Do Roth-era VH purists like solo DLR?

[DangerZone]

how is this even an argument?
“Just like paradise” is the only single material on that album.
The whole album is a cheesy hit single surrounded by a bunch of weird stuff

[NeonKnite]

Why are people still listening to that song more than his others, 30 years later?? I thought your classmates settled the matter! Sludge Streaming Payola???

Again, comparing status almost 40 years later as to what happened "at the time" are two different things. "Just Like Paradise" is bubblegum. When a song comes out, it's up against everything out that's out at the same time. At the time it was a solid track, but it wasn't any sort of massive hit. It didn't take his career to the next level or anything the way "Jump" did. I actually like it, but I'm not going to overrate it as something it's not.

Also, Spotify plays don't tell the whole story. There are plenty of songs that were ignored when they came out, or even hits when they came out, and then became massively popular or classic years later when they were used in a movie or tv show or commercial. "Don't Stop Believing" for example. For decades it was a huge hit for Journey in their catalog, but after The Sopranos it became part of the zeitgeist.

[Tommy2Tone84]

Roth's first choice for guitar in his solo band was Steve Stevens, who declined the gig.

I think that would have been much better. But we'll never know.

I disagree. I thought Steve Vai fit in Dave’s band perfectly. Especially with Billy there. Aside from Zappa and as much as I love WS and loved Steve in WS, he fit in (and was a driving force and influence) in the DLR Band best. All that cool, crazy shit he does on YR and GC couldn’t have been achieved with anyone else.

Dave was a dummy. The only guy that was replaceable in the original DLR Band was Greg. No disrespect. A very excellent player but if anyone lifted out it was him. As much as I like Skyscraper, and I do love me some of that, it’s brilliant. It’s not the same without Billy. Roth should’ve given Steve and Billy anything and everything they wanted. They don’t appear to be high maintenance individuals. While I feel Billy wasn’t totally fair with Skyscraper, I agree it lacks bass and it’s too compressed. But then, I feel the same about EEAS, which also has one too many covers for my taste. Shy boy and TR are fine but the Sinatra schtick, who I loved and respect, doesn’t really fit to me.

[FreddyFender]

Why are people still listening to that song more than his others, 30 years later?? I thought your classmates settled the matter! Sludge Streaming Payola???

Also, Spotify plays don't tell the whole story. There are plenty of songs that were ignored when they came out, or even hits when they came out, and then became massively popular or classic years later when they were used in a movie or tv show or commercial. "Don't Stop Believing" for example. For decades it was a huge hit for Journey in their catalog, but after The Sopranos it became part of the zeitgeist.

Hi argument was that it wasn't a good song, no one he knew liked it, and that the charts don't mean anything because of payola and the MTV machine made it look like people liked the song when they didn't.

My argument was that is simply fantasy. Spotify does tell the whole story here - people do like the song. At least they like the song far more than they like anything else in Roth's solo catalog. There's no payola forcing people to seek out "Just Like Paradise" here in the 2020's and listen to it way more than the rest of Roth's songs. Nothin' Roth did has become a viral TikTok moment ffs, it's only greybeards listening to David Lee Roth's solo catalog.

how is this even an argument?
“Just like paradise” is the only single material on that album.
The whole album is a cheesy hit single surrounded by a bunch of weird stuff

Hey - some sanity! Just Like Paradise didn't take Roth's career to the next level - but it did save his ass.

Without it Skyscraper doesn't go gold.

[Ryan81]

Not a purist but loved the EEAS album and tour. After that, it got more hit and miss for me. Loved his two songs on the VH hits disc, Me Wise Magic and Can’t Get This Stuff No More.

Me Wise Magic is one of Van Halen's best songs ever!

Don't Piss Me Off from his first greatest hits album was alright. It fit his style.

[Anthrax442]

Not a purist but loved the EEAS album and tour. After that, it got more hit and miss for me. Loved his two songs on the VH hits disc, Me Wise Magic and Can’t Get This Stuff No More.

Me Wise Magic is one of Van Halen's best songs ever!

Don't Piss Me Off from his first greatest hits album was alright. It fit his style.

I'm mildly annoyed Don't Piss Me Off wasn't included on the boxed set. It's not a huge deal, of course, but definitely can't call it the COMPLETE Warner Recordings.

(Waiting for someone to jump in with, "Well, what about Sonrisa Salvaje, then?")

[Tenacious_Dio]

Roth should’ve given Steve and Billy anything and everything they wanted.

Vai was always going to leave and do his own thing. Maybe he would've hung around for one more album, maybe not.

He had no interest in being a rock star. He even admits that the whole Whitesnake thing was basically a money grab.

[Tommy2Tone84]

How was Paradise the wrong single for Skyscraper? It was all over the radio and mtv! The problem with that album is that that’s the only song that would work as a single. Stand Up is too weird and Damn Good isn’t commercial enough. Same with the title track. Maybe Knucklebones or Perfect Timing would have worked with the right videos? There are very few rockers on that album so hardly anything to choose from.

