The Best of Both Worlds (Van Halen album)
The Best of Both Worlds is the second greatest hits album by American hard 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.
Debuting at #3 in the US, the album was subsequently followed by 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, and 14 from the four Sammy Hagar era albums, plus three live songs with Hagar from , 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.
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.
Track listing
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
- Michael Anthony – bass, except on tracks 2-4 on disc 1, backing vocals
- 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
- 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
- Alex Van Halen – drums, percussion
- Eddie Van Halen – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, bass on tracks 2-4 on disc 1
- Steve Lukather – backing vocals on tracks 2–4 on disc 1
- Compilation producer: Van Halen
- Engineer: Bill Malina
- 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
| Chart | Peak position |
| Australian Top 50 Albums | 31 |
| Austrian Top 75 Albums | 33 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 2 |
| Danish Top 40 Albums | 25 |
| Finnish Top 50 Albums | 4 |
| French Compilations | 27 |
| German Albums | 28 |
| New Zealand Top 40 Albums | 9 |
| Norwegian Top 40 Albums | 17 |
| Swedish Top 60 Albums | 12 |
| Swiss Top 100 Albums | 55 |
| UK Albums Chart | 15 |
| US Billboard 200 | 3 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
| 2004 | "It's About Time" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 6 |
| 2004 | "Up for Breakfast" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 33 |