Eat 'Em And Smile (studio album)
by David Lee Roth

From llibnanoon 06/25/2020 14:29

Classic DLR. Van Hagar won the battle, but it was close.

David Lee Roth's full length debut album. It's similar to Van Halen, but there's a much more of a party feel here. Steve Vai replaces Eddie Van Halen and he and Roth compliment each other perfectly. Some good songs in, Yankee rose, goin' crazy, and an extremely enjoyable version of, this life. Still Diamond Dave's best solo record.

Steve Vai on guitar; Billy Sheehan on bass; Gregg Bissonette on drums and Diamond Dave as M.C.

It's bring played by musicians who are so far above everyone else in skill, and you can hear how they love playing with each other and they're having a blast. I have fun just hearing it.

The band is so good that they can make me laugh out loud just playing instrumentals.

"Eat ‘em And Smile” (1986) is an album that many musicians, past and present, revere – as much for its irreverent attitude as its musical virtuosity.

On songs like “Elephant Gun” and “Shyboy,” Steve Vai, Billy Sheehan, and Gregg Bissonette create sounds that continue to astonish (respectively) well-seasoned guitarists, bassists, and drummers. To Roth's great credit, these songs are also eminently listenable. Those who do not enjoy Roth’s “Falstaff of Rock,” wink-and-a-nod persona, and increasingly ‘funk’-derived sense of melodic song-craft, (e.g. “Ladies Night in Buffalo,” “Big Trouble,”) will still likely find something to enjoy on "Eat 'em And Smile" - whether it's the instrumental excursions, the Top 40 singles ("Goin Crazy," "Yankee Rose,") or the music hall goof-offs ("I'm Easy," "That's Life.")

Among musicians, “Eat ‘em And Smile” is generally accorded more respect and admiration than by the public-at-large. It's one of rock's rare 'cult albums' that met with commercial and critical success. "Eat 'em And Smile" doesn't cast itself as “important” - it’s the antithesis of a 'serious statement' album, like e.g. U2's “The Joshua Tree;" however, its overt lack of seriousness is made its strength by frequently comical musical interludes and knowingly campy lyrics ( a la Roth's last hit with Van Halen, "Hot For Teacher." For example, this album's Top 20 hit "Yankee Rose" describes a date with New York City's Statue of Liberty via American political platitudes used as double or triple entendres.)

David Lee Roth's musical reputation languished after Steve Vai left his band (in 1989;) however, Roth's two, post-Van Halen solo albums from the late 1980s - while they don't epitomize "glam metal" due to their strengths: diverse virtuosic musicality and genuine wit - remain two of the most redeeming albums associated with the genre, (however loosely.)