Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
In theory, a Van Halen greatest-hits collection should be easy to assemble, but Best Of, Vol. 1 proves that isn't the case. By trying to give the David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar eras equal space, they wind up not representing either particularly well. The first eight songs run through several of Diamond Dave's biggest songs -- "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Runnin' With the Devil," "And the Cradle Will Rock," "Jump," and "Panama." It's hard to argue with any of the choices, yet significant songs like "You Really Got Me," "Beautiful Girls," "(Oh) Pretty Woman," "I'll Wait," and "Hot for Teacher" are missing. Similarly, the Sammy era has many big hits -- "Why Can't This Be Love," "Dreams," "When It's Love," and "Right Now" -- but skips over hits like "Love Walks In," "Black and Blue," and "Finish What Ya Started." Clearly, the collection would have been better served if it had been assembled as a double-disc set, with Dave and Sammy getting a disc apiece. Furthermore, the much-hyped reunion tracks with Roth, "Can't Get This Stuff No More" and "Me Wise Magic," are a slight disappointment; the band sounds good, but neither track contains a memorable hook. Also, the presence of "Humans Being," one of Van Halen's worst tracks, is an insult, considering how many great songs are missing. Nevertheless, Best Of, Vol. 1 remains a good single-disc encapsulation of Van Halen's career, even if it isn't a definitive retrospective.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
Alex Van Halen, Drums, Writer - David Lee Roth, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Guitar, Writer - Donn Landee, Engineer - Ted Templeman, Producer - Kent Nebergall, Engineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Writer - Peggy McCreary, Engineer - Jo Motta, Project Coordinator - Logan Jervis, Engineer - Beth Naranjo, ProductionCoordinator
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1978 Warner Records Inc.
Alex Van Halen, Drums, Writer - David Lee Roth, Lead Vocals, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Donn Landee, Engineer - Ted Templeman, Producer - Kent Nebergall, Engineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Peggy McCreary, Engineer - Jo Motta, Project Coordinator - Logan Jervis, Engineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1978 Warner Records Inc.
Alex Van Halen, Drums, Writer - David Lee Roth, Lead Vocals, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Donn Landee, Engineer - Ted Templeman, Producer - Kent Nebergall, Engineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Peggy McCreary, Engineer - Jo Motta, Project Coordinator - Logan Jervis, Engineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1978 Warner Records Inc.
Alex Van Halen, Drums, Writer - David Lee Roth, Lead Vocals, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Ted Templeman, Producer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Don Landee, Engineer - Jo Motta, Project Coordinator - Jim Fitzpatrick, Engineer - Corey Bailey, Engineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1979 Warner Records Inc.
Edward Van Halen, Writer - Alex Van Halen, Drums, Writer - David Lee Roth, Lead Vocals, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Guitar, Electric Piano, Background Vocals - Donn Landee, Engineer - Ted Templeman, Producer - Gene Meros, Engineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Jo Motta, Project Coordinator
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1980 Warner Records Inc.
Alex Van Halen, Drums, Writer - David Lee Roth, Lead Vocals, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals, Synthesizer - Ted Templeman, Producer - Gene Meros, SecondEngineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Don Landee, Engineer - Joan Vallejo, ProductionCoordinator
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1981 Warner Records Inc.
Alex Van Halen, Drums, Percussion, Writer, Background Vocals - David Lee Roth, Lead Vocals, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Guitar, Keyboards, Writer, Background Vocals - Donn Landee, Engineer - Ted Templeman, Producer - Joan Parker, ProductionCoordinator - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - GREGG GELLER, MasteringEngineer - Jo Motta, Project Coordinator - Ken Deane, SecondEngineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1984 Warner Records Inc.
Alex Van Halen, Drums, Percussion, Writer, Background Vocals - David Lee Roth, Lead Vocals, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Guitar, Keyboards, Writer, Background Vocals - Donn Landee, Engineer - Ted Templeman, Producer - Chris Bellman, MasteringEngineer - Joan Parker, ProductionCoordinator - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - GREGG GELLER, MasteringEngineer - Jo Motta, Project Coordinator - Ken Deane, SecondEngineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1984 Warner Records Inc.
Sammy Hagar, Lead Vocals, Writer, Background Vocals - Alex Van Halen, Producer, Drums, Percussion, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Producer, Keyboards, Writer, Lead Guitar, Background Vocals - Mick Jones, Producer - Donn Landee, Producer, Engineer - BOBBY HATA, MasteringEngineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Ken Deane, Engineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1986 Warner Records Inc.
