Expanded box set brings remastered album, rare recordings and historic 1986 live performance together for a landmark anniversary release.
by Paul Cashmere
Van Halen’s 5150 remains one of the most pivotal albums in the band’s history, not only for its commercial impact but for the moment it represented in redefining the group’s future. Nearly 40 years after its original release, 5150 (Expanded Edition) has been announced as a comprehensive archival release, arriving March 27, just days after the album’s anniversary.
The original 5150 was released on March 24, 1986 and marked the first studio album featuring Sammy Hagar alongside Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony. It was a decisive turning point for the band, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and becoming Van Halen’s first chart topping album. Singles such as “Why Can’t This Be Love”, “Dreams” and “Best Of Both Worlds” helped propel the album to multi Platinum status and established the new lineup as a commercial and creative force.
Recorded at Eddie Van Halen’s 5150 Studios in California in late 1985, the album took its name from the studio itself, a reference drawn from California law enforcement terminology. The sessions saw the band working without long time producer Ted Templeman for the first time. Production duties shifted primarily to Donn Landee, with additional involvement from Mick Jones, resulting in a noticeably different sonic balance that placed keyboards and layered arrangements more centrally within the mix. It was also the first Van Halen album not to include an instrumental track.
The forthcoming 5150 (Expanded Edition) has been assembled by Rhino and presents the album remastered directly from the original master tapes, overseen by Donn Landee. The collection will be released as an LP, 3CD and Blu-ray set, with a separate Amazon exclusive green vinyl edition also available.
A major highlight of the expanded release is more than 90 minutes of previously unreleased live recordings from Van Halen’s August 27, 1986 performance at the New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Connecticut. Captured during the hugely successful 5150 Tour, the concert documents the band at a moment when the new lineup was firmly established on stage. The setlist blends material from 5150 with earlier Van Halen favourites and select solo era songs associated with Hagar, reflecting how the band approached live shows during this transitional period.
The Blu-ray component features a newly upgraded high definition version of Live Without A Net, the double Platinum 1986 concert film also recorded during the New Haven run. In addition, the Blu-ray includes promotional videos for “Dreams” and “Why Can’t This Be Love”, both key visual documents from the era when Van Halen were at the centre of the MTV generation.
Ahead of the full release, a previously unreleased live version of “Summer Nights” from the New Haven concert has been made available digitally, offering an early insight into the performance material included in the box set.
Standalone editions of 5150 featuring the remastered album and selected rarities will also be released on the same date as a 2CD set and as a 2LP black vinyl edition, ensuring multiple entry points for collectors and listeners.
Four decades on, 5150 stands as a defining chapter in the Van Halen catalogue. It closed the door on one era and opened another, delivering the band’s first number one album and setting the template for the records that followed throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. The expanded edition brings together studio, stage and screen, offering a detailed snapshot of a band in full command of its next phase.
5150 (Expanded Edition)
LP/3CD/Blu-ray Track Listing
LP: Original Album Remastered
Side One
“Good Enough”
“Why Can’t This Be Love”
“Get Up”
“Dreams”
“Summer Nights”
Side Two
“Best Of Both Worlds”
“Love Walks In”
“5150”
“Inside”
Disc One: Original Album Remastered
“Good Enough”
“Why Can’t This Be Love”
“Get Up”
“Dreams”
“Summer Nights”
“Best Of Both Worlds”
“Love Walks In”
“5150”
“Inside”
Disc Two
“Best Of Both Worlds” (Single Edit)
“Dreams” (Single Edit)
“Love Walks In” (Single Edit)
“Why Can’t This Be Love” (Extended Version)
“Dreams” (Extended Version)
“Best Of Both Worlds” (Live)
“Rock And Roll” (Live)
“Love Walks In” (Live)
Disc Three
New Haven Veteran Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT (8/27/86)
“There’s Only One Way To Rock”
“Summer Nights”
“5150”
“Panama”
“Best Of Both Worlds”
“Love Walks In”
Guitar Solo
“I Can’t Drive 55”
“Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”
“Wild Thing”
“Why Can’t This Be Love”
“Rock And Roll”
Blu-ray
Live Without A Net (HD Upgrade)
“Dreams” (Promo Video)
“Why Can’t This Be Love” (Promo Video)
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