Best of

David Lee Roth | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B000C65Z4S
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,755,006 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Don't Piss Me Off

2. Yankee Rose

3. A Lil' Ain't Enough

4. Just Like Paradise

5. Big Train

6. Big Trouble

7. It's Showtime!

8. Hot Dog and a Shake

9. Skyscraper

10. Shy Boy

11. She's My Machine

12. Stand Up

13. Tobacco Road

14. Easy Street

15. California Girls

16. Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody

17. Sensible Shoes

18. Goin' Crazy!

19. Ladies' Nite in Buffalo?

20. Land's Edge

Editorial Reviews

Unavailable in the U.S.! Import collection from the former Van Halen frontman featuring the same tracks previously available on the now-deleted 1997 U.S. compilation. Most of Roth's best-known solo tracks are here, including 'California Girls', 'Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody', 'Yankee Rose', 'Ladies Night in Buffalo?', 'Goin' Crazy', 'Skyscraper', 'Just Like Paradise', and 'Stand Up' plus cuts from his under-appreciated albums A Lil' Ain't Enough and Your Filthy Little Mouth. Although Eddie and the Van Halen gang are nowhere to be found, DLR did manage to work with some great sidemen during his solo years including Steve Vai, Edgar Winter, Eddie Martinez, Brett Tuggle, Billy Sheehan, Willie Weeks, Gregg Bissonette, Carl Wilson, Christopher Cross and many others. 20 tracks. Warner. 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gimme a bottle of anything!, April 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Best (Audio CD)

Okay, so the choice is between picking up this collection or the individual albums. No contest. While Eat 'Em is a classic (arguably some of the best music in Dave's career), his career (and singing) afterwards became more and more misguided and off-course. While - for the most part - the essential songs are here, some are missing. And, considering what was chosen instead in some cases, well... Herein are the problems: From Crazy from the Heat: "Coconut Grove" - featuring some of Dave's most affecting singing - is the only song missing from that EP here. Instead, "Easy Street". Blah. Eat 'Em: It would've been fun to have "I'm Easy" or "That's Life". I guess he figured he covered that territory with "Just a Gigolo". Rats. Skyscraper: I'll never figure out why he chose not to include "Damn Good". Especially in favor of the embarrassment "Hot Dog and a Shake". Damn it, Dave, how much grass did you smoke the week you made that decision? The rest is okay aside from "It's Showtime!" (see above). "Sensible Shoes" is outstanding. Where's the cover of "Night Train" from "Filthy"? My other lament is the lack of liner notes...coulda been better, but I guess it's the best we're gonna get.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost gets it right, October 11, 2005

By 

Daniel Maltzman (Arlington, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best (Audio CD)

1997 saw the release of David Lee Roth's first ever compilation, "The Best."

Before leaving Van Halen, David Lee Roth scored a huge hit with his cover EP "Crazy from the Heat" (1985). With a few hit singles under his belt, and unable to get along with the Van Halen brothers, Roth set his sights on a solo career.

Dave's early solo career was good to him. Teaming up with Steve Vai (guitar) and Billy Sheehan (bass), the Diamond One released the classic "Eat `Em and Smile" (1986). And although Dave's solo career started to dewind with "Skyscraper"(1988) it was still a platinum hit.

Commercially speaking, David Lee Roth lived and died in the 80s. The quintessential 80s frontman, who served as the blueprint for all other 80s rockers, simply couldn't find an audience in the 1990s. It's a shame to. Dave's first post Vai/Sheehan album "A Little Ain't Enough," featuring guitarist Jason Becker, is regarded by many of Dave's fans to be his best work. "Your Filthy Little Mouth" (1994), with guitarist Terry Kilgore, is a fine piece of music-one of the most musically diverse and interesting albums I have ever heard. But the album was virtually ignored upon its release.

Because Dave's solo career hit the skids in the early `90s, it would be easy for Rhino to exclude many of Roth's later day solo cuts, thus botch up a Dave's greatest hits. Fortunately, although it is skewed towards the early solo outings, "The Best" does a pretty good job at compiling Dave's best work.

If you are just a casual fan and want only the big hits, "The Best" is all you'd ever need to own and more. "The Best" not only has all of Dave's biggest hits ("Just a Gigolo", "California Girls," "Yankee Rose," "Just Like Paradise"), it also has most essential album cuts from "Eat `Em and Smile" and "Skyscraper." While a case could be made to exclude certain songs in favor of others (why no "Damn Good?"), "The Best" offers a good representation of Roth's early solo material.

Roth's later day material, however, is not as well represented. I can understand why the record label would choose to skew the collection in favoring more songs from the earlier works, which, after all, were far more commercially successful. However, most of the songs selected from "A Little Ain't Enough" and "Your Filthy Little Mouth" are the albums weaker cuts. A lot of great songs-"40 Bellow," "Baby's on Fire," "Sunburn," "Your Breathin' it," from the later day albums would have been preferable to the mediocre "Sensible Shoes" and the okay but not great "Land's Edge," among others.

As another reviewer mentioned, if you are a Dave fan, try to pick up all of his albums. You'll discover a lot of cool material that's not found here. If, however, you're just a casual fan and want only the big hits and best songs from the Vai/Sheehan era, "The Best" should be just what you're looking for.

The songs are not sequenced chronologically. While that may be an irritant to some, I find it makes for a more interesting listen.

The new song, the bluesy "Don't Piss Me Off" is really cool. It is somewhat reminiscent of "Ice Cream Man."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this needs to be put back out great album, November 12, 2004

By 

nelson tavares - See all my reviews

This review is from: Best (Audio CD)

this is a great compilation of david lee roths solo work. This has been put out of print. This album needs to be out back out and marketed the right way. there are great tunes like she`s my machine and a little aint enough that were great rockin tunes. This deserves to be out there for future generations to enjoy