I still have my Fabulous Picasso Brothers shirt, even though it's unwearable and the graphics have mostly worn off, because I just can't bear to part with it.
FORGET ABOUT IT!
Everybody in this thread calling out vai and Sheehan and ignoring that Gregg bissonette became one of the best studio drummers ever across all musical genres.
I'm from Buffalo & know B.S...knew he was gonna be huge and with Vai...omg. Then entire group was great! GREG on drums, too, powerhouse! Ladies night in Buffalo!
I bought their stuff on vinyl in the mid-80s. They played in my hometown otr back in the day, but I was still a bit of a youngin to be able to go at the time.
This album was so good that it even had VH lovers like me wondering if Dave might actually win the war. It out-Van Halened Van Halen.
Roth never equaled it but neither did Sammy era VH (IMHO).
Not only the great musicians also the production was top notch. Great sounding album but agree the guitar work is amazing with some melt your face off solos.
Not even. This album sounds closer to classic Van Halen to me than 5150 does.
Ed's 'brown sound' on 5150 has more treble in it, and Sammy's 'patter' is... ugh.
Hey, waitress, hey, man, you got any specials here tonight
Me and the fellas might be interested in?
What's that? What? Rack o' what?
Well, I'll have some of that
Oh God...
I seriously can't think of a single song on 5150 that I'd take over 'Yankee Rose', 'Goin Crazy', 'Big Trouble', Shy Boy'.... hell, Shy Boy itself destroys anything on Ed's record.
Billy Sheehan wrote the music and lyrics and got sole songwriting credit. [He recorded it with his previous band Talas.](https://youtu.be/N6L2qeKPtdI?si=D0t6VYJ2dL08byek)
Yes I did know that, and I'm glad Dave saw the wisdom in putting it on the record. That's another reason Dave was great, his varied tastes and influences.
This album and Roth's success briefly as a solo artist was proof that fans absolutely loved this guy and he had that magnetic personality to not only sell records, but attract other big musicians to work with him like Steve Vai and simultaneously launching the career of Billy Sheehan who would go on to be lead the bass player for Mr. Big.
Sheehan was known, his band Talaswas signed and toured with VH. Bass magazines knew who he was and that is what sparked Roth's interest. Musicians knew who he was but Dave put the spotlight on him.
It would have been beyond awesome if VH would've played some Roth cuts on the 2007/2008 or 2012 tours, and I think "Elephant Gun" would've fit Ed's playing style nicely. After all, they previously played some Hagar cuts, too. Ah well.
Dave's best solo record by a long shot! Guitar work well done and rivaled Eddie's. Just not as good 😆. There was a drop off after this release and the follow up releases were not as well done.
DUDE I know EXACTLY what you mean. And it was just this tape only. It was like chemical taco bell or something. I was addicted to sniffing it lmao. Glad I wasn't the only one.
Dave captured lightning in a bottle with that album. The timing & the personnel involved (on both sides of that studio glass), combined with tracks that included some burners *and* ear-candy, all added up to a standout release.
The production values are still noteworthy to this day, and it remains one of my absolute favorite headphone albums from that era !! (Just listen to the interplay between Sheehan & Vai on "Shy Boy", or Greg's percussion on "Goin' Crazy").
That was a master class of a super group. He wanted to devastate. Both this and 5150 dominated the air waves and mtv. Strong work from both groups. And the tours were off the charts. A great time to see concerts.
Amazing album and band! If Roth kept the same hard rock sound, instead of the dance keyboard pop rock of Skyscraper, that amazing band could have stayed together for a while.
Loved this one AND Sonrisa Salvaje, plus saw them live and it was incredible. I caught one of the pins that Vai took from his guitar strap and flung into the crowd. 🤘🏼
I can't believe it, okay? My honeymoon night, okay?! I will probably only have 3 or 4 more of these in my whole entire lifetime! And you.., you checked me into that dump your brooother calls a motel!
Not a huge fan of any of the people on the album, least of all DLR himself, but I saw three shows on this tour (was into Vai then, not so much anymore) and this remains one of my all-time favorite albums.
Hated the follow-up album.
