''Best Of – Volume I'' is the first greatest hits album by American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

, released on October 22, 1996. The album does not contain any songs from the band's 1982 album ''

Diver Down ''Diver Down'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Van Halen, released on April 14, 1982, by Warner Bros. Records. It spent 65 weeks on the album chart in the United States and had, by 1998, sold four million copies in the United St ...

''. ''Best Of – Volume I'' also features " Humans Being", the band's contribution to the ''

Twister Twister most commonly refers to a tornado. Twister or Twisters may also refer to: Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paragli ...

'' soundtrack. The two newly recorded songs, " Can't Get This Stuff No More" and "

Me Wise Magic "Me Wise Magic" is a song by Van Halen that appears on the rock band's 1996 compilation album ''Best Of – Volume I (Van Halen album), Best Of – Volume I'' and became the band's 13th No. 1 Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, ''Billboard'' Mainstream R ...

", at the end of the album are with original lead vocalist

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

. These two songs were released as singles to promote this compilation. They are also the last songs recorded and released by the original Van Halen lineup of

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

Alex Van Halen Alexander Arthur Van Halen ( , ; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie under the name "Ma ...

, Roth and Michael Anthony. Some demos recorded by the original lineup in 2000 would later be re-recorded by the Van Halen brothers,

Wolfgang Van Halen Wolfgang William Van Halen ( , , born March 16, 1991) is an American musician. The son of actress Valerie Bertinelli and guitarist Eddie Van Halen, he performed alongside his father and his uncle as the bassist for Van Halen from 2007 to 2020. ...

, and Roth for ''

A Different Kind of Truth ''A Different Kind of Truth'' is the twelfth and final studio album by American rock band Van Halen. Released on February 7, 2012, by Interscope Records, this is Van Halen's only studio album on Interscope and its first full-length album of stu ...

'', released in 2012. Anthony did not play with Van Halen again following the band's 2004 tour. He was replaced by Eddie's son Wolfgang. Initial pressings of the album contained an alternate edit of "

Runnin' with the Devil "Runnin' with the Devil" is a song by the American hard rock band Van Halen, released as the second single from their eponymous debut album on May 6, 1978. The lyrics were inspired by Ohio Players 1974 song "Runnin' from the Devil". In 2009, " ...

" where the verses, chorus and solos were arranged in a different order than that of the original album version. It was reported that this was accidental and subsequent pressings have replaced this version with the one found on ''

''. This edit was also used for the soundtrack to the 1999 film

Detroit Rock City "Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss, released on their 1976 album ''Destroyer''. The song was written by Paul Stanley and producer Bob Ezrin. Background "Detroit Rock City" began with a guitar part by Paul Stanle ...

. As of 2025, it was still the version found on streaming platforms for the soundtrack. The album itself sparked a great deal of in-band controversy because of the personnel issues surrounding the band at the time.

Sammy Hagar Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...

by this time had been a member of Van Halen for eleven years, equal to the amount of time as the previous lead vocalist, David Lee Roth. Hagar saw his conflicts with the Van Halen brothers grow while recording earlier in 1996 for the ''

'' soundtrack, resulting in the song " Humans Being" (eventually included in ''Best Of'') and an unfinished track called "Between Us Two". When called about completing "Between Us Two" for a greatest hits album, Hagar was angry given his opposition to such a compilation as opposed to an album of entirely new material, declaring that “We’re not a greatest-hits kind of band. We made great albums and sold out concerts all over the world, and we do not need to rely on the past. . . . We spent 11 years trying to bury the past and make the music different and expand and grow.” Eventually he left the band in June, and the Van Halens began working with David Lee Roth on new material for inclusion on the disc. This was not to last, as Roth and Eddie Van Halen clashed publicly and the band once again was without a lead singer, before hiring

Gary Cherone Gary Francis Caine Cherone ( ; born July 26, 1961) is an American rock singer and songwriter. Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme (band), Extreme and Van Halen. Early life Cherone grew up in Ma ...

. All songs except "Humans Being", "Can't Get This Stuff No More", and "Me Wise Magic" are included on the band's subsequent greatest hits album '' The Best of Both Worlds'' (2004). Despite the aforementioned friction, the album went on to win ''

Metal Edge ''Metal Edge'' was a magazine covering heavy metal music published by Zenbu Media. The magazine was founded in the summer of 1985, during the height of glam metal's success. While its sister publication, ''Metal Maniacs'' focused more on extreme ...

'' magazine's 1996 Readers' Choice Award for "Best Hits or Compilation Album". Hagar shares the accolade with Roth, since the album features material from both singers.''

'', June 1997

Track listing

Personnel

Van Halen *

–

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

s (tracks 2–8, 16 & 17) *

- lead vocals (tracks 9-15) *

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, rhythm guitar,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

backing vocal A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

s * Michael Anthony -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, backing vocals *

–

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

Production

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing on Wilson Phillips' debut and sophomore albums, '' Wilson Phillips'' and '' Shadows and Light'', ...

– producer (tracks 16, 17) *

Bruce Fairbairn Bruce Earl Fairbairn (December 30, 1949 – May 17, 1999) was a Canadian record producer. He was active as a producer from 1976 to 1999, and is considered one of the best of his era. His most successful productions are '' Slippery When Wet'' ...

– producer (tracks 14, 15) *

Andy Johns Jeremy Andrew Johns (20 May 1950 – 7 April 2013) was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972), Television's '' Marquee Moon'' (1977), ...

– producer (tracks 12, 13) * Mick Jones – producer (tracks 9, 10) *

Don Landee Donn Landee is an American record producer and recording engineer. Much of his work as an engineer has been done with producer Ted Templeman at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California. The pair worked with a wide variety of artists for W ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

(tracks 1–11), producer (tracks 9–11) *Erwin Musper – engineer (track 15) *

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. Among the acts with whom he has had a long relationship are the rock bands Van Halen and Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced ...

– producer (tracks 1–8, 12, 13) *Van Halen – producer (tracks 9–13)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Of Volume 01 Van Halen compilation albums 1996 greatest hits albums Albums produced by Andy Johns Albums produced by Bruce Fairbairn Albums produced by Donn Landee Albums produced by Glen Ballard Albums produced by Mick Jones (Foreigner) Albums produced by Ted Templeman Warner Records compilation albums Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders