Fans can hear the full version of Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen’s final song together

The song is available in the audio version of Alex Van Halen’s memoir

Fans can hear the full six-minute version of “Unfinished,” the final song that Edward and Alex Van Halen wrote together. The unreleased track is featured in the audiobook version of Alex’s new memoir Brothers, due tomorrow (Tues, Oct 22nd). However, the Van Halen camp is offering a free download of the track on its website.

Published by Harper Collins, Brothers is 240 pages and is available in Standard Hardcover, Deluxe Autographed Hardcover, and an audiobook narrated by Alex himself. The audiobook contains an unreleased song composed by Edward and Alex. Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music, and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and bandmate.

Told with acclaimed New Yorker writer Ariel Levy Brothers is seventy-year-old drummer Alex Van Halen’s love letter to his younger brother, Edward, (maybe “Ed,” but never “Eddie”), written while still mourning his untimely death.

In his rough yet sweet voice, Alex recounts the brothers’ childhood, first in the Netherlands and then in working-class Pasadena, California, with an itinerant musician father and a very proper Indonesian-born mother—the kind of mom who admonished her boys to “always wear a suit” no matter how famous they became—a woman who was both proud and practical, nonchalant about taking a doggie bag from a star-studded dinner. He also shares tales of musical politics, infighting, and plenty of bad-boy behavior. But mostly his is a story of brotherhood, music, and enduring love.

There has never been an accurate account of them or the band, and Alex wants to set the record straight on Edward’s life and death.

Brothers includes never-before-seen photos from the author’s private archives.

Alex kicked off a three-city book signing tour today with an appearance at Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The tour continues with a stop in New Jersey tomorrow and a speaking event on Thursday, October 24th in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City.

Eddie Van Halen passed away in October 2020 at the age of 65 after suffering from a stroke with pneumonia, a blood disorder known as myelodysplastic syndrome, and lung cancer as underlying causes. Van Halen had been battling the disease since 2000 but was declared cancer-free in 2002, only for it to return in 2011. He rarely spoke about his well-being, but he confirmed a third of his tongue was removed upon initial treatments early on. Shortly before his death, he had begun another round of chemo and was in and out of the hospital throughout the year, mostly due to intentional issues.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn