Sammy Hagar returned in 2004 and add his vocals to a compilation album, The Best of Both Worlds, ahead of a world tour. It became clear that Eddie Van Halen’s health issues, which included drug addiction along with recovery from cancer, were going to hurt the plans.
The LP was released as a best-of set, with three new tracks – “It’s About Time,” “Up for Breakfast” and “Learning to See” – apparently the sum total of the studio songs the guitarist was capable of completing. A North American tour was announced, which started with 28 shows but ran to 80. By the end of that run, though, there was little left of “Van Hagar” to save.