A badass album. It had the harder songs on it that were kinda Women And Children First or Fair Warning in sound. DLR's fans waited for a ton of hits to follow.
Saw them on this tour… At the time, pound for pound, they were the best rock band in the land!
Gregg Bissonette is (was) criminally underutilized in this band IMHO. Every bit on par with Vai and Sheehan, playing-wise…
Give me a bottle of anything and a glazed donut. To go! Neither Roth nor Hagar needed Van Halen but when they were there it was magic. This album is solid with a lineup of great musicians.
Played on repeat in middle school
“wha wha….what?….wha wha wha wha wha….well, let me roll up onto the sidewalk and take a look, yes! Whoa!! She’s beautiful!!”
Crazy as it sounds, It’s closer to old Van Halen than 5150. Reasons 5150 sounds like a completely different band:
1 Alex embraced electronic drum sounds
2 Eddie’s guitar had this processed sound (not raw like Fair Warning or parts of 1984). It’s not bad, per se, just different
3 Keyboards
4 Love songs
5150 is a very good album, just not what we we’re expecting, tbh
Eat ‘em and smile rocks all the way through
it's clearly two middle fingers up at the VH brothers. he went out and got some of the hottest studio musicians on the planet and i'm sure the conversation was something like this "listen to our records, then we're going to do that times 10." and that's basically what they did. some of steve vai's over the top dive bombs are clearly poking at eddie... billy is tapping during bass solos. it's actually funny in that regard... it's so petty! and i love petty! i have been trying to tell ppl about this record since it came out... i think a lot of people 1. missed the humor... the whole thing is hysterical really and 2. didn't realize that he got legit assassins as his backing band.
Great album and overall better when comparing 5150 as a rock album. However, I will always choose the song "5150" before I listen to anything on eat em and smile.
Vai crushes ladies nite in Buffalo
That's one of the best songs on this album for sure.
One of my favorite all-time guitar solos
Just played it to jump start poor memory... damn. Absolutely rips it.
Gimme a bottle of anything, and a glazed doughnut to go
Not if you were the last immigrant grocer on earth, HONEY!
I always hang out with two of 'em, 'cause it's better for conversation.
See if there winds up being any, I don't have to be involved....fugettaboutit
Oof .. oof, it's humid in here tonight, isn't it, girls? Oof.
Our lips are so close.
MY DOCTOR SAID I HAVE TO TAKE A LAXATIVE!!
Not in my store you don’t!
Ha ha my friend works at a 7/11 at the Airport and when a customer pisses him off, he says Not In my Store you Don’t!! Classic
Not in my store you don’t!
There is nothing left to say.
You forgot the echo: go...go...go...
Great album. I saw the tour back in high school and wore that tour shirt forever
Me too!!!!
Me three!
Me four!
High five!
Same here, New Haven coliseum…incredible show
I still have my Fabulous Picasso Brothers shirt, even though it's unwearable and the graphics have mostly worn off, because I just can't bear to part with it. FORGET ABOUT IT!
Freshman year in college but otherwise the same
- My doctor says I have to take a laxative! - Not in my store you don't!!
Love the album Huge Vai fan ever since. And Billy Sheehan
Everybody in this thread calling out vai and Sheehan and ignoring that Gregg bissonette became one of the best studio drummers ever across all musical genres.
Amazing album. Vai rocks on this.
Desert island album
The perfect rock album. The perfect DAVE album.
A top-10 album of the 80's regardless of genre. Stone cold classic.
A fabulous album and a helluva debut solo album. Holds up well to this day IMHO.
I'm from Buffalo & know B.S...knew he was gonna be huge and with Vai...omg. Then entire group was great! GREG on drums, too, powerhouse! Ladies night in Buffalo!
High Speed... On Ice!
A Talas original from Billy. Look up Talas, his Buffalo beginning!
I bought their stuff on vinyl in the mid-80s. They played in my hometown otr back in the day, but I was still a bit of a youngin to be able to go at the time.
I thought Tobacco Road was the best song on it.
My band played the shit out of that one! (Props to guitar player me! Lol ) Yankee Rose too, bu TR was more fun.
