It’sTHE WEEK OF SINGLES!Each day this week I’ll be bringing you reviews and images of a recent CD or vinyl single acquisition. Craig Feepicked this up for me at Jerry’s Recordsin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
DAVID LEE ROTH – “Stand Up” (1988 Warner promo 12″ remix single)
I had no idea this even existed! Craig found this one knowing it was something that I would find very interesting. Indeed! Promo discs sometimes do have exclusive bonus material on them, although most do not. I generally only value a promo disc if it has some kind of rare versions on it. This David Lee Roth 12″ has two exclusive remixes that I’ve never heard, nor heard of, before. Both exceed 7 minutes. These mixes were probably done in an attempt to get the song “Stand Up” played in dance clubs, a fairly common practice. Aerosmith, for example have many such remixes, released on commercial singles.
“Stand Up” is a good choice from the Skyscraper album for such an attempt. It was already the most pop and dance-like of the 10 tracks. These remixes were done by François Kevorkian, a name that made me chuckle a bit at first. Craig however immediately recognized the name, and told me that he’s actually a well known mixer. His name can be found on the credits of Depeche Mode’s Violator and Kraftwerk’s Electric Café albums, among others.
I’ve always said that remixes aren’t my thing, but I actually like these two versions of “Stand Up”. They are both similar in style, but have traits in common. They both have a similar sparse style that brings forward isolated elements of the mix to the forefront. There are some vocals here that you probably haven’t heard before, because they were never that prominent. Same with Steve Vai’s lead and rhythm guitar, which is actually used generously in these remixes. I’m not a big fan of dance-y rhythms, but it works on “Stand Up”.
The two remixes are the “Swank Remix (E.Z. To Swallow)” and “Extended Edit (The Long 1!)”. These unbearably annoying names had me expecting the worst, but I find this single to be quite listenable. I kind of like them actually. Bonus: the so-called “extended edit” has plenty of cowbell. Cheers to François Kevorkian!
My pal Craig Feehas returned from Jerry’s Records in Pittsburgh with a bag full of goodies for me!
Craig strongly recommended a two to three day stay at Jerry’s Records should I ever find myself in Pittsburgh. That’s how much vinyl they have. He also told me that they had a whack of old Van Halen picture sleeves. I said cool, bring ’em back to me! So he did, every single one that they had. He also picked up a promo Helix 12″ single for “Wild in the Streets” on red vinyl! That and some Triumph 12″ promos, plus a surprise that I think tops them up. I think the real treasure may be David Lee Roth’s “Stand Up”, from Skyscraper — a 12″ remix vinyl single that I was previously unaware of! Pretty exciting huh? Additionally, the Van Halen “Best of Both Worlds” contains the live version from the Live Without A Net video on the B-side.
Total expenditure? $45 bones. Craig is a great shopper. Thanks man!
All of these will come in handy in the future, because they coincide with a couple different series ideas that I was already going to work on. Now, those series will be even cooler. Stay tuned.
One can indeed judge a book by its cover. David Lee Roth is hands-on with every aspect of his product, be it a photo shoot, a recording session, or an interview. He must have known his Diamond Dave album was crap, so he made a terrible cover to match it. Check out the tan, that wig and them pants! (Also notice: furry walls!)
This album, following up another aborted Van Halen reunion and the surprisingly powerful album DLR Band, switches gears and shows Dave’s “multi-faceted side”. Sure, we all know Dave likes disco, jazz, blues, showtunes, and standards. It’s Dave doing what he did very successfully on Crazy From the Heat, and trying to do so again. To make an album of this stuff would be fine, but Diamond Dave lacks any sort of zap. At all. It’s just one “who cares” cover after another, a couple crappy originals, and a Van Halen tune.
Dave’s voice just doesn’t generate the heat it once did, and all of Diamond Dave suffers for it. The way Van Halen did A Different Kind of Truth used a lot of production on Dave. Here, Roth is a whimper, a wheeze, a breathless gasp at the greatness that once was. To listen to this album in one sitting is an exersize in stamina. I know because I’ve done it.
Positives: Instrumental moments on the Steve Miller cover “Shoo Bop”. The ace rhythm section of LoMenzo and Luzier are complimented by a guitarist named Brian Young who is shit-hot on this. Then Dave goes all dance-y on it…ugh. “She’s Looking Good” is old-school and well done.
