The Best of Both Worlds (Van Halen album)

Untitled

The Best of Both Worlds is a greatest hits album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 2004. The title "The Best of Both Worlds" references both their song of the same name, and the fact that the album has the greatest songs from their two main vocalists David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. The album featured three brand new songs from the band with Hagar on vocals, but Eddie Van Halen took over the bass work typically done by Michael Anthony. It featured no songs from the band's last studio album, Van Halen III, which featured Gary Cherone on vocals.

The album features 16 songs from David Lee Roth era (1978-1985), 17 from Sammy Hagar era (1986-1995), plus the three new Hagar songs. David Lee Roth was vocalist for the first six albums, Sammy Hagar for the following four. The band's success was greater earlier, with combined US sales of 38 million for Roth-era albums, while US sales for Hagar-era albums total 16 million. The album was released in promotion of the new reunion tour.

Track listing

Disc 1

1. "Eruption" (Eddie Van Halen) – 1:43 (from Van Halen)
2. "It's About Time" (Sammy Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:15 (new song)
3. "Up for Breakfast" (Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:57 (new song)
4. "Learning to See" (Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 5:15 (new song)
5. "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:48 (from Van Halen)
6. "Finish What Ya Started" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:24 (from OU812)
7. "You Really Got Me" (Ray Davies) – 2:38 (from Van Halen)
8. "Dreams" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:53 (from 5150)
9. "Hot for Teacher" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:43 (from 1984)
10. "Poundcake" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 5:20 (from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge)
11. "And the Cradle Will Rock..." (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:34 (from Women and Children First)
12. "Black and Blue" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 5:27 (from OU812)
13. "Jump" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:04 (from 1984)
14. "Top of the World" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:54 (from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge)
15. "(Oh) Pretty Woman" (William Dees, Roy Orbison) – 2:53 (from Diver Down)
16. "Love Walks In" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 5:11 (from 5150)
17. "Beautiful Girls" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:57 (from Van Halen II)
18. "Can't Stop Lovin' You" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:08 (from Balance)
19. "Unchained" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:29 (from Fair Warning)

Disc 2

1. "Panama" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:32 (from 1984)
2. "Best of Both Worlds" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:49 (from 5150)
3. "Jamie's Cryin'" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:30 (from Van Halen)
4. "Runaround" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:20 (from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge)
5. "I'll Wait" (Anthony, Michael McDonald, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:42 (from 1984)
6. "Why Can't This Be Love?" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:48 (from 5150)
7. "Runnin' With the Devil" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:36 (from Van Halen)
8. "When It's Love" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 5:38 (from OU812)
9. "Dancing in the Street" (Marvin Gaye, Ivy Hunter, William Stevenson) – 3:45 (from Diver Down)
10. "Strung Out/Not Enough" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 6:48 (from Balance)
11. "Feels So Good" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:32 (from OU812)
12. "Right Now" (Anthony, Hagar, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 5:22 (from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge)
13. "Everybody Wants Some!!" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 5:10 (from Women and Children First)
14. "Dance the Night Away" (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 3:10 (from Van Halen II)
15. "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" [live] (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:43 (from Live: Right Here, Right Now)
16. "Panama" [live] (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 6:39 (from Live: Right Here, Right Now)
17. "Jump" [live] (Anthony, Roth, Van Halen, Van Halen) – 4:20 (from Live: Right Here, Right Now)

Track division by album

David Lee Roth era (1978-1984, 1996)

• 5 songs from Van Halen (1978)
• 2 songs from Van Halen II (1979)
• 2 songs from Women and Children First (1980)
• 1 song from Fair Warning (1981)
• 2 songs from Diver Down (1982)
• 4 songs from 1984 (1984)
• 0 songs from Best of Volume 1 (1996)
• TOTAL: 16

Sammy Hagar era (1985-1996, 2004)

• 4 songs from 5150 (1986)
• 4 songs from OU812 (1988)
• 4 songs from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991)
• 3 live songs from Live: Right Here, Right Now (1993)
• 2 songs from Balance (1995)
• 3 new songs (2004)
• TOTAL: 20

Personnel

• David Lee Roth - lead vocals, background vocals, synthesizer
• Sammy Hagar - lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, background vocals
• Eddie Van Halen - lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass guitar (uncredited), background vocals
• Michael Anthony - bass guitar, background vocals
• Alex Van Halen - drums, percussion

Personnel (new songs)

• Sammy Hagar - lead vocals, background vocals, rhythm guitars
• Eddie Van Halen - lead and rhythm guitars, background vocals, bass guitar, keyboards
• Alex Van Halen - drums, percussion, background vocals
• Steve Lukather - background vocals

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

Album

Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
2004	The Billboard 200	3
2004	Top Canadian Albums	2
2004	Top Internet Albums	3

Singles

Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
2004	"It's About Time"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	6
2004	"Up for Breakfast"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	33