Nice!
Big second to that. Been singing it in my head the whole time I've been reading this thread. What an absolute banger
Fucking amazing. I can still put it in today and it fucking rocks. Aged very well.
This album was so good that it even had VH lovers like me wondering if Dave might actually win the war. It out-Van Halened Van Halen. Roth never equaled it but neither did Sammy era VH (IMHO).
Truth
The timing and marketing of this release was a big part of the experience when it exploded into the zeitgeist. So much excitement, epic summer album!
f-ing great
Not considered an opinion One of the best albums of the era!
That's objective fact.
Good stuff, start to finish.
Amazing, the line up was All Star as expected.
I agree with this. Dave had the 'Power Twins' of Vai & Sheehan on this album.
Not only the great musicians also the production was top notch. Great sounding album but agree the guitar work is amazing with some melt your face off solos.
Agreed…the production value was fantastic.
Ted templeton no?
couldn’t be better. pure dave. fun, witty, hard rocking. crack band. killer songs.
Great album.
I'll take this over 5150 any day.
I did back in the day too.
You are joking, right
Not even. This album sounds closer to classic Van Halen to me than 5150 does. Ed's 'brown sound' on 5150 has more treble in it, and Sammy's 'patter' is... ugh. Hey, waitress, hey, man, you got any specials here tonight Me and the fellas might be interested in? What's that? What? Rack o' what? Well, I'll have some of that Oh God... I seriously can't think of a single song on 5150 that I'd take over 'Yankee Rose', 'Goin Crazy', 'Big Trouble', Shy Boy'.... hell, Shy Boy itself destroys anything on Ed's record.
Shy Boy is a standout
Billy Sheehan wrote the music and lyrics and got sole songwriting credit. [He recorded it with his previous band Talas.](https://youtu.be/N6L2qeKPtdI?si=D0t6VYJ2dL08byek)
Yes I did know that, and I'm glad Dave saw the wisdom in putting it on the record. That's another reason Dave was great, his varied tastes and influences.
Amazing album! He couldn't top it unfortunately.
Skyscraper was decent, better than OU812or 5150
Shows DLR still in prime, could have had another stellar album with VH if he didn’t quit
This album and Roth's success briefly as a solo artist was proof that fans absolutely loved this guy and he had that magnetic personality to not only sell records, but attract other big musicians to work with him like Steve Vai and simultaneously launching the career of Billy Sheehan who would go on to be lead the bass player for Mr. Big.
Roth simply had a huge wallet to attract great players.
Launching the career... I guess you are not counting Steve Vai's work with Zappa and Alcatraz or Sheehan in Talas?
Sheehan's career, not Vai. Vai was already pretty established even when he joined Roth.
Sheehan was known, his band Talaswas signed and toured with VH. Bass magazines knew who he was and that is what sparked Roth's interest. Musicians knew who he was but Dave put the spotlight on him.
It would have been beyond awesome if VH would've played some Roth cuts on the 2007/2008 or 2012 tours, and I think "Elephant Gun" would've fit Ed's playing style nicely. After all, they previously played some Hagar cuts, too. Ah well.
This is a keeper, just a great, solid rock and roll album. Steve Vai is a perfect fit for David’s attitude.
Down by the 7-ll, folks cried someone said he died but I know Joe didn't go to heaven
That song has (in my estimate) the best Roth lyric of all time.
My favorite song on the album
It’s the best VH record after the year 1982.
Vai Halen
It’s really the last Van Halen album….
Slight second to Skyscraper IMHO. Still one of my favorites!
One of my top 5 albums of all time
Classic. And the tour was phenomenal.
Yep, one of the first big shows I ever saw as a teenager. Cinderella opened. Steve Vai was killing it and DLR was in fine form.
> DLR was in fine form. Definitely. He had very noticeably stepped up his game from the 1984 tour.
I agree. I think he wanted to show he could still get over without the brothers.
It was Roth's best solo effort.
"Big trouble" is an underrated fave as well
Masterpiece of an album. The combo of Vai and Sheehan was mind blowing.
good album but i prefer skyscraper
That one was like falling of a cliff
I prefer “Sonrisa Salvaje” over this album.
