The Best of Both Worlds (Van Halen album)

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The Best of Both Worlds
Van Halen - The Best of Both Worlds.jpg
Greatest hits album by
Van Halen
ReleasedJuly 20, 2004
Recorded1977–1994, 2004
Genre
Length156:57
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerVan Halen
Van Halen chronology
Van Halen III
(1998) 		The Best of Both Worlds
(2004) 		A Different Kind of Truth
(2012)
Singles from The Best of Both Worlds
  1. "It's About Time"
    Released: June 2004
  2. "Up for Breakfast"
    Released: August 2004
  3. "Learning To See"
    Released: November 2004
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB[2]
Rolling Stone3.5/5 stars[3]

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 omitting Gary Cherone's three-year tenure with the band. Prior to The Best of Both Worlds' release, Hagar reunited with Van Halen, and the band subsequently recorded three new tracks to include on the release. All three new songs were released as singles.

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. Anthony was not an official band member at that point and the songs were already 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 dedicated to Roth and another to Hagar which would feature the three new songs, but problems while negotiating with Roth led to the track listing on the released album.[5]

Track listing[]

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Eruption"
Van Halen, 19781:43
2."It's About Time"
New song4:15
3."Up for Breakfast"
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
New song4:57
4."Learning to See"
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
New song5:15
5."Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Van Halen3:48
6."Finish What Ya Started"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
OU812, 19884:24
7."You Really Got Me"Ray DaviesVan Halen2:38
8."Dreams"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
5150, 19864:53
9."Hot for Teacher"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
1984, 19844:43
10."Poundcake"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, 19915:20
11."And the Cradle Will Rock..."
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Women and Children First, 19803:34
12."Black and Blue"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
OU8125:27
13."Jump"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
19844:04
14."Top of the World"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge3:54
15."(Oh) Pretty Woman"
Diver Down, 19822:53
16."Love Walks In"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
51505:11
17."Beautiful Girls"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Van Halen II, 19793:57
18."Can't Stop Lovin' You"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Balance, 19954:08
19."Unchained"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Fair Warning, 19813:29
Total length:78:33
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Panama"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
19843:32
2."Best of Both Worlds"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
51504:49
3."Jamie's Cryin'"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Van Halen3:30
4."Runaround"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge4:20
5."I'll Wait"
  • Anthony
  • Michael McDonald
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
19844:42
6."Why Can't This Be Love"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
51503:48
7."Runnin' with the Devil"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Van Halen3:36
8."When It's Love"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
OU8125:38
9."Dancing in the Street"
Diver Down3:45
10."Strung Out"/"Not Enough"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Balance6:48
11."Feels So Good"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
OU8124:32
12."Right Now"
  • Anthony
  • Hagar
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge5:22
13."Everybody Wants Some!!"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Women and Children First5:10
14."Dance the Night Away"
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Van Halen II3:10
15."Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love" (live)
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Live: Right Here, Right Now, 19934:43
16."Panama" (live)
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Live: Right Here, Right Now6:39
17."Jump" (live)
  • Anthony
  • Roth
  • A. Van Halen
  • E. Van Halen
Live: Right Here, Right Now4:20
Total length:78:24

Notes

  • 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 were listed as individual tracks on the Balance album.

Personnel[]

Van Halen

Additional musicians

  • 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]
  • 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
  • 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[]

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 States (RIAA)[24] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ The Best of Both Worlds at AllMusic
  2. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  3. ^ Rolling Stone Review
  4. ^ "The Best of Both Worlds – Van Halen". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Harrell, John "Shooter" (March 17, 2006). "MICHAEL ANTHONY Speaks Candidly About VAN HALEN's Past And Future". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  6. ^ Roth was not a member at the time of this release therefore belongs in additional personnel.
  7. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  8. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  9. ^ "Van Halen Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  10. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  11. ^ "Van Halen: The Best Of Both Worlds" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  12. ^ "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé". InfoDisc (in French). Archived from the original (PHP) on August 20, 2008. Find "VAN HALEN" under the drop-down menu to see statistics.
  13. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Van Halen". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  15. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  16. ^ "Charts.nz – Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  17. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  19. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  20. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Van Halen – The Best Of Both Worlds". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  22. ^ "Van Halen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  23. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2004". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  24. ^ "American album certifications – Van Halen – The Best of Both Worlds". Recording Industry Association of America.
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