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==External Links==

* [http://www.vistarecords.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=albumreviewsanddiscussion&action=display&thread=422 Album Review] Review of the album at [http://www.vistarecords.us Vista Records]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/album/eat-em-and-smile-r16991/review Album Review] Review of Eat 'Em And Smile at [http://www.allmusic.com allmusic]
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* [http://ultimateclassicrock.com/david-lee-roth-eat-em-and-smile-classic-album-review/ Review at UltimateClassicRock.com]



==References==
==References==
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{{David Lee Roth}}
{{David Lee Roth}}

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==External links==

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# [http://www.rockpedia.co/david-lee-roth-eat-em-and-smile-1986 Eat 'Em And Smile (1986) Review at Rockpedia.co]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Eat 'Em And Smile}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eat 'Em And Smile}}

Revision as of 15:55, 27 January 2012

Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert Christgau(B+)[2]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[3]
Kerrang![4]

Eat 'Em and Smile is the debut full-length solo album by original Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth, released July 7, 1986.

History

After parting ways with Van Halen under disputed circumstances in 1985, David Lee Roth returned with his first solo LP a year later. Roth had previously released a solo EP of covers called Crazy from the Heat in 1985. However, for the new album, Roth rejected a set of all lounge covers and returned to a rock sound similar to his style with Van Halen. Roth hired as his new backing band three powerhouse musicians, bassist Billy Sheehan (later of Mr. Big), drummer Gregg Bissonette and guitarist Steve Vai who had worked previously with Frank Zappa, PiL and Alcatrazz,[3] and would soon become a successful solo artist in his own right.

The album was a straight-forward hard rock album and was a critical and commercial success, with Rolling Stone, among others, saying nothing on the album was as slick as any of the singles from Van Halen's 5150 album and much more "trashy fun".[3] In a nod to his previous solo effort, there are two lounge songs included, "That's Life" and "I'm Easy". Roth also included a cover of the popular hit "Tobacco Road". The album's first single, "Yankee Rose", was a staple of both MTV and radio, although "Goin' Crazy!" also saw limited radio play.

A version of "Kids in Action", originally by Kim Mitchell (of Max Webster), was also recorded for this album. However, due to time constraints, the song was not included on the release. Billy Sheehan was briefly a member of Max Webster, according to Kim Mitchell: "He was in the band for about three weeks. He was in a band called Talas out of Buffalo and they would come to Toronto and he’d freak us out, he’s just an insane bass player. He loved our music and was a fan of Max Webster, we sort of became friends and when he’d come to town we’d hang out. I said 'Bill, do you want to join the band?' because Mike was leaving the group, and he agreed. So for about three weeks in was in the band and I’ll tell you "High Class in Borrowed Shoes" and "Battle Scar" never sounded better but "Diamonds, Diamonds", you couldn’t have made it sound any worse. He just didn't know how to lay back and be a real soft, sensitive bass player. It was all about this thing that he had which was absolutely incredible, so it didn’t work out. There were no hard feelings and he went on and did really well. I got a call from him one day and he goes 'Hey man I'm in the studio with David Lee Roth, Ted Templeman and Steve Vai and we're covering your tune "Kids in Action" and we need the words to the second verse'. I was shaking on the phone; this was right after Roth left Van Halen. Then at the last minute it got bumped off the record for "Tobacco Road", they thought they needed a cover. See there's those darn covers again." There is no known studio version of Roth's cover available to the public.

This is the first of two Roth albums to feature the duo of Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan on guitar and bass. Throughout the album the two would often sync complicated bass lines together with the lead guitar parts, as on tracks such as "Shyboy" and "Elephant Gun". The album brought Steve Vai into the public eye as a contender with Edward Van Halen,[according to whom?] the previous guitarist who worked with Roth. This album features some of Steve Vai's most prominent guitar work.