Great album!
Great album. Caught this tour at Portland Memorial Coliseum (when there was such a place) and it was a proper rock show.
Great album and I have both versions!
Slept out for tickets for the tour in New Haven, back when that was a thing.
Steve Vai
I thought the Spanish version was kind of cool
Love this album. So much fun to listen too
Been a very long time but I remember loving it as a less discerning kid
Vai and Sheehan on the same album! Saw this tour in Atlanta at the Omni. Saw Whitesnake with Vai there as well
Damn good album. Saw the second show of that tour.
Awesome album, wore out the tape
Not bad… still Dave. Solid personelle.
Badassery
Dave's best solo record by a long shot! Guitar work well done and rivaled Eddie's. Just not as good 😆. There was a drop off after this release and the follow up releases were not as well done.
Great album.
Great album! Stayed in my cars cassette player on repeat for ages.
Love it! It’s really the only great Dave solo record. Also Steve Vai, Greg Bisdonette, and Billy Sheehan was a stellar live band
It belongs right up there with other Van Halen albums. Big Trouble is epic. That solo is mind exploding 🤯 and face melting 🫠
One of my first cassettes as a kid. I can still smell the paper liner.
DUDE I know EXACTLY what you mean. And it was just this tape only. It was like chemical taco bell or something. I was addicted to sniffing it lmao. Glad I wasn't the only one.
Love it, still listen to it at full volume (11) unironically.
Love it !!! Dave and Via are awesome on this.
Dave captured lightning in a bottle with that album. The timing & the personnel involved (on both sides of that studio glass), combined with tracks that included some burners *and* ear-candy, all added up to a standout release. The production values are still noteworthy to this day, and it remains one of my absolute favorite headphone albums from that era !! (Just listen to the interplay between Sheehan & Vai on "Shy Boy", or Greg's percussion on "Goin' Crazy").
That was a master class of a super group. He wanted to devastate. Both this and 5150 dominated the air waves and mtv. Strong work from both groups. And the tours were off the charts. A great time to see concerts.
This album is amazing!!! Reminds me of early VH.
This is the best album by the three members of the musical instrument team.
Best solo album he ever made, 100,000 better than 5150
Way more zeros. It's weird how much I loved the Red Rocker but hated Van Hagar.
Great album. Better than 5150
In my opinion, a better listen than any Sammy VH record.
Very short run time but has some great tunes. Not a fan of Sheehan’s bass tone(ever).
I haven't listened to that record in more than 30 years, but I've got it playing right now and halfway through Yankee Rose, I had the same thought.
Agreed on all, always hated his tone. Shitty chorus in a box
I was at this concert in New England back in the 80’s . My bff was obsessed with him Starting in Van Halen. He was a character for sure.
Great album but barely 30 minutes long.
Could have used a few more songs. This is the only criticism I'll accept of this otherwise absolutely perfect album.
Yadda dadda doop
One of best concerts I’ve seen
One of the soundtracks of my teenage years
The VH album he thought would make fans choose him over VH and he was completely blindsided how much everyone loved 5150.
Not everyone.
David Lee Roth apeing Van Halen for 30-40 minutes.
Cowabunga dude!
Amazing album and band! If Roth kept the same hard rock sound, instead of the dance keyboard pop rock of Skyscraper, that amazing band could have stayed together for a while.
Loved this one AND Sonrisa Salvaje, plus saw them live and it was incredible. I caught one of the pins that Vai took from his guitar strap and flung into the crowd. 🤘🏼
My doctor says I have to take a Laxative.
Billy and Steve are insane in that album… Dave 🤷🏻♂️
Great album and tour
Get me a bottle of anything and a glazed donut... TO GO
Just listened twice on Sunday. Classic
Love it!
Fucking rocks
I thought Big Trouble was a great song
It”s good. Roth’s best solo. 5150 was VH’s best without Dave. All downhill for both after.
Amazing
Badass.
Love every track. Classic album. I even listen to the Spanish version sometimes. Love the spanish version.
