Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Eruption
2. It's About Time
3. Up For Breakfast
4. Learning To See
5. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love
6. Finish What Ya Started
7. You Really Got Me
8. Dreams
9. Hot For Teacher
10. Poundcake
11. And The Cradle Will Rock...
12. Black And Blue
13. Jump
14. Top Of The World
15. (Oh) Pretty Woman
16. Love Walks In
17. Beautiful Girls
18. Can't Stop Lovin' You
19. Unchained

Disc 2:

1. Panama
2. Best Of Both Worlds
3. Jamie's Cryin'
4. Runaround
5. I'll Wait
6. Why Can't This Be Love
7. Runnin' With The Devil
8. When It's Love
9. Dancing In The Street
10. Not Enough
11. Feels So Good
12. Right Now
13. Everybody Wants Some!
14. Dance The Night Away
15. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (Live)
16. Panama (Live)
17. Jump (Live)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1297 in Music
• Released on: 2007-04-02
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.co.uk Review
Van Halen rocketed to stardom with their raucous, 10X-platinum-plus 1978 self-titled album, one of the greatest debuts ever. Anchored by Eddie Van Halen's guitar wizardry and David Lee Roth's vocal showmanship, the band's dynamic sound reinvented hard rock. A run of multiplatinum Top 10 discs followed, peaking with 1984, another 10X-platinum blockbuster and Roth's swan song. Sammy Hagar replaced the vocalist, a transition that cost the band no momentum. The Red Rocker's VH debut, 1986's 5150, hit #1 on The Billboard 200, as did 1988's OU812. The Grammy-winning 1991 release, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, reached #5. This new compilation spotlights Van Halen's always-stellar musicianship over the course of 25 years and two world-class frontmen, and continues the story with three brand new Hagar-fronted tracks.

Customer Reviews

van halen's compilation masterpiece!!
this is my top van halen choice for those new to this great heavy metal band who are great both with david lee roth and sammy hagar. this is a 2-disc set of all their classic tracks from the 1980s.
poundcake, right now, and the cradle will rock, unchained, top of the world, jump, aint talkin bout love, and several others would be my favorite songs on this 2disc set. this would present rock fans with good taste so get this set today.

Could be a lot better
Eddie Van Halen is a pioneer of modern day guitar playing, so I can't understand just how the people who've made this missed off 'Cathederal', 'Ice-Cream Man', 'Mean Street', and no doubt other brilliant guitar solos. On the plus side, there is a lot of great stuff here, such as 'Dreasm' and 'Jump', plus the hilarious 'Hot For Teacher' and the revolutionary 'Eruption'. Eddie's use of the whammy bar was, again, revolutionary, as was his use of the tap/hammer-on technique, and of techniques such as sweep-picking and legato (and the killswitch on 'You Really Got Me'.) In short, he's the greatest American ROCK guitarist in history, and the first neoclassical guitarist. Due credit must go to David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar, bothe great singers and frontmen, and the rhythm section of Michael Anthony and Alex Van Halen.

Worth buying.

A very poor collection
Don't get me wrong, Van Halen are one of my favourite bands, but this is a hideously ill-conceived collection. The way they alternate between David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar songs is just horrendous. A CD for each performer would have been a great idea, but the track listing weaves erratically throughout their career, with no chronological pattern whatsoever. It's a weird, incoherent order that makes this seem more like a rushed mix CD than a compilation. A number of the band's lesser-known masterpieces are omitted, such as Little Guitars, Cathedral, and their cover of Ice Cream Man. And Gary Cherone doesn't get so much as a token song from his (admittedly inferior) run as lead singer.

If you are looking for a quick-start course in becoming a Van Halen fan, then all of the songs are here, but if you were hoping for a well thought-out compilation that gives you any sense of order or band evolution, then you'll have to look elsewhere. If you prefer one singer over the other, prepare to have your finger held constantly over the skip button.

Get "Best of Volume I" instead. If you are still curious about the Hagar era, get the live album, or maybe 5150 as well. Avoid "Best of Both Worlds" if you can help it.