Toto guitarist Steve Lukather recently provided some clarity on his in-progress recording project with Alex Van Halen and confirmed that it will feature substantial archival work from Eddie Van Halen — and none of his own playing.
During an interview with Guitar Player, Lukather talked about the recordings left by Eddie Van Halen. He said: “I’m telling you, this is not throwaway sh*t. When I heard them, I said to Al, ‘How f**king come you didn’t use these?’ And the answer was because nobody could write to it. So if you think this is a bunch of throwaway crap that we’re trying to Mickey Mouse together to suck the dollar out of poor, unsuspecting Van Halen fans, it’s not.”
Lukather said he couldn’t provide many more details but he highlighted that these vault tracks are much more than table scraps.
He said, “These are f**king finished tracks with Ed and Al, and Ed’s playing bass on a lot of it. That’s all I can say right now because it’s a much bigger picture, and it’s Alex’s story to tell.”
Lukather also reiterated that he has no intention of stepping into Eddie Van Halen’s shoes by recording new guitar parts for the project. He has previously stated that he would never play a guitar note on a Van Halen song, out of respect for his late friend.
Details remain scarce but Lukather revealed that he doesn’t even know what the project will ultimately be called. Lukather said, “Those are Alex Van Halen questions. I’m just here to be his sidekick.”
