Pick Ten of your favorite Roth solo songs in order.

[DONNIEP]

I think I still agree with myself on this, but I might put Shoo Bop in there instead of Hina, just cause I was listening to that the other day. And it's not really for Dave: Beyoung, James and Ray were grooving big time on that track.

That was a great fucking band!!!

[VHscraps]

Because I can't rank them, here's my top ten Roth tunes in alphabetical order ...

Big Train - should be a show opener, even now (especially with the train on the album cover). A great vocal and lyric from Dave - one of his best ever.

Coconut Grove - an atmospheric reworking of a fine Lovin' Spoonful tune that doesn't stray too far from the original, but suits the timbre of DLR's voice

Easy Street - he never wrote it, but it is pure Dave. Strip club music. Dave sounds like he's singing in the shower just as he's getting ready to go out for a night on the town.

Hot Dog and a Shake - it kicks ass, even though it's obvious Mr. Vai was allowed to much plank-spanking time in his goddam Stucco Blue studios. Look at the credits - all the guitar parts were cut in his own kitchen, or whatever his studio amounted to back then). Not a single tune on this album was recorded by a band in one room at the same time. Not that there's necessary anything wrong with that in itself - it will just never be WACF-type of REAL. Still, no griping - it's good.

Just Like Paradise - yeah, it's pop fluff. But they still play it on the radio, and it still leaps out with an awesome sense of Daveness amongst whatever else they are playing. Writing a durable tune is not that easy.

Ladies Night in Buffalo - cool and restrained, and probably the only time you could say that about Vai (apart from his PiL session work)

Shoot It - the Daveness is evident right until the awesome fadeout line, 'it looks absolutely fantabulous from over here, baby'.

Sunburn - another tune that suits Dave's deeper voice. Notice all the tunes from YFLM? Yep, Dave's best album.

Tobacco Road - a raucous reworking and vast improvement on ANY other version of this tune, ever - and with a damn great vocal arrangement (Dave and Ted's work?)

You're Breathin' It - it swings. A bit Aerosmithy, maybe? It wasn't until I listened to the Urban NYC mix that I realised that the chorus is pretty funky.

[damngoodtimes]

That was a great fucking band!!!

Yep. I wish they had made an album of originals. There was plenty of time for it, but Dave's heart wasn't in it. It was VH or the grave....

[Yount]

The only sad thing about Dave back in VH is the great solo stuff he won't do live. I was listening to the Milan '88 show, the '02 Japan (not sure of city) show and a lil bit of '95 Vegas and it's really great stuff. The '88 show is great for an 80's show. High energy and danceable tunes. Surely the hottest chicks went to the Skyscraper shows and not Poison and White Snake, geez, those ballads would kill. Dave did "Wake up little Suzie" and "I've just seen a face" and they were heartfelt. He didn't need no shitty buzz kill ballad. S'pose Damn Good was closest too but at least those lyrics are cool enough to sing and laugh along to.

My fave solo DLR song atm is Tin Cup Chalice (Live on KC radio!)

[Yount]

Sunburn.

Last summer (Feb '12) I remember sitting in the hot afternoon sun, had a lil greeinspiration and of course a bottle of red listening to the cricket (test match please) and then YFLM and this song, looking up at the powerlines with the magpies perched da da da da da da da. My 90's were spent mostly in high school, discovering DLR and VH and carving my identity and sense of humour from albums like YFLM and Crazy from the heat. Here's to the memories!

[chuckjitsu]

This proved to be more difficult than I thought it would! In no particular order:

Big Train
Sunburn
Yankee Rose
Shyboy
Damn Good
Stand Up
A Lil Ain't Enough
Sensible Shoes
Counter Blast
King of the Hill

[jero]

Showtime
Hina
Drop in the bucket
Yankee Rose
YFLM
Ladies night in Buffalo
Shy Boy
Skyscraper
That's life
two fools

[jero]

encore: Hot dog and a shake (love the solo)

[VanHalenI]

No Big 'Ting
It's Showtime
Night Life
Yankee Rose
Slam Dunk!
Big Trouble
A Lil Ain't Enough
Just Like Paradise
Sensible Shoes
California Girls

[Lose The Dress]

Mine changes all the time, but currently:

1. A Lil' Ain't Enough
2. Big Trouble
3. It's Showtime!
4. Ladies Nite in Buffalo
5. Knucklebones
6. Bump N Grind
7. Yankee Rose
8. Wa Wa Zat
9. Damn Good
10. Hot Dog And A Shake

[katina]

I cannot make a list, I would change it everyday, and I really agree with your words.

The only sad thing about Dave back in VH is the great solo stuff he won't do live.

