Best of Van Halen, Vol. 1

Van Halen

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 22, 1996)
• Original Release Date: October 22, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002NAA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,456 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
It took over 20 years for Van Halen to release a Best of album, and even then, the band downplayed the effort. Instead sticking to the original plan of releasing a two-disc set--one of material with original frontman David Lee Roth, and the other with his 11-year replacement Sammy Hagar--the band opted for a single CD chronicling their entire career. For the previously uninitiated, it's a golden introduction to a band that changed the face of '80s hard rock. Guitar-blazing old tracks like "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," and "Dance the Night Away" segue into more commercial numbers like "Jump" and "Panama" from 1984. These in turn, set the stage for Hagar's slicker, more polished vocals on "Right Now" and "How Do I Know When It's Love." But while newcomers will be thrilled with the delights within, old fans will probably find little of use, since the two highly touted new tracks with Roth are pretty disposable. --Jon Wiederhorn

Product Description
Japanese pressing of Van Halen's single disc Best Of Vol. 1 (originally released in 1996) featuring one bonus track: 'Hot For Teacher'. This was the compilation that essentially brought Van Halen to a close when the band drafted in original vocalist David Lee Roth to record two new tracks. This reunion was short-lived but it was enough to anger then-current vocalist Sammy Hagar into leaving the band. Hagar did tour with the band in 2004, but they've never recovered from the firestorm that this release sparked! 18 tracks. Warner. 2007. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

88 of 95 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That "Banned & Censored" guy is a loser!!, May 30, 2006

By	Wise Guy (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

Ok, I'm sorry that I will not be able to comment on the album, even though Van Halen is a kick*ss band and have great songs back when rock was rock. But the guy a few reviews below me came on here to bash David Lee Roth, calling him Gayvid Lee Roth. First of all, he was only in the band half the time, and second of all, I saw B&C's other reviews. He gave a Beyonce CD five stars and an American Idol CD 5 stars. He also gave an NSYNC, yes NSYNC, album 5 stars. He dissed Pink FLoyd, Sex Pistols, Judas Preist, and Queen, but he recommended Britney Spears, Fantasia and Carrie Underwood. What a qu**r! Buddy, don't come on here and diss a hard rock band when you listen to NSYNC and watch American Idol. Leave it up to rock fans to do that. If you agree with what I said and think that dude's a pansy, say the review helped you.

38 of 43 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

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.

18 of 22 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)

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.