Unchained

The Eddie Van Halen Story

By: Paul Brannigan

Narrated by: Mike Lenz

Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Arriving in California as a young boy in the early 1960s, Edward Van Halen and his brother, Alex, were ripe for the coming musical revolution. The sons of a Dutch, saxophone-playing father, the brothers discovered The Beatles, Cream, and other icons as they bound together as musical partners, forming identities for themselves in their adopted home along the way.

From the moment their hugely influential 1978 debut landed, Van Halen set a high bar for the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, creating an entirely new style of post-'60s hard rock and becoming the quintessential rock band of the 1980s. But the high-flying success was fraught with difficulty, as Eddie struggled with alcohol and drug addiction while simultaneously battling David Lee Roth over the musical direction of the band, eventually taking the band in an entirely new direction with Sammy Hagar and scaling new heights, before that iteration of Van Halen disintegrated.

Acclaimed biographer Paul Brannigan tackles the dramatic story with respect and affection for one of rock's greatest musicians, pairing original interviews with meticulous research to bring the story of Eddie Van Halen completely up-to-date. Unchained: The Eddie Van Halen Story is a remarkable account of determination, genius, and single-minded commitment to the music.

©2021 Paul Brannigan (P)2021 Tantor

Great Book, Awesome

I enjoyed this book very much.
A couple of years ago I listened to Sammy Hagar’s book, RED.
It was interesting to hear some of the stories from Sammy corroborated here.
I thought the subject matter was interesting and informative.
I grew up with listening to Van Halen but I didn’t know how they achieved what they did over the decades.
Edward is truly a Rock God!
I thought the reader was excellent.
Easy to listen to and follow along.
As a side note, I read reviews of this book before I decided to buy it.
One review I read criticized how the reader would refer to dates such as March 4th as “4 March” etc…
The book was written by a writer from the UK.
Dates are referred to differently in the UK and the reader read was written on the page.
He didn’t change the author’s words to suit a North American audience.
If you happen to read that review, before or after mine, ignore such a petty reference.
The book was terrific and the reader did a great job!

Great Eddie book!

Haven’t finished it yet but a great in depth look at the man, the band, and everything Van Halen. I am enjoying this book and finding it hard to put down. It’s a great read.

This is a great book if you’ve never read about Van Halen

This was a good book and the the information was well presented , there’s nothing new here so if you’re looking for stories never heard before this isn’t your book but it is a good basic VH book and the performance is good overall not a bad listen but nothing earth shattering is presented

Great story, narration could have been better

Another great book by Paul Brannigan, one of rock and metal’s best music journalists and authors. The narration by Mike Lenz lacked the dynamics and enthusiasm of my favorite Paul Brannigan book: Birth, School, Metallica, Death which is read by Ray Porter.

Van Halen rocks for 5 decades !

Nicely presented story of terrific rock band. Inside story from start to finish. Nice performance! some surprises.

Awesome

A very uncensored, close telling of Ed’s life story. Nothing left out. Truly brilliant. Couldn’t ask for more.

WOW. GREAT

what a wonderful interesting story from Start to finish definably a great purchase Learned so much about Eddie

Great listen for an EVH fan!

I am a huge VH fan....both with Dave and Sammy. I really enjoyed the book. To be honest, some parts were sad and upsetting. I know all to well unfortunately, about living with an alcoholic. Got to give it to Valerie, she hung in there as long as she could. I saw Wolfgang in concert this past June, and he was awesome! His dad would be so proud!

Disappointing

Unfortunately, not much substance contained in this book. Mostly recycled stores you already know as a fan of EVH, without any keen insight gained.

Horrible Reader

The story of Van Halen is always great, but the person reading the book pronouncem many things wrong.