Hagar humbled to be back in Van Halen

LOS ANGELES, June 10 (UPI) -- Hard rocker Sammy Hagar says he's "humbled" as he prepared to hit the road with Van Halen for the first time in eight years on Friday in Greensboro, N.C.

"It's different from the last time," says Hagar, who replaced original Van Halen singer David Lee Roth in 1985 and left acrimoniously in 1996, after five multi-platinum albums. "The chemistry is the same, but the head space is different. I'm humbled by it."

Hagar and Van Halen regrouped in late 2003 and recorded three new songs for a compilation, "Best of Both Worlds," that comes out July 20. Hagar says there was enough new material for a full studio album, but the quartet -- which also includes brothers Edward and Alex Van Halen on guitar and drums, respectively, and bassist Michael Anthony -- was anxious to play live.

Hagar adds unlike his last stint in the band, he's even looking forward to performing some of the songs from Roth's days fronting Van Halen, including hits such as "Jump."

"I didn't like singing somebody else's lyrics," Hagar explains. "Now I look at them just as songs. They're great songs.