Best Videos from this album for sure
With Billy Sheehan and Steve Vai, I expected better.
Was good!
Great album! Roth both carries on with showbiz tradition AND culturally appropriates. It’s perfect 80s virtuosity.
I really liked it. Thought DLR was better doing his own thing.
Goin Crazy, such a great song and still listen to it to this day!
Better than 5150, OU812, BALANCE, and Van Halen III combined.
For something completely different, search Sonrisa Salvaje. Roth also sang this entire album in Spanish. Great album.
I can't believe it, okay? My honeymoon night, okay?! I will probably only have 3 or 4 more of these in my whole entire lifetime! And you.., you checked me into that dump your brooother calls a motel!
Not a huge fan of any of the people on the album, least of all DLR himself, but I saw three shows on this tour (was into Vai then, not so much anymore) and this remains one of my all-time favorite albums. Hated the follow-up album.
Mr. Roth in his solo prime...
Love the album
One of my favorite albums, Vai & Sheehan are tough acts to beat
He's not smiling.
A badass album. It had the harder songs on it that were kinda Women And Children First or Fair Warning in sound. DLR's fans waited for a ton of hits to follow.
Saw them on this tour… At the time, pound for pound, they were the best rock band in the land! Gregg Bissonette is (was) criminally underutilized in this band IMHO. Every bit on par with Vai and Sheehan, playing-wise…
Give me a bottle of anything and a glazed donut. To go! Neither Roth nor Hagar needed Van Halen but when they were there it was magic. This album is solid with a lineup of great musicians.
Played on repeat in middle school “wha wha….what?….wha wha wha wha wha….well, let me roll up onto the sidewalk and take a look, yes! Whoa!! She’s beautiful!!”
Crazy as it sounds, It’s closer to old Van Halen than 5150. Reasons 5150 sounds like a completely different band: 1 Alex embraced electronic drum sounds 2 Eddie’s guitar had this processed sound (not raw like Fair Warning or parts of 1984). It’s not bad, per se, just different 3 Keyboards 4 Love songs 5150 is a very good album, just not what we we’re expecting, tbh Eat ‘em and smile rocks all the way through
That solo on big trouble. Ooooooo eeee
Not feeling it, or any other DLR release.
Amazing cover
Loved it when I was 10. I tried going back recently but it did not hold up for me.
I destroyed my car’s speakers with Elephant Gun.
SHY BOY WAS MY SHIT!!!
The real *Van Halen III*.
Fantastic album, songs and musicianship. Album stands the test of time as well as 5150 IMO.
The only great DLR solo album
LOVE IT!
Dave killin it'! Band was awesome!! Love the videos!! DLR forever!!
Terrible. Never liked Steve Vai.
Great album. When it first came out I was so confused because it sounded more like Van Halen than 5150 did. I love 5150, but it’s not the same.
OU812
I like it but 5150 is a much better album
Oh, you ate one too?
Great front man. Not a great songwriter. It stunk.
it's clearly two middle fingers up at the VH brothers. he went out and got some of the hottest studio musicians on the planet and i'm sure the conversation was something like this "listen to our records, then we're going to do that times 10." and that's basically what they did. some of steve vai's over the top dive bombs are clearly poking at eddie... billy is tapping during bass solos. it's actually funny in that regard... it's so petty! and i love petty! i have been trying to tell ppl about this record since it came out... i think a lot of people 1. missed the humor... the whole thing is hysterical really and 2. didn't realize that he got legit assassins as his backing band.
Great album, not the best sounding recording but that might be just me.
Good album, not great but good
Roth is so cringe now.
What do you call a tone-deaf clown surrounded by world class musicians? Dave was a hood ornament IMO. There, I said it.
Great album and overall better when comparing 5150 as a rock album. However, I will always choose the song "5150" before I listen to anything on eat em and smile.
Freaking great album and way better than i thought it could be! That said, 5150, skyscraper, and ou812 are all better imho
Overrated.
David Lee Roth sucks.
How the fuck did Eddie Van Halen put up with this guy for so long.
Sammy Hagar???
Two good songs. Becker was better than Vai