[DLR Bridge]

Ladies Night in Buffalo
Goin' Crazy
Damn Good
Stay While The Night is Young
Sunburn
Big Train
Coconut Grove
Baby's On Fire
Big Trouble
She's My Machine

Not at all easy to whittle down to ten.

[Junglestud]

1. Yankee Rose
2 Filthy little Mouth
3. Hammerhead Shark
4. Just Like Paradise
5. 40 Below
6. Big Train
7. Weekend With the Babysitter
8. Loss the Dress
9. Elephant Gun
10. Experience

[BumBahDeeDah]

Van Halen should do Black Sand. They did songs from their other lead singer's solo career. They never will, but it would be great....

I like this thread, by the way.

[DLR Bridge]

I agree that solo Dave material should be considered, but I don't know that Black Sand would work live. It's predominantly acoustic and Dave is whispering through it. I think as a nice homage to Jason Becker, they should do A Little Ain't Enough or It's Showtime. I also think that VH would do a great version of Flex.

[Seshmeister]

I also think that VH would do a great version of Flex.

I think that Honeybabysweetiedoll is the Van Halen interpretation of Flex.

[degüello]

1 Big Trouble
2 Hina
3 Damn Good
3 Skyscraper
4 Ladies Night In Buffalo
5 Bump n Grind

I love Dave, but I am more of a VH fan.

[BumBahDeeDah]

I agree that solo Dave material should be considered, but I don't know that Black Sand would work live. It's predominantly acoustic and Dave is whispering through it. I think as a nice homage to Jason Becker, they should do A Little Ain't Enough or It's Showtime. I also think that VH would do a great version of Flex.

I think that they could make a spot for it, and the audience would feel the vibe. I also think that they can make it their own most of the audience wouldn't even know that that wasn't a Van Halen song, sorta like a lot of the audience didn't know that Shy Boy wasn't a David Lee Roth song way back when.

And I have to disagree a little bit with you about an homage to Jason Becker. I think Drop in the Bucket would be better, since he wrote it and kicked ass on it. I always felt that A Little Aint Enough is what you would present to David Lee Roth because it had a feel to it that you would think was Diamond Dave if you only heard Jump 1000 times on the radio.

[DLR Bridge]

Kinda why I picked that one. Was taking into account their penchant for appealing to the casual fans (save a few rare oldies this last tour).

I thought, at one point, a mid-set acoustic thing would be cool, but only if they were doing longer shows. If they prefer to keep it tight and lean, I say don't fuck with the momentum.

[BumBahDeeDah]

Kinda why I picked that one. Was taking into account their penchant for appealing to the casual fans (save a few rare oldies this last tour).

I thought, at one point, a mid-set acoustic thing would be cool, but only if they were doing longer shows. If they prefer to keep it tight and lean, I say don't fuck with the momentum.

I could see some cool arrangement of 3:16, Black Sand, Spanish Fly or whatever, then Stay Frosty and back into the hard stuff. Eddie can do his loud solo elsewhere in the show. Hah. One can wish.

[RedZoneD25]

1. Ladies Nite in Buffalo?
2. Damn Good
3. A Little Ain't Enough
4. Big Trouble
5. It's Showtime
6. Shyboy
7. Hina
8. Goin' Crazy
9. The Bottom Line
10. Tobacco Road

[GreenBayLA]

Been grooving on Mississippi Power all week.
Did a search and here I am, sorry I'm late to the party...
Wow, hard to pick just ten tunes!

DLR Top Ten in chronological order:
Ladies Night in Buffalo?- all time DLR fave, the bass grooves
Tobacco Rose -rocks
Just Like Paradice - fun
Knucklebones - sonic
Lady Luck - tasty licks
Tell The Truth - smoky ballad
The Dogtown Shuffle - in the pocket
Mississippi Power - voodoo blooz
Wa Wa Zat!! -hits you up side da head
Shoo Bop - dance!

Is Mississippi Power about moonshine or something darker like voodoo or deal with the devil?
Also anybody know who the rapper on No Big Ting is? Nile Rodgers? Err no?

[Seshmeister]

Is Mississippi Power about moonshine or something darker like voodoo or deal with the devil?
Also anybody know who the rapper on No Big Ting is? Nile Rodgers? Err no?

Pretty sure Mississippi Power is a sell your soul deal with the devil thing like the Crossroads movie. It was only ever a B side or a bonus track on import.

There is an amazing lack of info about the reggae/rap at the start of No Big Ting, my memory is that there is a credit on the album sleeve but I can't be bothered to try and dig it out. Like a lot of more obscure stuff a Google search sends you back to this forum.

http://www.rotharmy.com/forums/showt...-all-Roth-fans

[GreenBayLA]

Thanks Sesh... I don't have my copy of YFLM anymore. Hey where is your top ten DLR list?

