2012 is hotly rumoured to be the year Van Halen make a big comeback with a new album featuring David Lee Roth back out front.

Early next year is also expected to see the release of ‘Take Your Whiskey Home: Van Halen 1977-1984’, a disc featuring some of the bands peers putting their mark on songs from the Van Halen’s formative years. The tribute is said to feature performances by members of Aerosmith and Ratt alongside ex-members of Whitesnake and ex-members of Ozzy Osbourne’s various backing bands.

On paper, this could be inessential but quite fun, rather like this year’s ZZ Top tribute disc, except there’s one thing to set the alarm bells ringing: it also features contributions from a member of Vanilla Fudge. This strongly suggests the project is masterminded by Carmine Appice – a man with several rather average tribute discs under his belt to date, including a really, really awful collection of Led Zeppelin covers recorded by Vanilla Fudge in the late 00s.

Featuring the right members of Aerosmith and Ratt, all hope is not lost, however. It’s likely to make its way into REAL GONE’s review pile when the time comes… Let’s hope for a pleasant surprise!

At this time, no formal tracklisting has been announced.