Best Of Volume 1

Van Halen | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: October 22, 1996
• Label: Warner 1061
• Copyright: 1996 Warner Bros. Records Inc. for the U.S. and WEA International Inc. for the world outside the U.S.
• Genres: Classic Rock/Arena Rock, Hard Rock & Metal/Hard Rock, Hard Rock & Metal/Pop Metal, Rock/Rock Guitarists
• ASIN: B0011Z93FG
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (193 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Missing a lot of songs, but.................., March 25, 2005

By 

Some Gravity (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Best of Van Halen, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

A pretty good greatest hits compilation. Read on for my review of this:

Pros:

Except for the live album "Live: Right Here, Right Now" and "Fair Warning" (1983) this album contains material from all of Van Halen's studio albums from 1978 up until 1995: their self-titled 1978 debut album, their self-titled 1979 sophomore album, "Women and Children First" (1980), "Diver Down" (1981), "1984" (no need to say what year this album was released, but I will say that this was Van Halen's last album with David Lee Roth), "5150" (1986, their first album with Sammy Hagar), "OU812" (1988), "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" (1991), and "Balance" (1995, their last album with Sammy Hagar). What this all means is that this greatest hits CD will not only serve good for all Van Halen fans, but also for someone who is either new to Van Halen or is on a tight budget and can't afford the individual albums.

Before Sammy Hagar left Van Halen in 1996, he wrote one more song with Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, and Michael Anthony. That song was "Humans Being", which was written and recorded for the hit film "Twister", and also appeared in the movie and the soundtrack for the film. That song is to be found on this album, so any die hard VH fans who hear about the song won't have to locate a copy of the soundtrack or buy/rent the movie itself and then be sitting through half of the movie, thinking "When will that Van Halen song appear"?

1996 also happened to be the year Van Halen did a one time reunion with David Lee Roth, writing and recording the songs "Can't Get This Stuff No More" and "Me Wise Magic". Those songs have also been included on this album, which makes this album not only a Van Halen collector's item, but also somewhat of a VH souvenir.

While a good amount of recognition is given to both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar on this album, more recognition is given to Roth, considering the fact that this album has ten Roth songs and eight Hagar songs. Some Hagar fans might not be too crazy about this, but it makes up for the fact that Van Halen has never released any songs that were recorded live with Roth and that there were only three Roth videos on Van Halen's "Video Hits Volume One" DVD.

Cons:

While this album has several Van Halen hits, such as "Runnin' With The Devil", "Dance The Night Away","When It's Love", "Right Now", etc,it is also missing several hits from both the Roth and Hagar years, such as "Hot For Teacher", "I'll Wait", "Finish What Ya Started", "The Best of Both Worlds", among others.

I'm sorry I forgot to mention this already, but there are too many VH/Sammy Hagar love songs on here! Sure, Van Halen had some great ballads when they had Sammy Hagar, but there are too many of them on here, and counting "Right Now" as not a love song but a ballad, the only VH/Red Rocker tunes on here that are not ballads/love songs are "Poundcake" and "Humans Being".

Overall:

Overall this album has some great Van Halen music on it,but I recommend shelling your cash out and either getting Van Halen's Roth/Hagar era albums seperately and/or getting the Van Halen anthology album "The Best of Both Worlds". This compilation is just too uneven--if you can't get the rare Hagar track and the rare Roth tracks that I mentioned and don't have access to downloading them,then buy this CD,but otherwise,this compilation is just too uneven to be worth both the time and the money.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Expert Review, 3.5 stars, February 27, 2000

By 

Erik V. Westervelt "Erik" (Philadelphia, Pa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best of Van Halen, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

Considering the lumpsome of both memorable hits and legendary album cuts, it's surprising that it took 18 years and 10 studio albums before Van Halen even though about releasing a greatest hits compilation. What's even more surprising and surely diisapointing to many is after all of that they decided to m]slim their catalogue to the point of ridiculousness in order to fit it on one C.D. For hardcore fans Best Of Volume I is rather disposible with the exception of the two new reunion tracks with legendary frontman David Lee Roth. "Can't Get This Stuff No More" is only average but the long and menacing "Me Wise Magic" is worth a few listens. The problem with Best Of Volume I is that even beginners to Van Halen would be equally well served by introducing them to hard rock staples like the bands debut, 1984 and 5150. There are many excellent tracks included starting in chronilogically order with Eddie's showcase "Eruption", "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love" and "Runnin' With The Devil". By the end of the Roth years, major hits like "Jump" and "Panama" are featured. The Sammy Hagar era roars in with huge hits like "Why Can't This Be Love", "Dreams" and "When It's Love". But including "Humans Being" from the Twister soundtrack is unessecary considering how many great tunes are missing. Tip for all, if you know Van Halen or simply have listened to rock radio over the past 20+ years, stick to the original albums.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good compilation, but..., November 20, 2002

By 

Edward Morales (College Station, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best of Van Halen, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

...not a fitting one for a band of Van Halens' status. (Oh, and by the way, Eddie, Alex, Mike, Sam and Dave need to squash those collosal egos of theirs and do a full-on reunion - with both lead singers!) Anyway they need a better compilation than this.
Here's what should have been:

CD 1
1. Eruption
2. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
3. You Really Got Me
4. Runnin' With The Devil
5. Jamie's Cryin'
6. I'm The One
7. Dance The Night Away
8. Beautiful Girls
9. Light Up The Sky
10. ...And The Cradle Will Rock
11. Everybody Wants Some
12. Take Your Whiskey Home
13. Mean Street
14. Unchained
15. Intruder/(Oh) Pretty Woman
16. 1984
17. Jump
18. Panama
19. Hot For Teacher
20. I'll Wait
21. House Of Pain

CD 2
1. Why Can't This Be Love
2. Dreams
3. Best Of Both Worlds
4. Love Walks In
5. When It's Love
6. Feels So Good
7. Finish What Ya Started
8. Cabo Wabo
9. Poundcake
10. Right Now
11. Top Of The World
12. Can't Stop Lovin' You
13. Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)
14. The Seventh Seal
15. Humans Being
16. Me Wise Magic
17. Without You