Van Halen

Best of Both Worlds

the extra tracks suck!

Review Score:

(8/10)
OVERVIEW: 2004 - A nice selection of Van Halen songs from Rhino. As with any compilation with a band that's been around for decades, it's tough to narrow down the best tunes and get it right for a 1 or 2 disc collection. Rhino has made some good choices here, but it's definitely lacking in several different areas. Let me also state that Van Halen rocks the old school way - and ANY Van Halen is good Van Halen... just some tunes are better than others.

WHAT YOU GET: 2 discs. 36 songs. Digitally remastered sound. 3 new tracks with Sammy Hagar on vocals. 3 live tracks (from "Right Here, Right Now"). A nice tri-fold CD case with the red/black/white designed stripes from Eddie's early guitars on the cover. 4 black & white photo's of the band (Eddie, Alex, Michael & Sammy) on the inside flap... but, strangely omitted is David Lee Roth. In fact, Roth isn't pictured at all or listed in writing (or in the credits) anywhere on this CD case. I find this strange and I want to point the finger at somebody (Rhino, or the band themselves). This is playground finger pointing and name-calling at its worst. It's simply a damn shame that Rhino didn't step forward. It's equally disappointing that Sammy & Eddie probably dictated what they wanted and no one questioned it.

THE GOOD: As stated before, ALL Van Halen is good Van Halen. VH's debut is best represented with 5 tracks here. "1984", "5150", "OU812", and "For Unlawful Carnel Knowledge" all contain 4 tracks on "Best Of Both Worlds". The new tracks ("It's About Time", "Learning To See" and "Up For Breakfast") are good Sammy songs, but by no means considered classic. The live tracks are good, but the studio versions are all ready present on the album - why not take a song that isn't here (like VH's great live rendition of The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again")? The digitally remastered sound is crisp and the bass guitars and drums sound deep (like Alex & Michael are in the same room with you).

THE NOT SO GOOD: As I mentioned before, it's a shame David Lee Roth gets no credit here. He is part of the band's history. He's helped write some of their best music. The band's feuding has taken center stage at times - and I feel like this is a huge slap in the face for one of the band's creators. There are no liner notes - no history, no song writing credits, no knowing what songs came from what albums or the year they were released. Regarding the song selection (or lack there of)... Van Halen "II" has only 2 songs on this release (where is "Bottom's Up" or "Light Up The Sky"?). "Fair Warning" has only 1 song here (where is "Mean Street", "So This Is Love?" or "Dirty Movies"?). "Diver Down" has 2 songs here (no "Secrets" or "Little Guitars"). For the most part, Rhino hit the mark with the Sammy songs, however I would have liked to have seen included here "Cabo Wabo", "Mine All Mine" and "The Seventh Seal". Missing is the song "Humans Being" (from the movie soundtrack "Twister"). Also omitted is anything from "Van Halen 3" featuring Gary Cherone... thank you Rhino! However putrid "3" was, maybe one song could have made it here for history's sake. The three 'live' songs are OK, but repetitive and other tracks could've been added in their place. Not to mention Sammy singing three Roth tunes live - Hagar written tunes would've been better choices here. The song "Finish What Ya Started" finishes abruptly... like someone just shut the machine off when burning it. I think a chronological view would have been benefitted this release - showcasing the band's early years, maturing (if you can really say that) and then changing singers. I think "Eruption" really needs to be next to "You Really Got Me". All "Best Of" compilations are hit & miss in my book. "The Best Of Both Worlds" is a good listen from Rhino, but too many minor discrepancies keep this from being a 5-star review.

More Reviews: