Customer Reviews

Best

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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."

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

As a long time Van Halen fan, I found myself ignoring David Lee Roth after the "Eat 'em and Smile" album. Recently, I happened on a copy of "A Little Ain't Enough" and found it a lot closer to the the Van Halen of yore than the VH III debacle. I found myself catching up on all of the releases since "eat 'em" and realizing that the man has continued to make some great straight forward rock through out the years. I had made myself a burn of what I considered to be some of the best of David Lee just prior to the release of this disk and was more aligned with the song selection than I typically am with "Best Of's". Like always, there are great songs that are left out and some that should have been, but if you're looking for a good career overview this might be a good place to start!! Or if you've ignored David since VH like I have, this collection might make you realize what you've been missing.

This 1997 Rhino compilation contains 3 tracks from the 1985 E.P. Crazy from the Heat, 6 tracks from 1986's Eat 'em and Smile, 4 tracks from 1988's Skyscraper, 3 tracks from 1991's vastly underrated A Little Ain't Enough, 3 tracks from 1994's highly eclectic Your Filthy Little Mouth in addition to a new 1997 studio track recorded specifically for this compilation.

All of the singles are here and their respective chart listings are detailed in the liner notes in addition to lyrics being provided as well (in addition to some great vintage photos).

While a lot of other reviewers on here lament that one song was put in favor of another track instead of another off of a particular release, keep in mind that only so much can be crammed onto a 80 minutes CD (this CD clocks in at close to 78 minutes in length).

The new studio track entitled "Don't P*ss Me Off" is actually really fun & bluesy.

Since this only covers 3 full length releases & one 4 song E.P., there's also a good amount of album cuts as well that weren't released as singles.

The 3 tracks off of 1994's commercial disaster Your Filthy Little Mouth are the more rock sounding singles as that album covered the entire musical map in terms of genres.

Another added plus to this collection is that all of the tracks are remastered. Of course, the ones that benefit the most from this are the songs from 1985, 1986 and 1988 as they benefit from the added clarity & thump that these new remasters offer.

Anyone just wanting a great overview of Dave's 1985 to 1997 solo career (he has come out with 2 more solo albums since then in addition to an awful bluegrass Van Halen tribute album(!)) would do wise to pick this up.

It is truly a great collection of music.

Let me disclose my bias from the outset: I think the DLR Van Halen is the ONLY Van Halen, and I consider Roth to be as engaging a frontman and as clever a songwriter as anyone in rock -- much more so, in fact. Compare any DLR song to the lyrics of a Van Hagar song and you'll easily see where the style and sophistication lie.

I've also purchased all of DLR's solo albums. They've been received progressively less enthusiastically over time, from the huge hit of Eat 'Em and Smile to the tepid reaction to Your Filthy Little Mouth. Each, I feel, has strong and weak tracks, like any other album; but none have deserved the whacks that uppity critics have gleefully doled out. Roth is clearly the whipping boy of the rock critics' world; it's a given that they'll hate anything he puts out (while, astonishingly, they lavish praise on Van Halen's latest drivel). So for fans of the Diamond One, it was welcome to see a Best-of comp released which showcased much of Roth's best ! work.

The real gem of the collection, in my mind, isn't one of the old classics but the new song, "Don't Piss Me Off." I've long believed that Roth was strongest when staying well within his (admittedly limited) range and emphasizing his style -- which, in his case, is his substance. This is illustrated perfectly on the opening track; it is also in evidence on "Sensible Shoes."

Songs in which Roth tries to exceed his range fare poorly, and this is demonstrated by the curious inclusion here of some of his weaker efforts, including "Big Train" and "It's Showtime!" Thankfully, these are two of the better tracks in that vein, and do not substantially lessen the effectiveness of the collection.

My only complaint is that, in my opinion, some of his best songs are not on this CD. Of course, everyone has their own favorites, and not every song can make the list, but it is distressing that weaker cuts are featured while better ones ar! e not. For example, Roth's covers of "That's Life&quo! t; and "I'm Easy" from Eat 'Em and Smile are far better songs than "Big Trouble." The sublime "Damn Good" was by far the best track on the excellent Skyscraper, but did not make the cut (although the weaker "Hot Dog and a Shake" did). "Time to Tell the Truth" was left out in favor of "It's Showtime" off of A Little Ain't Enough. The strongest cut from Your Filthy Little Mouth is probably "You Never Know," but it lost out to the extremely weak "Land's Edge."

Anyway, maybe DLR will put out "Second Best" one day, and some of the other great songs will make that compilation. Meanwhile, you'll enjoy "The Best."

I'm not going to write paragraph after paragraph about this album. The songs speak for themselves. I love listening to this album over and over. It will always put you in a good mood even if your not a fan of the Diamond One. The short and sweet review is that this album is good beginning to end. Purchasing Skyscraper along with this album is a must, at that point you will own the best of DLR.

Three of my favorite DLR tunes are missing from this collection: "That's Life," "Damn Good," and "Two Fools Born a Minute." That's why it only gets three stars from me. Otherwise, a very good collection from DLR. I'll just have to buy the albums.

David Lee Roth solo for the most part is very hit or miss!! I think they did a great job at picking the tracks for this one. Worth having if not for a laugh or two. Dave will always be remembered for Van Halen. A few choice cuts will make this CD worth the money.

Twenty track compilation of David Lee Roth's better solo material.Good,but I still prefer the tunes from the first six Van Halen lp's.As I saw him the last time he was out on a major U.S. tour with Sammy Hagar,the ultimate 'Heavyweight Champions of Rock&Roll' and I was SO sorry to hear THAT tour would NEVER likely take place again.That very show brought back SO many precious summer time memories for me.As I,personally believe the main thing Roth has GOING for him,is that he could still draw a decent crowd by performing a set of nearly two dozen of Van Halen's best cuts like he had done on the 'Heavyweight...' trek.Tracks here that most fans would likely take note of include "Yankee Rose","Just Like Paradise"(love watching that old Mtv video),"Hot Dog And A Shake","Shyboy",his cover of the Nashville Teen's "Tobacco Road","Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" and of course "Goin' Crazy".Quick footnote:heard about a recent CD that the notorious DLR had done,where he covers VH gems in a bluegrass style.I caught him on a late night TV talk show where he performed a bluegrass version of "Running With The Devil".Mr.Roth,some friendly advise,PLEASE make this to be but a short phase of your career.PLEASE!The general public won't likely take to this well.PLEASE get out on tour and do shows like you had done co-headlining with Sammy a few summers ago.Thanks for listening.