The indigestible: The Doors’ “Soul Kitchen”. Nobody needs to cover the Doors; Dave makes them sound like Smash Mouth. Hendrix’ “If 6 Was 9” has too much of Dave’s boring talking voice, but not enough crooning. His cover of the otherwise excellent Beatles number “Tomorrow Never Knows” (which he actually had the audicity to rename “That Beatles Tune”!?) sucks all the life and innovation out of a great song, as he wheezes to the finish line. This is by far the worst song, even though he also covers “Let It All Hang Out”.
There is only one number here worth owning, which is his Las Vegas version of “Ice Cream Man”. He did this shortly after Your Filthy Little Mouth with Edgar Winter, Omar Hakim, Greg Phillinganes, and Nile Rodgers! According to Dave’s autobiography Crazy From the Heat, this was recorded in a live in a video shoot. The video was never released, but the audio finally was. It lives up to the hype if not the wait.
Decide what you are willing to pay for one or two songs, and buy accordingly.
DAVID LEE ROTH / DLR BAND: DLR Band (1998 wawazat!!)
In 1998, David Lee Roth was angry. He’d been conned by Van Halen into appearing on the MTV awards with them to promote their new greatest hits, and implying that Dave was back. Dave was not back. Van Halen released the derided Van Halen III with Gary Cherone earlier in ’98, while Dave sat back waiting to unleash the DLR Band.
The DLR Band consisted of Dave himself on vocals, John 5 (yes, the John 5) and Terry Kilgore on guitar, and Ray Luzier on drums. Of course, today John 5 is well known for his work with Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, and Ray Luzier is in Korn. Terry Kilgore had been working with Dave since 1994’s Your Filthy Little Mouth. Cover art was simple, a picture of Bettie Page over an American flag and no real indication that this was David Lee Roth. A lot of stores didn’t know either, and filed it under “DLR Band” instead of Roth, guaranteeing lack of sales.
So this was one smokin’ band, and with John 5 on board, a hot guitarist to rival the flaming fingers of St. Eddie. John 5 sounds to me like a cross between Van Halen, Steve Stevens and Tom Morello. For the bluesier sounds on the album, Terry Kilgore’s strat aptly filled the gaps. And that basically sums up the album. It goes from bluesier grooves such as “Lose The Dress (Keep The Shoes)” to space-age fast-paced VH shuffles like “Slam Dunk!” Additional guitar and writing is supplied by Mike Hartman.
Dave’s not as poetic on the lyrics this time, with “Counter-Blast” being particularly bad. I can’t think of one good song about the internet, and this is no exception. “I’m gonna fax you into the atom age”? “Your page or mine”? Sorry Dave. Stick with what you know. Hot cars, girls, a drink and some philosophy of life.
Highlights for me are many. On the faster, space-age side are “Slam Dunk!”, “Relentless”, and the aforementioned “Counter-Blast” which is great musically. On the groovier, sleezier side are “Wa Wa Zat!!”, “Weekend With The Babysitter”, and “Lose The Dress (Keep The Shoes)”. The album ends with “Black Sand”, an atmospheric sunset-stained journey. But really, there are no lowlights on this album of strong rock songs. No ballads.
The sound of the album is crisp and tight, recorded in just 10 days like the Van Halen albums of old. No gloss, no flourishes, no flashy production except in John 5’s guitars. Where this album differs most from Van Halen classics is Dave’s voice. On the old albums, Dave could hide his voice’s weaknesses behind Mike and Ed’s backing vocals. Here, Dave’s voice is naked, sometimes flat, sometimes sharp, sometimes wheezing.
Having said that, I still recommend DLR band to fans of Roth who love that attitude and hot guitar. However, if you’re expecting the man to sing like he’s 25 again, best to stick to the old albums.
Musically, I can find very little fault with this collection. How can I? When you think about it, musically Van Halen are above reproach. In the 1970’s, they were without equal. No other band could boast such a series of excellent albums, a charismatic and innovative frontman like Dave Lee Roth, or (obviously) a unique guitar mutilator like Edward Van Halen. Van Halen defined the term “party rock”, but they also rocked with intelligence. They combined challenging arrangements with near-impossible guitar work, clever lyrics, an excellent image, musical influences dating back to the 1920’s, and music heavier than that of many of their rivals.
So how could this compilation possibly fail if the music is that strong? This album is completedly torpedoed by the sequencing of the songs. That factor alone makes The Best Of Both Worlds a struggle to listen to. There seems to be a notable effort to downplay David Lee Roth’s contributions in favor of Sammy Hagar’s overall.