Sammy Hagar, Lead Vocals, Writer, Background Vocals - Alex Van Halen, Producer, Drums, Percussion, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Producer, Keyboards, Writer, Lead Guitar, Background Vocals - Mick Jones, Producer - Donn Landee, Producer, Engineer - BOBBY HATA, MasteringEngineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Ken Deane, Engineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1986 Warner Records Inc.
Sammy Hagar, Producer, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Alex Van Halen, Producer, Drums, Percussion, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Producer, Keyboards, Writer, Lead Guitar, Background Vocals - Donn Landee, Producer, Engineer - BOBBY HATA, MasteringEngineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Ken Deane, AssistantEngineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1988 Warner Records Inc.
Sammy Hagar, Producer, Lead Vocals, Writer - Alex Van Halen, Producer, Drums, Percussion, Writer, Background Vocals - Eddie Van Halen, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Writer, Background Vocals - Michael Scott, Audio Recording Engineer, MixingEngineer - LEE HERSCHBERG, Engineer - Ted Templeman, Producer, MixingEngineer - ANDY JOHNS, Producer, Audio Recording Engineer, MixingEngineer - STEVE LUKATHER, Guitar - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1991 Warner Records Inc.
Sammy Hagar, Producer, Lead Vocals, Writer - Alex Van Halen, Producer, Drums, Percussion, Writer, Background Vocals - Eddie Van Halen, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Writer, Background Vocals - Michael Scott, Audio Recording Engineer, MixingEngineer - LEE HERSCHBERG, Engineer - Ted Templeman, Producer, MixingEngineer - ANDY JOHNS, Producer, Audio Recording Engineer, MixingEngineer - STEVE LUKATHER, Guitar - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1991 Warner Records Inc.
Sammy Hagar, Lead Vocals, Writer, Rhythm Guitar - Bruce Fairbairn, Producer - Alex Van Halen, Drums, Percussion, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Keyboards, Writer, Lead Guitar, Background Vocals - Mike Fraser, MixingEngineer - George Marino, MasteringEngineer - Mike Plotnikoff, Engineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Erwin Musper, Engineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1995 Warner Records Inc.
Sammy Hagar, Lead Vocals, Writer - Bruce Fairbairn, Producer - Alex Van Halen, Drums, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Erwin Musper, Engineer
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1996 Warner Records Inc.
Edward Van Halen, Writer - Alex Van Halen, Producer, Drums, Percussion, Writer - David Lee Roth, Producer, Lead Vocals, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Producer, Keyboards, Lead Guitar, Background Vocals - GLEN BALLARD, Producer - Chris Bellman, Remastering Engineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1996 Warner Records Inc.
Edward Van Halen, Writer - Alex Van Halen, Producer, Drums, Percussion, Writer - David Lee Roth, Producer, Lead Vocals, Writer - Eddie Van Halen, Producer, Keyboards, Lead Guitar, Background Vocals - GLEN BALLARD, Producer - Chris Bellman, Remastering Engineer - Van Halen, MainArtist - MICHAEL ANTHONY, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1996 Warner Records Inc.
Album review
In theory, a Van Halen greatest-hits collection should be easy to assemble, but Best Of, Vol. 1 proves that isn't the case. By trying to give the David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar eras equal space, they wind up not representing either particularly well. The first eight songs run through several of Diamond Dave's biggest songs -- "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," "Runnin' With the Devil," "And the Cradle Will Rock," "Jump," and "Panama." It's hard to argue with any of the choices, yet significant songs like "You Really Got Me," "Beautiful Girls," "(Oh) Pretty Woman," "I'll Wait," and "Hot for Teacher" are missing. Similarly, the Sammy era has many big hits -- "Why Can't This Be Love," "Dreams," "When It's Love," and "Right Now" -- but skips over hits like "Love Walks In," "Black and Blue," and "Finish What Ya Started." Clearly, the collection would have been better served if it had been assembled as a double-disc set, with Dave and Sammy getting a disc apiece. Furthermore, the much-hyped reunion tracks with Roth, "Can't Get This Stuff No More" and "Me Wise Magic," are a slight disappointment; the band sounds good, but neither track contains a memorable hook. Also, the presence of "Humans Being," one of Van Halen's worst tracks, is an insult, considering how many great songs are missing. Nevertheless, Best Of, Vol. 1 remains a good single-disc encapsulation of Van Halen's career, even if it isn't a definitive retrospective.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 17 track(s)
- Total length: 01:12:05
- Main artists: Van Halen
- Label: Warner Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 1996 Warner Records Inc. ℗ 1996 Warner Records Inc.
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.