Eat `Em And Smile (CD)

Given the snowballing success of Van Halen during the early 1980s, many rock fans were shocked when high-kicking frontman David Lee Roth left the band to go solo in 1985. The much-publicized split followed the release of Roth's initial EP, CRAZY FROM THE HEAT, which featured cheeky covers of "California Girls" and "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" and showcased the vocalist's wacky humor. Recruiting a backing band that included guitar ace Steve Vai and bass hero Billy Sheehan, Roth released the full-length EAT 'EM AND SMILE in 1986 just as Van Halen unleashed their first Sammy Hagar-led album, 5150. Although Roth's career slumped after the mid-1980s, the mercurial singer decided to turn the Roth/Hagar rivalry into a profit on a joint 2003 tour...without, of course, the rest of Van Halen.

• Category:  Music  »  Rock & Pop  »  Hard Rock
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: July 7, 1987
• Label: Warner Bros. Records
• UPC: 075992547024
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106708301
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #7950 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #3251 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
• #171 in Hard Rock (See Top 100 Hard Rock Bestsellers)

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Personnel: David Lee Roth (vocals); Steve Vai (guitar); The Sidney Sharp Strings (strings); Jesse Harms (electric piano, keyboards); Jeff Bova (synthesizer); Billy Sheehan (bass, background vocals); Greg Bissonette (drums, background vocals); Sammy Figueroa (percussion); Waters Family (background vocals).

Engineers: Jeff Hendrickson, Lee Herschberg.

Recorded at The Power Station, New York, New York, Can-Am Recorders, Tarzana, California and Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California.

After David Lee Roth's shocking split from Van Halen at the height of the group's popularity, all parties involved resorted to a media-fueled circus of mudslinging. Roth's first post-V.H. project was to be a motion picture (CRAZY FROM THE HEAT) which never got off the ground. But Roth had already assembled a killer solo band, including ex-Frank Zappa guitarist Steve Vai, ex-Talas bassist Billy Sheehan, and ex-Maynard Ferguson drummer Gregg Bissonette, to record songs for the movie's soundtrack. Instead of scrapping the tracks, he incorporated them into his first solo album, 1986's EAT 'EM AND SMILE.

SMILE remains Roth's best solo work. His hard-rocking band sounds as if it's out for blood throughout. Highlights abound, such as the popular singles/videos "Yankee Rose" and "Goin' Crazy," and shredders like "Shy Boy," "Elephant Gun," "Bump and Grind," "Big Trouble," and a cover of "Tobacco Road." To make things even more interesting, Van Halen issued its first post-Roth album, 5150 (with Sammy Hagar taking Roth's vocal spot), just as Roth was releasing EAT 'EM AND SMILE. The two camps' press squabbles spilled over into the charts. Roth and Van Halen slugged it out, and both albums proved to be big sellers.

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