Sonrisa Salvaje

Sonrisa Salvaje (literally "Wild Smile") is the Spanish version of Eat 'Em and Smile. According to the Van Halen Encyclopedia, the idea to re-record the album in Spanish was the idea of bassist Billy Sheehan, who had read an article in a magazine which reported that over half the Mexican population was between the ages of 18-27, a prime record buying market.[citation needed] Roth re-cut all his vocals with the help of a Spanish tutor in the studio. He changed around some of the racier lyrics, so as not to offend the more conservative Spanish-speaking population. With the exception of the vocals, the basic music tracks are the same as the "Eat 'Em and Smile" version, with the only exception being "Big Trouble", which ends abruptly as opposed to fading out on the English version.

According to Sheehan, the album wasn't well-received, with many people considering it "gringo Spanish"). Any future Spanish-version ideas were dropped. Sonrisa Salvaje was originally released on vinyl and cassette, but deleted almost immediately; a CD version did not appear until 2007. All of the liner notes on the original release were written in Spanish, except for the copyright notice and the Dolby noise reduction information on the cassette version.

The Spanish versions of "Tobacco Road" and "That's Life" were featured on the TV sitcom My Name is Earl in the episode "South of the Border."

Track listing

  1. "Yankee Rose" (David Lee Roth, Steve Vai) – 3:47
  2. "Shy Boy" (Billy Sheehan) – 3:23
  3. "I'm Easy" (Billy Field, Tom Price) – 2:11
  4. "Ladies' Nite In Buffalo?" (Roth, Vai) – 4:08
  5. "Goin' Crazy!" (Roth, Vai) – 3:11
  6. "Tobacco Road" (John D. Loudermilk) – 2:27
  7. "Elephant Gun" (Roth, Vai) – 2:23
  8. "Big Trouble" (Roth, Vai) – 3:56
  9. "Bump And Grind" (Roth, Vai) – 2:32
  10. "That's Life" (Dean Kay, Kelly Gordon) – 2:29

Sonrisa Salvaje Track listing

  1. "Yankee Rose" (Roth, Vai) – 3:47
  2. "Tímido" (Sheehan) – 3:24
  3. "Soy Fácil" (Billy Field, Tom Price) – 2:15
  4. "Noche De Ronda En La Ciudad" (Roth, Vai) – 3:57
  5. "¡Loco Del Calor!" (Roth, Vai) – 3:08
  6. "La Calle Del Tobaco" (John D. Loudermilk) – 2:30
  7. "Arma De Caza Mayor" (Roth, Vai) – 2:25
  8. "En Busca De Pleito" (Roth, Vai) – 4:01
  9. "Cuánto Frenesi" (Roth, Vai) – 2:30
  10. "Así Es La Vida" (Dean Kay, Kelly Gordon) – 2:45

Personnel

Additional personnel

  • Jeff Bova - keyboards on 1
  • Jesse Harms - keyboards on 5
  • Sammy Figueroa - percussion on 5
  • The Waters Family - backing vocals on 10
  • The Sidney Sharp Stings - strings on 10
  • Jimmie Haskell - horn and string arrangement on 10

Charts

Album[5]

Year Chart Position
1986 The Billboard 200 4

Singles[6]

Year Single Chart Position
1986 "Goin' Crazy" Mainstream Rock Tracks 12
1986 "Goin' Crazy" The Billboard Hot 100 66
1986 "That's Life" The Billboard Hot 100 85
1986 "Tobacco Road" Mainstream Rock Tracks 10
1986 "Yankee Rose" Mainstream Rock Tracks 10
1986 "Yankee Rose" The Billboard Hot 100 16


References

  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "David Lee Roth Eat 'Em and Smile review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Reviews: Eat 'Em and Smile". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  3. ^ a b c Farber, Jim (11 September 1986). "Album Reviews - David Lee Roth Eat 'Em and Smile". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2011-09-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ Dickson, Dave (10 July 1986). "It's the Meal Thing". Kerrang!. Vol. 124. London, UK: United Magazines ltd. pp. 10–11. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ "Eat 'Em and Smile Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  6. ^ "Eat 'Em and Smile Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
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