David Lee Roth — Eat ‘Em and Smile

𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐏𝐓𝐒 - 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐊 & 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋…

37 years ago today, David Lee Roth told us to “Eat ‘Em and Smile”!

On this day (July 7) in 1986, former Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth released his first solo full-length studio album, “Eat 'Em and Smile” via Warner Bros. Records, after his unpredicted successful debut EP “Crazy from the Heat” (1985).

Background:

After releasing “Crazy from the Heat”, an EP of lounge standards that became a surprise hit during early 1985, and subsequently parting ways with Van Halen while the band was at its commercial zenith, Roth assembled a new backing band: bassist Billy Sheehan (later of Mr Big); drummer Gregg Bissonette (later of Ringo Starr and Elton John, among others); and guitarist Steve Vai, who had worked previously with Frank Zappa, PiL and Alcatrazz.

Both a critical and commercial success, “Eat 'Em and Smile” was praised by Rolling Stone: "No song on the album was as slick as any of the singles from Van Halen's “5150” album" (which featured Roth's replacement, Sammy Hagar) and also opined that “Eat 'Em and Smile” was much more "trashy fun". Indeed, many of the reviews of “Eat 'Em and Smile” compared it directly with Van Halen's synth-heavy “5150”, often favorably.

The extensive North American “Eat 'Em and Smile Tour” ran from mid-1986 through early 1987.

While there is no evidence of a direct link to Roth, the phrase "Eat ‘Em And Smile" was part of a trademark registered in 1928 by the now-defunct Ward-Owsley Co candy company in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

In 2015 a live concert for the 30th anniversary reunion was planned featuring Vai, Sheehan, Bissonette and keyboardist Brett Tuggle. Initially Michael Starr should have been singing but David Lee Roth at last minute was present at the venue. Due to safety measures and the overwhelmed capacity of the place, the fire marshalls denied it. In the following years it was said that there were tries to do it again but as of 2021 the concert hasn’t taken place.

About the Songs:

In a nod to his hit solo EP, Roth included two lounge song covers on “Eat 'Em and Smile”, "That's Life" which was a minor hit at the end of 1986 and "I'm Easy," plus a cover of John D. Loudermilk's folk-blues classic, "Tobacco Road."

Two of the album's original songs, however, became its biggest hits. "Yankee Rose," a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Statue of Liberty, became an MTV and radio hit, rising into the Billboard Top 20. The would-be theme to Roth's then-planned movie, "Goin' Crazy!" also became an MTV staple that reached #66 on Billboard's Hot 100 in October of 1986.

A version of "Kids in Action", originally by Kim Mitchell (of Max Webster), was also recorded for this album. However, due to time constraints, the song was not included on the release. Billy Sheehan was briefly a member of Max Webster, according to Kim Mitchell:

"He was in the band for about three weeks...[but] it didn’t work out. There were no hard feelings and he went on and did really well. I got a call from him one day and he goes 'Hey man I'm in the studio with David Lee Roth, Ted Templeman and Steve Vai and we're covering your tune "Kids in Action" and we need the words to the second verse'. I was shaking on the phone; this was right after Roth left Van Halen. Then at the last minute it got bumped off the record for "Tobacco Road," they thought they needed a cover. See there's those darn covers again."

There is no known studio version of Roth's cover available to the public.

This was the first of two Roth albums to feature the duo of Steve Vai and Billy Sheehan on guitar and bass respectively. Throughout the album the two would often sync complicated bass lines together with the lead guitar parts, as on tracks such as "Shyboy" and "Elephant Gun."

The album brought Steve Vai into the public eye as a contender with Eddie Van Halen, the previous guitarist who worked with Roth. This album features some of Steve Vai's most prominent guitar work.

Sonrisa Salvaje (Spanish Version of “Eat 'Em and Smile”: “Sonrisa Salvaje” (literally "Wild Smile") is the Spanish-language version of “Eat 'Em and Smile”.

According to the Van Halen Encyclopedia, the idea to re-record the album in Spanish was the idea of bassist Billy Sheehan, who had read an article in a magazine which reported that over half the Mexican population was between the ages of 18–27, a prime record buying market. Roth re-cut all his vocals with the help of a Spanish tutor in the studio. He changed around some of the racier lyrics, so as not to offend the more conservative Spanish-speaking population. With the exception of the vocals, the basic music tracks are the same as the English “Eat 'Em and Smile” version, with the only exception being "Big Trouble", which ends abruptly as opposed to fading out on the English version.

According to Sheehan, the album wasn't well-received, with many people considering it "gringo Spanish". Any future Spanish-version ideas were dropped.

“Sonrisa Salvaje” was originally released on vinyl and cassette, but deleted almost immediately; a CD version did not appear until 2007. All of the liner notes on the original release were written in Spanish, except for the copyright notice and the Dolby noise reduction information on the cassette version.

Critical Reception:

Daniel Brogan of the Chicago Tribune found the album to be a "manic spree" where Steve Vai's "stinging guitar work" is the most appealing component.

Terry Atkinson of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "And the Ted Templeman-produced "Eat 'Em," which stands up well alongside the best Van Halen albums, features the Roth you know: rock's answer to those pop-eyed libidinous wolves of the old Tex Avery cartoons."

“Eat 'Em and Smile” was named "album of the year" by Kerrang! for 1986.

Links to Artists, Albums, and Music Videos:

Click this link to listen to “Eat 'Em and Smile” via Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/eat-em-and-smile/432798268

Click this link to listen to “Eat 'Em and Smile” via Spotify: Eat 'Em and Smile https://open.spotify.com/album/0Ali88C44gQdI065upsgKU

Click this link to watch the official music video for “Goin’ Crazy”: https://youtu.be/tmCU_QtSzWI

Click this link to watch the official music video for “Yankee Rose”: https://youtu.be/RgLWTrWgDTI

Click this link to watch the official music video for “That’s Life”: https://youtu.be/oaqx2YM2FN8

Click this link to follow David Lee Roth on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavidLeeRoth

Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells

David Lee Roth — Eat ‘Em and Smile

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