Talking to Radio Metal, the frontman says his current band are better than his previous one.

“As individuals,absolutely! I’ve been in both bands, I can tell you right now. Take the new albums and compare them track by track and then tell me.

“If you take Joe Satriani versus Eddie, you take Dave Lee Roth versus me, Wolfie Van Halen versus Mikey Anthony, Chad Smith or Kenny Aronoff versus Al Van Halen…I mean, come on! You know what I mean? Man for man, who can sing the best? Dave or I, today? Who can play the best? Joe or Eddie, today? Who could play or sing the best? Wolfie or Mikey? I think it’s a joke. Sure, I love the comparison as long as it’s fair. Not because you’re a big Eddie Van Halen fan, you think that he’s God, therefore you think that he’s better than Joe; you have to be bipartisan and just listen and watch both of them play. Listen, I played with them both, I can tell you right now: there is no comparison today. Never mind the innovator that Eddie was. I’m talking about what they can play today.”

But Hagar would be happy for Chickenfoot to open for Van Halen.

“Are you kidding? Right now, for free. They wouldn’t even have to pay me.”

Or, you can now listen to the songs Stay Frosty, China Town and Blood And Fire.

Blood And Fire actually sounds like a reworking of an Eddie Van Halen instrumental called Ripley. This was featured in the 1984 film The Wild Life. If you fancy comparing the two, then here is Ripley.

And you can now buy Blood And Fire digitally.

Find out more at www.van-halen.com

The band played a 45-minute set at the small, 250-capacity club in Greenwich Village (which was once owned by Manny Roth, David Lee Roth’s uncle – and the 92-year-old was at this gig), during which time they performed She’s The Woman. Apparently, this song was demoed by the band in the 1970s, but never actually recorded.

The fact that it was included in the set strongly suggests it has been revived for VH’s new album, which is due out on February 7. And Diamond Dave has announced the record will be titled A Different Kind Of Truth. The album track listing is:

1. Tattoo
2. She’s The Woman
3. You And Your Blues
4. China Town
5. Blood and Fire
6. Bullethead
7. As Is
8. Honeybabysweetiedoll
9. The Trouble With Never
10. Outta Space
11. Stay Frosty
12. Big River
13. Beats Workin’

There will also be a deluxe edition of the album, with a bonus DVD featuring videos of four acoustic performances.

Back on the live front, the rest of VH’s performance at the Cafe Wha? featured wall-to-wall classics. Here’s the complete set list:

1. You Really Got Me
2. Runnin’ With The Devil
3. Somebody Get Me A Doctor
4. Everybody Wants Some
5. She’s The Woman
6. Dance The Night Away
7. Panama
8. Hot For Teacher
9. Ice Cream Man
10. Ain’t Talkin Bout Love
11. Jump

VH were scheduled to perform two more songs – Beautiful Girls and Unchained – but didn’t play them in the end.

During the show Roth namechecked some of the stars who have played the Cafe Wha? in the past – Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix among them – and told the audience: “I’m more nervous about this gig than I would ever be in Madison Square Garden”. And among the celebs in the audience was tennis legend John McEnroe, who’s always loved to throw guitar hero shapes.

The band start touring in North America on February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky. The dates so far stretch to June 26 in New Orleans, with tickets on sale from Tuesday, January 10. So far, there’s no hint of any shows outside of the States and Canada.

Check out the full list of dates here. Bizarrely, Kool And The Gang are said to be supporting on selected shows!

Also, according to the Van Halen News Desk, the band’s new single, Tattoo, will premiere on January 10, along with the official video. Here’s a 30-second clip from the song.

Check out the video below (courtesy of NBC New York) of Van Halen – that’s Roth, together with Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen – arriving at the Cafe Wha? last night:

And click here to see a fan filmed-video of the band performing She’s The Woman.

The band are now on the Interscope label, and the as yet untitled album is expected to be released next year. As for touring plans, so far nothing is confirmed, although more might be announced when the band – Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Wolfgang Van Halen – appear at the Grammy Nominations show on November 30.

To find out more about Van Halen, click through to the Classic Rock Archive, with 13 years of articles, interviews and reviews.

Blabbermouth report that Hagar has said: “Those vocal harmonies on the last tour were Mike on tape. Mike should’ve reamed them for it. Wolfie don’t sing like that, and Ed sure as hell don’t. Go on the Internet and listen to Ed’s voice live from the reunion with me. Hear him sing on When It’s Love and some of those songs. Ed can’t sing, and his voice is shot if he can, from cigarettes and booze anyway.”

Anthony was replaced on bass by Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang for the 2007/8 tour.

Hagar also added that he doubts there will be a new Van Halen studio album, something the band have been working on for a while.

“They’ve been working on that record for a year and a half or whatever, and they keep postponing and postponing it. I just know that Wolfie, Dave and Ed are not the Van Halen that the world wants to see. To do it with David without Mike was a horrible decision, but those guys haven’t made a good decision since I left the band.”

To find out more about Van Halen, click through to the Classic Rock Archive, with 13 years of articles, interviews and reviews.

