Review: David Lee Roth – New Box Set – ‘The Warner Recordings 1985 – 1994’ – The Law Of Diminishing Returns

I’ve reviewed a lot of box sets in my time at B&V from Pete Townshend’s Live In Concert 1985 to 2001 all the way to the Police’s deluxe version of Synchronicity but I don’t think I’ve seen a gutsier version of a box than David Lee Roth’s new box featuring the 1 EP and 4 albums he did for Warner Recordings. In this box we trace a once promising career that slowly ebbed away. Although as I listened to the whole box this last week – my corporate masters were holding me hostage in DC and it was either drink every night or listen to David Lee Roth (or I suppose a third option would have been to do both) – I felt a lot of this was better than I remembered. It’s a shame his last few albums were on smaller, obscure labels as this might have been more a redemption story. I felt that 1998’s The DLR Band and 2003’s Diamond Dave were at least respectable… although admittedly the latter is just Dave’s take on some classic covers (but we do love cover albums around here).

If someone who hadn’t lived through the late 70s and the 80s were just discovering David Lee Roth, they could be forgiven for wondering “Who is this guy?” If they were only looking at his social media these days they’d probably assume he was someone who’d gone insane like Robert Blake (aka Baretta/murderer) or Phil Spector (producer/murderer). But there was a time when Diamond Dave was one of the coolest guys on the planet. I’m on record as being a fan of the Van Hagar incarnation of the band but I’m like a majority of you out there, the Roth years in Van Halen were the best. Roth brought a swagger and sense of humor to the “out of this world” riffs and guitar work of legend Eddie Van Halen.

This year is the 40th anniversary of Roth’s dismissal from the band – or his resignation from the band, depending on who you believe. We all flew our VH flags at half mast that summer. After the massive success of 1984 the sky was the limit for Van Halen, they were indeed on top of the rock n roll universe. But the tour for that landmark album was laden with tension. Roth was mad at Eddie – for getting married to Valerie Bertinelli – but more recently for stepping outside Van Halen to help Michael Jackson on the song “Beat It.” After the tour, the band went on vacation and Roth grabbed producer Ted Templeman and went in to the studio to record his first solo EP. Templeman thought he was saving the band, giving Roth a creative outlet. For Roth’s part he said he wanted lounge-style songs with no guitar, he didn’t want to compete with Eddie and his day job. Alas, it was the final straw in that relationship and Roth was out of the band. He went from fronting the greatest band in the world, doing karate on stage to being everybody’s weird uncle. The swagger gave way to self parody. Although I have to admit he is responsible for some pretty great rock n roll, despite the commercial decline.

The most disappointing thing about this box is there is zero unreleased material. This is just his Warner Records stuff, re-released in one big package. No outtakes, no b-sides included. I guess if you wanted his catalog on vinyl this might be up your alley? Without further adieu, here is our look at Roth’s new box, by disc:

Crazy From The Heat (1985)

The EP that ended Roth’s first tenure with Van Halen. I think the videos were bigger than the actual songs although this thing went platinum. These were all cover songs, mostly of lounge standards. Roth was into videos and thought they might launch him into movie stardom. He covered the Beach Boy’s “California Girls” incredibly faithful to the original except for Roth’s yelling, “I love those girls” every so often. I despised the Beach Boys but I’m like everybody else and enjoyed the video late at night drunk in front of MTV. “I’m Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody” was also a surprise hit but left me cold. I actually kind of liked the two songs that didn’t get much play, the bluesy “Easy Street” and “Coconut Grove.”

Eat ‘Em And Smile (1986)

This is the crown jewel in the Roth solo catalog. Ousted from VH, he recruited a great band with former Zappa sideman Steve Vai on guitar and Billy Sheehan on bass. He had two lounge singer songs in “I’m Easy” and a song made famous by Sinatra, “That’s Life” proving that he knew how to stay on brand. Vai’s guitar makes this album special. The cover of “Tobacco Road” which featured on our Summer Road Trip Playlist, is especially incendiary. This has some of Roth’s greatest solo songs and should be in everyone’s collection. The middle section of “Ladies Night In Buffalo,” “Goin’ Crazy,” and “Tobacco Road” are worth the price of admission here. I remember hearing “Yankee Rose” on the fourth of July in a pool somewhere in Oklahoma City visiting my buddy Doug and thinking, “Oh, Roth…” But I have to admit hearing it again, I really enjoyed it. It’s a great album.

Skyscraper (1988)

While this album went platinum, a lot of us were disappointed by the pop/synth sheen they put on this thing. Vai and Sheehan were still here but this was more pop rock than the rock of the debut. “Just Like Paradise” was the big hit. I remember hearing it for the first time while away at my Corporate Training program in Atlanta. I was drunk driving around Buckhead and “Paradise” came on… I remember thinking, he’s trying to be Huey Lewis. The best track on here was “Damn Good” an acoustic number that has stood the test of time. “Hotdog And A Shake” was interesting. I really liked “Knucklebone” but this album lacked a bit of the menace we expect from Roth. It was to be his last with his first “band.”

A Little Ain’t Enough (1991)

This is where the wheels started to come off for Roth. New guitarist Jason Becker came down with Lou Gehrig’s disease and only barely was able to complete the record. I think Roth had heard the criticisms about him going too “pop” and wanted a harder edge sound. He largely achieved that but other than the title track and the bluesy “Sensible Shoes” (a song I love and included on my Rockers Playing Blues playlist) it just wasn’t terribly compelling. Admittedly “It’s Showtime” kind of rocked me in a good way. Most of Roth’s goodwill with the fans began to slip away…

Your Filthy Little Mouth (1994)

I don’t think I know anybody who actually bought this album. Grunge was king in 1994 and I think Roth just said, “F*ck it, I’m gonna do what I want.” Nile Rodgers who produced David Bowie’s Let’s Dance was at the helm on this record and I think they just decided to throw the entire kitchen sink into this album. The album starts off on it’s high point with “She’s My Machine,” a single that didn’t get much traction. The b-side for that, “Mississippi Power,” a blues tune, is not included here, alas. The first three tracks rock but without much conviction. “Experience” is more a spoken word jazz tune than rock n roll but I’ve always kind of liked it. I can’t imagine radio was very friendly here. “A Little Luck” goes big band soul with huge horns and back up singers. Gads, he even duets with Travis Tritt (“Cheatin’ Heart Cafe”). “No Big Ting” is a foray into…yes…reggae. He even has time for a cover of Willie Nelson’s “Night Life.” None of this is terrible, well some of it is, but most of it is listenable. But with these stripped down arrangements and array of styles is just too confusing to be a consistent listen.

Those albums make up the 5 discs in this box set. As I said before, I was really disappointed that there was absolutely no bonus material here. A live show from Eat Em And Smile would have been choice…the Rock Chick saw Roth on that tour… she is the Rock Chick. There are no outtakes, no b-sides. It reminds me of the recent Motley Crue box for Dr. Feelgood, that while it had bonus material, it was all previously released. Everybody I know has Eat Em And Smile, as it’s a fantastic album and a lot of people have the EP but I can’t imagine plunking down a bunch of money for the last two records in the set. Even Roth’s bad records have some good moments on it, so sample to your taste but I can’t recommend this box.

Listening to this does take me back to that time when Diamond David Lee Roth was King of the World…and “Those were good times, damn good times…”

Cheers!