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The Best of Both Worlds (Van Halen album)

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The Best of Both Worlds
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)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB[2]
Rolling Stone[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 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.

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

[edit]

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 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

[edit]
Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Eruption"
Van Halen, 19781:43
2."It's About Time"
New song, 20044:15
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"
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 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

Singles

[edit]
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

[edit]
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.

References

[edit]
  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. ^ 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. ^ "British album certifications – Def Leppard – The Best Of Both Worlds - The Very Best". British Phonographic Industry.
  25. ^ "American album certifications – Van Halen – The Best of Both Worlds". Recording Industry Association of America.
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