Don't know if you're a fan but I heard a podcast recently with Dan McCafferty taking about Nazareth and his new solo album The Last Testament.
More on the mellow side but his voice still sounds strong.

[Seshmeister]

Probably one of the biggest hard rock bands to come out of these parts but they were a little bit before my time.

Glad they are still going though in some form.

[Rikk]

1) SENSIBLE SHOES - I remember many, many years ago explaining to POJO why this is Dave's shining moment...I explained it so well...so much better than I could now. And...he got it. There was no debate necessary.
2) DAMN GOOD - Gives me goosebumps. Still.
3) SHYBOY - It rocks harder than even a lot of prime VH stuff. It's intense. It is primal.
4) LITTLE TEXAS - The highlight of the excellent DLR BAND album. This album represents my summer of 1998.
5) YANKEE ROSE - This is Dave's JUMP. It's one of the catchiest things ever written.
6) LOSE THE DRESS (KEEP THE SHOES) - This is just classic. Love the riff. And Dave is struttin' 'n' swaggerin'.
7) IT'S SHOWTIME! - I remember discovering this and thinking it was like an outtake from FAIR WARNING or something. It solidifies the Jason Becker tragedy like nothing else could.
8) JUST LIKE PARADISE - I know some people can't stand it. The arpeggio'd keyboard bit on the chorus is pure pop songwriting magic. The a capalla part...
9) BIG TRAIN - It's Dave...but with horns...in a good way. It's Dave's James Brown moment.
10) BLACK SAND - DLR BAND. Again, MY summer of '98. This song is the ultimate recreational drug song. I just realized...I'm not sure if I ever listened to this on a beach. I should. (I've listened to it on a boat with a drink in my hand.)

[Terry]

1) SENSIBLE SHOES - I remember many, many years ago explaining to POJO why this is Dave's shining moment...I explained it so well...so much better than I could now. And...he got it. There was no debate necessary.
2) DAMN GOOD - Gives me goosebumps. Still.
3) SHYBOY - It rocks harder than even a lot of prime VH stuff. It's intense. It is primal.
4) LITTLE TEXAS - The highlight of the excellent DLR BAND album. This album represents my summer of 1998.
5) YANKEE ROSE - This is Dave's JUMP. It's one of the catchiest things ever written.
6) LOSE THE DRESS (KEEP THE SHOES) - This is just classic. Love the riff. And Dave is struttin' 'n' swaggerin'.
7) IT'S SHOWTIME! - I remember discovering this and thinking it was like an outtake from FAIR WARNING or something. It solidifies the Jason Becker tragedy like nothing else could.
8) JUST LIKE PARADISE - I know some people can't stand it. The arpeggio'd keyboard bit on the chorus is pure pop songwriting magic. The a capalla part...
9) BIG TRAIN - It's Dave...but with horns...in a good way. It's Dave's James Brown moment.
10) BLACK SAND - DLR BAND. Again, MY summer of '98. This song is the ultimate recreational drug song. I just realized...I'm not sure if I ever listened to this on a beach. I should. (I've listened to it on a boat with a drink in my hand.)

You know...it's been so long since I've heard SENSIBLE SHOES...am slightly embarrassed to say I had forgotten about it.

[Seshmeister]

#1 is maybe a bit of a stretch but out of the half dozen Roth solo songs with that vibe it's the best.

I used to think I would go for Damn Good at the climax of my funeral but over the years I've changed that to On Fire.

[Jérôme Frenchise]

#1 is maybe a bit of a stretch but out of the half dozen Roth solo songs with that vibe it's the best.

I used to think I would go for Damn Good at the climax of my funeral but over the years I've changed that to On Fire.

So you have opted for cremation.

[if6was9]

1. Just A Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody


2. Damn Good
3. Yankee Rose
4. Ladies' Nite in Buffalo?
5. Hina
6. Just Like Paradise
7. Experience
8. If 6 Was 9

11 years later and 1 missing album later (DLR Band):

1. Just A Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody
2. Relentless
3. Damn Good
4. Yankee Rose
5. Weekend With the Babysitter
6. Ladies' Nite in Buffalo?
7. Hina
8. Right Tool for the Job
9. Just Like Paradise
10. Experience

[Seshmeister]

Some things like an amoeba, Neal Young or the this forum, never change.

[sonrisa salvaje]

I see Lady Luck here and there but that song doesn't get enough run IMO. I think it is one of the best songs on ALAE. Where is the love?

[Funkmonkey]

Some things like an amoeba, Neal Young or the this forum, never change.

And Keith Richards.