Sammy Hagar Hails Synthwave Cover of Van Halen’s ‘Dreams’
Sammy Hagar spoke up in support of a synthwave-style interpretation of the Van Halen song “Dreams.”
He said that Arena’s cover, delivered in the vein of ‘80s video games and computer-based soundtracks, was “very tasteful, very cool” in a video message to its creators.
“I wanna tell you guys I love what Arena did with ‘Dreams,’” he said. “I gotta say, that’s probably the hardest song in my repertoire to sing. I love the way you went to low and then went up to supersonic, and pulled it off. … Very tasteful, very cool. Good luck with this. I’m behind ya!”
You can hear the new song below.
Arena singer Joey Arena was happy to own up to being a massive Van Halen fan, noting that “Dreams” was the soundtrack to his childhood. “I recall hearing it for my first time on the radio in ’93 but never got the name,” he explained. "And at the end of [1995's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie], the song popped up and brought me full circle.”
He said he “choked up” when he was told of Hagar’s approval. “I have experienced some great achievements as a musician, but this personally surpasses all of that,” he added. “I cannot thank him and his team enough for making a dream come true.”
You can watch Hagar's video message below.
Ice Nine Kills guitarist Justin deBlieck said he was “thrilled” to play the role of Eddie Van Halen on Arena’s version. “Soon after he mentioned he’d like to reimagine a Van Halen song, it was almost immediately that we knew ‘Dreams’ was going to be the one,” he said. “As huge fans of the Hagar era, it was a no-brainer.”
“Dreams” first appeared on 5150, Hagar’s first album with Van Halen, in 1986. It was the second of five singles to be released from the LP, which helped propel it to multiplatinum sales.