NOTE:: This is a review of the double CD set as pertaining to the track listing and song quality. While I have not actually heard this CD, I have all the songs, therefore, the end result should be almost, if not, entirely similar to if I actually had the double CD set.
Millions of Van Halen fans have been in the dumps since the dismissal of lead singer Sammy Hagar from the group. Although some did find solace in the addition of Gary Cherone to fill the hole, things looked bad as Van Halen and Cherone in 1998 released the worst album in the band’s 20-year history and Cherone’s departure seemed to put the nail in the coffin. Numerous rumours of David Lee Roth’s (the first lead singer from 1978-1985) or Hagar’s reunification with the band surfaced but nothing came to the forefront for years. When rumours of Hagar hanging out at the 5150 studio with the Van Halen brothers started to circulate at the beginning of the year and no one was saying anything other than “no comment”, Van Halen fans around the world anticipating the long-awaiting reunion they’ve sought for so long.
The reunion was more than just rumours; they became reality. Sammy Hagar made peace with lead guiatarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen and bassist Michael Anthony, they’ve hit the road this summer on a sold-out North American concert tour and July 20th they released a double-CD best of compilation titled “The Very Best of Both Worlds” which is very appropriate considering that they are split between the Roth era songs and the Hagar era songs. Along with some of their greatest hits like “Jump” and “Right Now” are three brand new songs and three live songs (which were previously released on Van Halen’s 1993 live CD “Right Here, Right Now”).
The three new songs are true to Van Halen form. Each could be great, but each has a serious flaw to them. “Learning to See”, the weakest of the three, needs better structure, but it sounds very good nonetheless, but is not the track that Van Halen fans were waiting for after 10 years in limbo. “Up for Breakfast” is a cool, upbeat track, but it smells of 1986, which was what I immediately thought of the first time I heard this song a couple of weeks back. Don’t get me wrong; it very enjoyable and poppy in the good way, but it’s not going to storm it’s way up the charts. The best song of the three new ones is definitely “It’s About Time”. The title, which is so appropriate of the reunification, is very well done. If it wasn’t for the first couple of seconds at the beginning with the hard pulsating guitar beat, it would be an amazing song. In fact, those first couple of seconds might be so brutal for a casual listener that they may be turned off by the whole songs. Minus the first couple of seconds though, the song is incredibly ferocious in it’s melody, making you want to sing out the words.
Article comments
1 - SFC SKI
One of the greatest mysteries of rock is how Hagar and Van Halen, two hard rocking elements on their own, are so much less than the some of their parts when combined.
2 - James Gore
I think that the music has evolved. Eddie's guitar riffs sound nothing like they did in the Roth days as they do now. I suppose that if the music stayed the same and sounded the same, it would become tired and seem too dated.