The Best of Both Worlds (Van Halen album)
2004 greatest hits album by Van Halen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Best of Both Worlds is the second greatest hits album by American rock band Van Halen, released on July 20, 2004, on Warner Bros. The compilation features material recorded with lead vocalists David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, but omits Gary Cherone's three-year tenure with the band. Prior to The Best of Both Worlds's release, Hagar reunited with Van Halen, and the band recorded three new tracks to include on the release.
| The Best of Both Worlds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | July 20, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 1977–1994, 2004 | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 156:57 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producers | ||||
| Van Halen chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[2] |
| Rolling Stone |  [3] |
Debuting at #3 in the US,[4] the album coincided with a reunion tour, and certified Platinum. It is the last Van Halen album to feature contributions from Michael Anthony and Hagar.
Background
The compilation features 16 tracks taken from the six David Lee Roth era albums (1978–1984), and 14 from the four Sammy Hagar era albums (1986–1995), plus three live songs with Hagar from Live: Right Here, Right Now (1993), and three new songs with Hagar made for the compilation. The album was released in promotion of the new reunion tour featuring Hagar returning as lead singer. The three new songs were also performed live at various times.
Michael Anthony did not play bass guitar for the three new songs, although he did provide backing vocals for them. He also did not write any of the three songs. Anthony was not an official band member at that point and the songs were recorded before he rejoined. The bass guitar on the new songs was played by Eddie Van Halen.[5]
According to Anthony, the original plans involved one disc of songs recorded with Roth and another of songs recorded with Hagar, with the three new songs appearing on the Roth disc.[5]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Edward Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eruption" | Van Halen, 1978 | 1:43 | |
| 2. | "It's About Time" |
| New song, 2004 | 4:15 |
| 3. | "Up for Breakfast" |
| New song | 4:57 |
| 4. | "Learning to See" |
| New song | 5:15 |
| 5. | "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" | Van Halen | 3:48 | |
| 6. | "Finish What Ya Started" |
| OU812, 1988 | 4:24 |
| 7. | "You Really Got Me" | Ray Davies | Van Halen | 2:38 |
| 8. | "Dreams" |
| 5150, 1986 | 4:53 |
| 9. | "Hot for Teacher" | 1984, 1984 | 4:43 | |
| 10. | "Poundcake" |
| For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, 1991 | 5:20 |
| 11. | "And the Cradle Will Rock..." | Women and Children First, 1980 | 3:34 | |
| 12. | "Black and Blue" |
| OU812 | 5:27 |
| 13. | "Jump" | 1984 | 4:04 | |
| 14. | "Top of the World" |
| For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge | 3:54 |
| 15. | "(Oh) Pretty Woman" | Diver Down, 1982 | 2:53 | |
| 16. | "Love Walks In" |
| 5150 | 5:11 |
| 17. | "Beautiful Girls" | Van Halen II, 1979 | 3:57 | |
| 18. | "Can't Stop Lovin' You" |
| Balance, 1995 | 4:08 |
| 19. | "Unchained" | Fair Warning, 1981 | 3:29 | |
| Total length: | 78:33 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Panama" | 1984 | 3:32 | |
| 2. | "Best of Both Worlds" |
| 5150 | 4:49 |
| 3. | "Jamie's Cryin'" | Van Halen | 3:30 | |
| 4. | "Runaround" |
| For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge | 4:20 |
| 5. | "I'll Wait" |
| 1984 | 4:42 |
| 6. | "Why Can't This Be Love" |
| 5150 | 3:48 |
| 7. | "Runnin' with the Devil" | Van Halen | 3:36 | |
| 8. | "When It's Love" |
| OU812 | 5:38 |
| 9. | "Dancing in the Street" |
| Diver Down | 3:45 |
| 10. | "Strung Out"/"Not Enough" |
| Balance | 6:48 |
| 11. | "Feels So Good" |
| OU812 | 4:32 |
| 12. | "Right Now" |
| For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge | 5:22 |
| 13. | "Everybody Wants Some!!" | Women and Children First | 5:10 | |
| 14. | "Dance the Night Away" | Van Halen II | 3:10 | |
| 15. | "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" (live) | Live: Right Here, Right Now, 1993 | 4:43 | |
| 16. | "Panama" (live) | Live: Right Here, Right Now | 6:39 | |
| 17. | "Jump" (live) | Live: Right Here, Right Now | 4:20 | |
| Total length: | 78:24 | |||
Notes
- Track 6 on disc one, "Finish What Ya Started," has no fade out unlike the album version on OU812.
- Track 15 on disc one, "(Oh) Pretty Woman," is the single edit version (with the first snare drum hit removed), not the version that appeared on Diver Down. The album version segues directly from the preceding track, "Intruder".
- Track 10 on disc two combines the instrumental "Strung Out" with "Not Enough," although it is shown on the album track list as simply "Not Enough". Both songs are listed as individual tracks on Balance.
Personnel
Van Halen
- Sammy Hagar – lead vocals on tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 on disc 1; 2, 4, 6, 8, 10–12, on disc 2, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Edward Van Halen – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, bass on tracks 2–4 on disc 1
- Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion
- David Lee Roth – lead and backing vocals on tracks 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 on disc 1; 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 13, 14 on disc 2[6]
- Michael Anthony – bass, except on tracks 2–4 on disc 1, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Steve Lukather – backing vocals on tracks 2–4, 14 on disc 1; 10 on disc 2
Production
- Compilation producer: Van Halen
- Engineer: Bill Malina (on new songs)
- Product manager: Kenny Nemes
- Project assistants: Hugh Brown, Tom Consolo, Malia Doss, Jimmy Edwards, Alan Fletcher, Kevin Gore, Bill Inglot, Joanne Jaworowski, Anna Loynes, Mark McKenna, David McLees, Scott Pascucci
- Mastering supervisor: Glen Ballard (producer on new songs)
- Remastering: Stephen Marcussen
- Editorial supervision: Cory Frye
- Art direction: Sara Cumings, Jeri Heiden
- Design: Sara Cumings, Jeri Heiden
- Photography: Kevin Westenberg
- Liner notes: David Wild
- Discographical annotation: Steve Woolard
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "It's About Time" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6[citation needed] |
| "Up for Breakfast" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 33[citation needed] |
Certification
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[24] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[25] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||