the Gary Cherone era, and how would you describe the state of Van Halen at that time?
Michael Anthony: "It was an interesting time, because the band was really going through a lot personally. Alex was, in his life, going through personal stuff. And the way that actually came about is that the manager back then, Ray Danniels, was also managing Gary at that time. And so, he was the one who actually recommended Gary for the band.
"And as far as musically, I personally didn't think that Gary was a really good fit for Van Halen. I mean, I really love him in Extreme, but I just didn't really see the fit. And we made it work, and I think it was great going out on tour with him, though, because he was open to doing any of the Van Halen stuff.
"In fact, he suggested doing the Roth era stuff, the Hagar era stuff. And he wanted to play it all, which was really great because we ended up on that tour playing a lot of the older Van Halen stuff that we hadn't played for years when Sammy was in the band."
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