Eat 'Em And Smile 1986 Album

David Lee Roth

This was something that seemed to be a much bigger deal at the time than it is now, but when David Lee Roth split from Van Halen to his own solo career, at least in the mainstream-MTV-music world, shock waves were definitely made. The year before, Dave had released his EP Crazy from the Heat, which featured the glossy videos for "California Girls" and "Just A Gigolo" - plus, there was a rumored movie deal in the works (which eventually fell through) - which meant the competitive stakes between him and his old bandmates were sky high. Dave's response was to get together a crack lineup (Stevie Vai, Billy Sheehan, and Gregg Bissonette) and record Eat 'Em and Smile, a high-octane mix of cutting rockers and torch standards - in other words, not too far removed from his Van Halen days. The interplay between Roth and Vai is different than the relationship between him and Eddie Van Halen; Vai feeds more easily into Roth's slapstick impulses, and overall, he comes off as part of Dave's vast variety show - something you could never accuse Eddie of falling into. But the approach works, especially on the opening "Yankee Rose", which may very well be the funniest song Van Halen never wrote (I especially dig the talking guitar intro), and on big, gusto-filled numbers like the cover of "Tobacco Road" and "Goin' Crazy!".