Producer Ross Hogarth has revealed that the record’s in the mixing stages, and everything’s prepared for a release later in the year.

Talking to ultimate-guitar.com, Hogarth said:

“The whole Van Halen record has been recorded and we’re all excited. We have just started mixing the record. I’m really stoked about it, as it is the original band, Eddie and Alex with Wolf playing bass, and David Lee Roth singing, it’s the killing side of Van Halen at the top of their game again with Diamond Dave, and the band on fire.”

Van Halen will reportedly tour extensively in support of their new album. But their only confirmed 2011 dates so far are a series of shows headlining Australia’s Soundwave Revolution festival, with other acts including Alice Cooper, Alter Bridge, Steel Panther, Hole, Danzig, Machine Head, The Damn Things and The Devin Townsend Project.

Find out more at www.van-halen.com

The message just says: ‘Get ready…’ – and if you want to see this for yourself, then go to www.davidleeroth.com

The band – also featuring guitarist Eddie Van Halen, bassist Wolfgang Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen – have been working on a new album with producer John Shanks since the start of the year. This is expected out during the autumn, and will be the first new studio album with Diamond Dave since 1984.

Van Halen have also confirmed their participation in Australia’s Soundwave Revolution touring festival.

Dates are as follows:

September
24 – Brisbane
25 – Sydney
30 – Melbourne

October
1 – Adelaide
3 – Perth

For further details go to www.soundwaverevolution.com

It’s called Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks The World, which is all about the wah-wah pedal of that name. It includes contributions from the following:

Dweezil Zappa

Eddie Van Halen

Jerry Cantrell

Kirk Hammett

Paul Gilbert

Slash

Steve Lukather

Stevie Salas

Zakk Wylde

See the whole film here.

Talking about meeting up with the guitarist in 2004 to discuss a possible Van Halen reunion, the singer says: “He finally invited me over to this giant, extravagant house that he and Valerie (Bertinelli) had built before she split. It looked like vampires lived there. There were bottles and cans all over the floor. The handle was broken off the refrigerator door. There were spider webs everywhere. . . He told me he cured himself (of cancer) by having pieces of his tongue liquefied and injected into his body. He also told me when he had his hip replacement, he stayed awake through the operation and helped the doctors drill a hole. What a fruitcake.”

The book, Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock, is published on March 15.

Details are sketchy at present, but Moore apparently died in his sleep in the early hours of Sunday morning, February 6, while on holiday in Spain. He was just 58.

Moore was found dead in his room at the luxury Kempinski Resort Hotel in Estepona on the Costa Del Sol. A post mortem will be carried out later today in the nearby city of Malaga.

The Belfast-born guitarist, who enjoyed spells in Thin Lizzy as well as a successful solo career – both as a rocker and a blueser – appeared at Classic Rock’s High Voltage Festival last summer.

One of the first people to offer tribute to Moore was Niall Stokes, editor of Hot Press, the popular Irish music magazine.

Stokes said:

“He was a genius player. Even as a teenager, he had something special about him and throughout his career he worked really hard at improving his technique.

“His contribution to the Irish rock canon was immense, both in his own solo work, his days with Skid Row, the great records he recorded with Philip Lynott and with Thin Lizzy and in various other cameos.

“My heart goes out to all of his close friends and family.”

Classic Rock’s Geoff Barton adds:

“I first saw a young Gary play with Thin Lizzy at Bracknell Sports Centre in the early 1970s. He had just been drafted in to replace Eric Bell in Lizzy and his performance was, frankly, astonishing.

“When Gary played The Rocker, the fluidity of his playing and his flashy showmanship pushed Lizzy into a different class. Seriously, it was like seeing Eddie Van Halen for the first time. Gary was that good.  It was obvious from that point that he was destined for great things.

“Subsequently, I saw Gary in full-on, hyper-complex, jazz-rock mode with Jon Hiseman’s Colosseum II at London’s old Marquee Club in Wardour Street. It was, of course, radically different to Gary’s work with Lizzy – but equally as incredible.

“Then a few years later with the Gary Moore Band at Hammy Odeon – here he was the complete guitar hero, playing on an elevated Kiss-style platform and everything.

“Rock… blues… jazz… what a mind-bogglingly versatile player.

“I  have to say that, much as I enjoyed Gary’s set at High Voltage in 2010, he did seem overweight and somewhat out of sorts; it was uncomfortable to watch at times.

“But I will always have fond memories of that Lizzy show in Bracknell. I feel privileged to have seen such a phenomenal talent at such an early stage of his career. Rock In Peace, Gary.”

Glenn Hughes comments:

“I’m devastated to hear of Gary’s passing. A truly great British rock and blues hero. I shared many wonderful musical and personal experiences with him.

“He was a ferocious player, and had no fear of his instrument. I’m glad that Gary and I got to mend our relationship. Rest In Peace.”

UPDATE: Planet Rock will be airing an one-hour special in tribute to Moore from 6pm GMT this evening (February 7). This is a repeat of an interview done with him in 2006, in the series My Planet Rocks.