THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
I don't know if I'm in the minority, or if there are plenty of people who feel this way, but I didn't think it was a huge deal when Sammy Hagar showed up as the new VAN HALEN frontman back in '85. I think I had only become aware of VH when
1984 was released, so a year or so later, when
5150 hit stores and Sammy was in the band... who the hell was I to pitch a fit? I'd only really been aware of the band for a year. In fact, I remember hearing "Dreams" and "Best Of Both Worlds" and being blown away by Sammy's voice and melody-writing ability. David Lee Roth was the original. Sammy kept the band alive for another fifteen years...
Gary Cherone was just put in a bad spot. I think under different circumstances, he would have worked out. Bad timing, I suppose.
Best Of Both Worlds is a two-disc 'best of' compilation that picks up
Best Of Vol. 1 left off (actually it DUPLICATES a lot of it), and showcases more of Hagar's role in the band's second chapter.
I've checked out other reviews of the three new songs, "It's About Time", "Up for Breakfast" and "Learning To See"...and some people LOVE them. Some people LOATHE them. I don't hate them, but I'm not that impressed either. The new tracks are most certainly the product of Edward Van Halen's noodling and Sammy's vocal chops, but the melodies aren't as memorable as past offerings. Truthfully, I like "Me Wise Magic" and "Can't Get This Stuff No More", the two tracks the band recorded when Roth was brought back briefly for
Best Of Vol. 1.
I'm a Van Halen fan, so I just HAD to pick this up. Chances are, there's a million other people just like me who will do the same, just to celebrate the fact that the band is back with Sammy and touring again at a time when the music business isn't offering up much in the way of lasting entertainment.
Career bands like Van Halen are a dying breed
(God bless capitalism and the sales-and-marketing driven music business); it's nice that a few of them are still around to help us remember how cool rock music USED to be.
