Sammy Hagar Praises Joe Satriani for “Doing Eddie Van Halen Right” on Best of All Worlds Tour

Playing for bands like Montrose, Chickenfoot, and Van Halen, Sammy Hagar spent over 50 years touring the world and playing on some of the biggest stages. Having a deep understanding of music and the industry that surrounds it, Hagar released hit songs like “I Can’t Drive 55” and even landed a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Although 76 years old, the rockstar continues to travel with his The Best Of All Worlds tour. Discussing the tour, Hagar recently praised guitarist Joe Satriani for honoring Van Halen while adding his own signature style.

Appearing on Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, Hagar opened up about hitting the road with Michael Anthon, Jason Bonham, and Satriani. With the setlist including songs like “Good Enough” and “Poundcake”, the concert also features Satriani’s “Satch Boogie.” Opening up about working with Satriani, Hagar said, “Joe is a scholar. I can’t tell you how good of a musician Joe Satriani is. He’s as good as any musician on the planet. He’s got his own style. It’s a little different than Eddie’s. Eddie was a genius musician too, but he had a different style and he had his thing.”

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Sammy Hagar Admits “No One Could Complain”

While some fans might not like Satriani’s take on Van Halen, Hagar insisted, “What [Joe has] done, for any of you guitar players out there that wanna come and see what Joe’s doing, or wanna criticize Joe or wanna praise Joe, whatever you want to do, he has taken the essence of Eddie’s guitar solos and parts and he plays the necessary parts to make sure it sounds just like the record, the way it’s supposed to.”

Describing how Satriani adds his own flair to the song, Hagar continued, “He’ll do a little tiny thing. He’ll do little things that says, ‘No, this is Joe Satriani playing Eddie,’ but he’s doing Eddie right. No one could complain. He’s hitting all the right notes that make the essence of what Eddie invented. And he puts his own heart and soul into it, which makes it so much different and so much better, in my opinion, than a guy just mimicking him exactly.”

With the tour kicking off on July 13, it seems that Hagar is in high spirits, looking forward to their upcoming shows.

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