I love Just Like Paradise. I’ve never understood the post 80s, cool af, hipster hate for it. It worked well, was an awesome video and fit Dave perfectly. Damn Good would’ve made an excellent single. It would’ve been a boon had he been able to acquire the rights to old VH footage and mixed it with his CFTH and EEAS eras or even included photos from his high school and Red Ball Jets days. The title track is Dave’s finest hour as a recording artist, in or out of Van Halen I don’t care what anyone says. It should’ve went to MTV especially, but even rock radio. Knucklebones, Perfect Timing and The Bottom Line are all ripping and would have made for classic live mixed with weird, quirky coke fueled storyline videos at MTV. I hated Stand Up at the time and still prefer Ladies Night but I’ve grown to appreciate it and have become a fan of the song. Looking back, it was a safe bet. It was Vai showing us his Prince influence again. Hina is awesome. A weird chorus but very creative song and very VH.

[Love_Industry]

I’m always thought it was a giant mistake not releasing It’s Showtime as the lead single for ALAE. That’s about as “Van Halen” sounding as he got solo. Big fan of that whole album. It was totally downhill for Dave after that and I’m a pretty big apologist.

I did like his live band during the Sammy Tour.

I like It's Showtime but I am not sure it would have connected with pop/rock audiences in 1991. I always thought Shoot It or Hammerhead Shark should have been singles but this was the era where only a wussy ballad could sell a hard rock album (Scorps, Saigon Kick, Extreme, Aerosmith, Mr Big) and there's nothing of that on ALAE. Van Halen's first single off that year's album F.U.C.K. was also a rocker and didn't even chart on Billboard's Hot 100 - it did however make #1 on Mainstream Rock.

[LSD69]

I’m always thought it was a giant mistake not releasing It’s Showtime as the lead single for ALAE. That’s about as “Van Halen” sounding as he got solo. Big fan of that whole album. It was totally downhill for Dave after that and I’m a pretty big apologist.

I concur.

[Anthrax442]

Damn Good would’ve made an excellent single.

Out of all his songs, I'm probably the most surprised that that wasn't a single. It seemed like, for every hair band, except for RATT, the second or third single off the album was always a ballad.

Now granted, it's not about a girl or anything, so it's not your standard ballad, but I still think it could have broken through. Maybe he thought it was TOO different from his usual fair, who knows?

[alleyrulez]

I love most of the solo DLR stuff, especially "ALAE."

with the exception of the first three songs on the album, "Your Filthy Little Mouth" is pretty horrible, though.

[dmbrocker]

I'm not a Roth-era purist, but I definitely love DLR solo. He's just so fun and camp, and even more so than classic VH:

[Hair I Go Again]

Damn Good actually was a single, or at least it was overseas. Wiki says it was released in July of '88, and here's the 7" listing on Discogs (no cassingle, though!): https://www.discogs.com/master/24396-Da ... d-Stand-Up

I thought I vaguely remembered a music video, but a quick Google search didn't turn anything up.

[Anthrax442]

Damn Good would’ve made an excellent single.

Out of all his songs, I'm probably the most surprised that that wasn't a single.

Damn Good was a fucking single.

https://www.discogs.com/release/8077272 ... -Damn-Good

The three singles from Skyscraper (in the US anyway) were Paradise, Stand Up, and Damn Good. In that order.

Okay, that makes more sense, I was just going off of what other people had said, I didn't look it up myself and assumed. That's on me.

Never heard it on the radio, but it was also a bit before my time as far that sort of thing goes.

[Anthrax442]

Got my boxed set in today. They actually did custom printing on the mailer, which was a bit unexpected. Sounds great so far, but I'll admit, I'm not enough of an audiophile to do A to B comparisons versus the original pressings. Also, I don't care that much.

[Chip Z'Hoy]

Trying to remember how much I paid for a chewed up version of ALAE. I don't even want to look.

[HueyRamone]

I'm not a Roth-era purist, but I definitely love DLR solo. He's just so fun and camp, and even more so than classic VH:

I just realized that the "TO GO!" is superfluous. It's a 7-11. EVERYTHING is to go! There's no dine in at a 7-11!!

[Anthrax442]

I just realized that the "TO GO!" is superfluous. It's a 7-11. EVERYTHING is to go! There's no dine in at a 7-11!!

Don't tell that to the crackhead by the Slurpee machine.

[Anthrax442]

Got my boxed set in today. They actually did custom printing on the mailer, which was a bit unexpected. Sounds great so far, but I'll admit, I'm not enough of an audiophile to do A to B comparisons versus the original pressings. Also, I don't care that much.

Haven’t bought physical media for years so wouldn’t buy it, but from what the nerds on Hoffman were saying there’s very little difference from the original CDs, maybe a touch brighter and the volume is a touch different. They didn’t brickwall them though.

Hopefully they’ll do what happened with the VanHagar and Martin Sabbath stuff - do a basic box first and then once that sells out they’ll release them with some bonus stuff. Gotta feel sorry for the rubes buying it all multiple times though. Plus they probably had it on vinyl in the 80s and rebought it on cassette and then CD over the decades.

YouTube music is good enough for me now. Haven’t bought physical for 15 years.

