In 2007 , Van Halen reunited with original lead singer David Lee Roth – who had left the band in April 1985 , at the peak of their global popularity – for a North American Tour . This tour added bassist Wolfgang Van Halen , the then-16-year-old son of guitarist Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli , forcing out original bassist Michael Anthony , who would go on to form both Chickenfoot and The Circle with Van Halen 's second lead singer , Sammy Hagar . The reunion tour consisted of 74 shows from September 2007 to June 2008 , and became the band 's highest-grossing tour of its thirty-year history , earning over $ 93 million . Eddie Van Halen was reluctant about the possibility of recording new material with Roth in 2009 , citing the poor reaction to the three new songs recorded with Hagar for the 2004 compilation '' Best of Both Worlds '' . After Wolfgang became enthusiastic about recording a new Van Halen album , Eddie 's opinion changed : " We 're doing this album for us . " Eddie , Wolfgang and Alex Van Halen began jam sessions at the former 's 5150 Studios three months after the tour 's completion . During this time , Wolfgang discovered rough , unreleased demos from the band 's archives . After listening to these and believing they had potential , he brought them to Alex and Eddie to rework and refine . The first of these tracks , " She 's the Woman , " was completed by August 2009 . It had originally been demoed by the band in the mid-1970s . Roth decided to join the project after hearing this song , as well as two other reworked tracks : " Let 's Get Rockin ' " – later renamed " Outta Space " – and " Bullethead . " Wolfgang 's original intention with the album was to create a collection of previously released b-sides along with three reworked demos , with Eddie saying : " It would have been a record of our more hardcore songs and none of the pop stuff . That was the initial plan , but the deeper we dug , the more we found . At the same time I was writing new songs . Dave got very excited about that . We all did . We ended up recording demos for 35 songs . " After deliberating over whether to self-produce the album or choose a producer from a list that included Rick Rubin and Pat Leonard , Roth suggested John Shanks . Shanks liked the first three songs , and agreed to produce the album , working alongside Wolfgang to pick the demos that would be developed into the album 's tracks . While all of Van Halen 's albums since '' 1984 '' had been produced inside 5150 , Roth persuaded the band to work at Henson Recording Studios — where he had been recording for more than a decade
North American Tour
Van Halen 2007–2008 North American Tour
A Different Kind of Truth