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1/15/91
David Lee Roth releases A Little Ain't Enough. David Lee Roth's third full-length solo album after his departure from Van Halen. It began its 19-week run on the charts on 2/02/91 (U.S.) and 1/26/91 (U.K.). It reached its highest chart position on 2/16/91 at U.S. #18 and 1/26/91 at U.K. #4. Tracks: • A Lil' Ain't Enough • Shoot It • Lady Luck • Hammerhead Shark • Tell the Truth • Baby's on Fire • 40 Below • Sensible Shoes • Last Call • The Dogtown Shuffle • It's Showtime! • Drop in the Bucket. Rumors surrounded the auditions for the album. People wondered who would be the next in a line of guitar heroes to play for Dave. Jason Becker, one of the little-known guitarists in Cacophony (Marty Friedman, later of Megadeth, was the other), sent in a demo tape that included "Hot for Teacher," "Skyscraper," and "Panama." He was asked to audition in person. He performed "Hot for Teacher," "Panama," "Just a Gigolo," "Yankee Rose," as well as some new songs and won the nod to fill the slot. At first Dave and the band stayed at a luxury hotel while recording in Vancouver, British Columbia. However, when he noticed how other bands staying at the same hotel were being pampered, Dave insisted that his band stay at the worst hotel possible while recording the album (Dave's room cost $15 per night). Dave felt that it would give the album a harder edge. The original name of the album was Cut 'n Out, but some thought the artwork on the cover, a devil with scissors positioned in a precarious way, was a little too suggestive. Bob Rock produced the album after having just completed Metallica's self-titled album. The album was recorded at Little Mountain Studios where AC/DC was recording next door with producer Bruce Fairbairn. Angus Young inspired at least one solo, on the song "Last Call." Jason was asked to contribute any new material he had written, so he presented "Drop in the Bucket" and "It's Showtime!," which ended the album. Rob Nevil (Nevil Brothers) and Craig Goldy (Dio) were also used as songwriters on the album. Steve Hunter, referred to Roth by Becker, was brought in to play slide guitar. Dave built huge climbing walls in the studio so he could enjoy his rock climbing hobby while working on the album. Shortly after recording the album, Jason Becker's health took a turn for the worse as a result of ALS. Though he had been experiencing symptoms before the recording of the album, the symptoms got worse and he could not to tour with Dave. The year 1991 was a notorious one for bad concert turnouts. Dave suffered from this. Even though his show offered Extreme and Cinderella as opening acts, it wasn't enough, and ticket prices were slashed. Eventually, the tour was cut short. Videos from this album included "A Lil' Ain't Enough," "Sensible Shoes," and "Tell the Truth." Dave really went all out for the first video, "A Lil' Ain't Enough." It featured close to 90 women (in various states of undress), eight little people, a huge wall of Marshall amps (later recreated on the tour), and a remix of the song. Dave once commented that much of the video's script was improvised, including his idea of filming himself being massaged by five Asian women. Soon after the video's debut, Dave hosted a segment on MTV wearing the same high suspenders shown in the video. Dave also commented about the ending of the video, which shows him on October 10, 2021 during his final tour. He is shown as an old, fat, spandex-clad cowboy. According to Roth this is not what he expects of himself, but what others expect of him - to die like Elvis. The video for "Sensible Shoes" was much more low-key. It was filmed entirely in black and white and included only a few of Dave's trademark women. The women in this video were later featured in a cable special about how women are portrayed in rock videos. The video for "Tell the Truth" featured live footage from the 1991 A Little Ain't Enough tour. It was also filmed entirely in black and white. This is the only video from this album in which other members of the band are shown. The tour featured Joe Holmes (who later went on to replace Zakk Wylde in Ozzy Osbourne) and Dezi Rexx of D'Molls fame. Rexx was fired shortly after the tour began. He never stated why he was fired but later teamed with Danny Johnson of Private Life (who replaced Steve Vai in Alcatrazz) to work on a demo produced by Andy Johns (who had just finished producing Van Halen's F.U.C.K. album).
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Originally Posted by DLR Bridge