I think they must have stayed somewhat close to the original masters, because of the set, I've listened to Crazy from the Heat and ALAE, and Crazy from the Heat was noticeably quieter than ALAE. If they had dicked with them, I would expect them all to be the same volume.

As far as comparing the original packaging, all I could really tell that was different was the Warner Bros logos was replaced with Warner Music, the record protector insets were glossy instead of regular paper, and the color was slightly brighter, but other than those changes, seems like a solid reproduction, no lost artwork and having to upscale the CD or any of that nonsense.

And yeah, supposedly the box was limited to 2,000 copies, and I'd be shocked if they went through all that trouble to not have the records available separately at some point, but who knows, they haven't pulled Balance out of the VH II Boxed Set yet.

[Love_Industry]

Got my boxed set in today. They actually did custom printing on the mailer, which was a bit unexpected. Sounds great so far, but I'll admit, I'm not enough of an audiophile to do A to B comparisons versus the original pressings. Also, I don't care that much.

Haven’t bought physical media for years so wouldn’t buy it, but from what the nerds on Hoffman were saying there’s very little difference from the original CDs, maybe a touch brighter and the volume is a touch different. They didn’t brickwall them though.

This is a good description and I would say it is an improvement on the original cds. Always thought something was off with ALAE, you can tell from the original that it is a well produced album but something didn't sound right and it was tiring to listen to all the way through. The remaster sounds brighter, but well balanced and you can hear more details like keyboards and cymbals. EEAS and YFML sound good, but they always sounded ok to me so it may be a matter of personal preference.

Skyscraper is where the biggest difference is, the original cd and even more so vinyl sounded shrill and lacked bass, this has been fixed and it is a much more pleasant listen. It will never be one of the best sounding albums from the era, Roth and Vai weren't on that level, but it does sound ok and you can hear more Billy Sheehan and the drum sound improved almost as much as on Dokken's Tooth & Nail - Gregg Bissonette is not banging on cardboard and plastic boxes anymore

(The original Tooth & Nail has the worst drum sound on any metal album on a major label and this was fixed on the 2014 (?) Rock Candy remaster, may be the biggest improvement I have heard on a remastered album. Wish all Rock Candy remasters were like that one but they are very hit & miss. A few are great, but there are a few f***ups in their catalog too.)

[Bono Nettencourt]

Never heard it on the radio, but it was also a bit before my time as far that sort of thing goes.

That’s because it’s totally unsuitable for a single, like I said earlier.

I think i heard it on the radio once. By the time it got released the US tour was just about over and the Stand Up misfire had killed any momentum the album had.

[Love_Industry]

And yeah, supposedly the box was limited to 2,000 copies, and I'd be shocked if they went through all that trouble to not have the records available separately at some point, but who knows, they haven't pulled Balance out of the VH II Boxed Set yet.

Just noticed this - there is a stand alone remastered CD of 5150 available? Never saw that.
I hope they will release the Roth albums separately too, with better packaging. Roth's box is almost as bad as Sabbath's (which I hate), but I also got a stand alone Tyr remaster cheap and there they have a 3 panel gatefold, and a booklet with the lyrics, details and a bunch of additional photos. Looks like all 4 Sabbath albums are packaged like this. This on the Roth albums and I'm happy.

[diablomozart]

1st 3 albums? yeah...i don't think i've heard any of the rest of them...d.m.

[rubysdad]

I had a listen to Skyscraper and Eat Em today.
Been quite some time, but I could still sing along with them.
Roth’s lyrics have always been clever, I get them better now I’m older.
I think I prefer these two to the Van Halen catalogue.
Who’d have thunk it?

[diablomozart]

1st 3 albums? yeah...i don't think i've heard any of the rest of them...d.m.

Speak sense.

eat em and smile, skyscraper and a lil ain't enough...anything after i am unfamiliar with...i've heard of your filthy little mouth and heard about some john 5 record (on here) but i just lost interest after alae...d.m.

[Bono Nettencourt]

I understood you, and I agree.

[Tommy2Tone84]

Damn Good would’ve made an excellent single.

Out of all his songs, I'm probably the most surprised that that wasn't a single.

Damn Good was a fucking single.

https://www.discogs.com/release/8077272 ... -Damn-Good

The three singles from Skyscraper (in the US anyway) were Paradise, Stand Up, and Damn Good. In that order.

I didn’t listen to the radio then so I don’t remember it being one. I only remember Paradise and Stand Up on my MTV.

1980s = MTV > Radio

[Van Ailin']

Never heard it on the radio, but it was also a bit before my time as far that sort of thing goes.

That’s because it’s totally unsuitable for a single, like I said earlier.

The way to have made a hit out of Damn Good would have been a superb, somewhat sentimental video. I remember thinking that in '88, but it was really too early for Dave to waxing sentimental about Van Halen. Of course, it was Vai's music in that song so he kind of had to do it then. It think it's one of the best 2-3 songs on the album. Don't really care what people think of singles since the public has such poor hearing for music. Big hits around that time were such awful music anyway - Slaughter and the like. Awful taste. There's a reason why the LA metal scene descended.