By song selection, on paper this album looks good. However upon one listen you will realize what works and what doesn’t. Kicking off the album with Eddie’s groundbreaking solo “Eruption” seems like a good idea at first. It serves to remind the listener right from the beginning why Eddie is considered one of the best, if not the very best, guitar player of all time. His sound is warm and “brown” and he creates noises that nobody had ever heard before….
…But “Eruption” is followed by the first of the new Sammy singles, “It’s About Time”. Trying to glue “Eruption” to a new song just doesn’t work. A Dave song would have sounded much more natural. It is a jarring transition, and it gives me the impression that Van Halen is trying to up-sell the Sammy Hagar period in some way. The overall effect is an album that is has absolutely no cohesion.
Thank God this wasn’t the final tour…
There are always new songs to hype a compilation like this. “It’s About Time” is the strongest of the three, all of which are Van Hagar. It is as close to upbeat as they were likely to get, with all the personal strife going on. The lyrics are pretty obviously about the return of Sammy Hagar. But something sounds wrong, something sounds un-Halen. The missing ingredient is bassist Michael Anthony, who did not play bass, nor write, nor sing background vocals on these songs. Without Anthony, you can tell something is missing. (You’ll notice how far back he is in the group photo, too.) The other two songs, “Up For Breakfast” (dumb title, dumb lyrics) and “Learning To See” (A musical attempt at being dramatic and wise) are nothing to write home about.
Then we begin juxtaposing Dave songs with Sammy songs, one after the other, for nearly the entire remainder of the album. Folks, taken on their own, each one of these tracks is a hit…but playing the album, this doesn’t sound good in the speakers! Sammy-era Halen was a different beast from Diamond Dave. Sammy’s poppier, from a completely different and more mainstream point of view. Without beating this point into the ground, for one example, take a look at the tracklist: Sam’s “Dreams” is squeezed in between Dave’s “You Really Got Me” and “Hot For Teacher”! The only time this sequencing really works is when “Jump” is followed by “Top Of The World”. The songs traditionally follow each other in concert because they share the same riff. Listen to the outro of “Jump”. It is the main riff to “Top Of The World”.
I asked Craig Fee for his opinion on these shenanigans, and he had this to say:
When I saw this arrive on my desk as a promo, I was confused. Why would you mix Diamond Dave tracks with a bunch of wanky new Sammy songs? What would possess anyone to include the Red Rocker singing Dave’s material in concert and not have a single DLR live cut?
My feeling is that this is a ripoff move in order to hammer home the fact that Van Hagar were touring! They make sure to mention this in the liner notes. It’s an unfortunate but fairly common practice, and a sure sign of record company meddling.
Had they devoted 1 disc to each ‘era,’ I don’t think it would’ve pissed me off as much as this one did. And where the fuck is Gary?! More importantly — why are we, the die-hard Van Halen fans — continually starved for live material from the 1978-84 era?
One star. For the album art.
The album rocks and rolls along, Dave then Sam, Dave then Sam, until the end when you are presented with the live tracks. As Craig said, all are Van Hagar, previously released on Live: Right Here, Right Now. I’m sick of that album. It’s been mined endlessly for B-sides, and all three songs appear elsewhere on this album in their original DLR studio versions! Much like the album openers, these close the disc rather weakly.
Craig is right about being starved for classic 1978-1984 live material. Even assuming the Van Halens remove that particular pickle from their behinds, they didn’t have to recycle old Van Hagar live stuff. The wasted CD space could have been used to give this album a more well-rounded feel, covering Van Halen’s whole career. The compilation covers 1978-1995, and then skips ahead to 2004 with the three new songs. Excluded are cool singles from the lost period, like “Me Wise Magic”, “Humans Being” and “Without You” (from Van Halen 3with Gary Cherone). Or, they could have just put more classic David Lee Roth tracks on there, since the album’s a bit Sam-heavy. Anything but more live re-releases! Fair Warning is criminally under-represented.
Taking a quick scan of the liner notes will reveal that the brothers Halen really are trying to re-write their history. Not only are the Cherone years not even mentioned, but the Dave years are discussed only briefly. No pictures of the band with Dave are included, even though he makes up at least a third of the album (the best third of it).
I will mention one other little point before I finish. One track, “Finish What Ya Started”, sounds like it is defective, ending abruptly. The band and producer received complaints about this, but it is no error. While mastering this CD, producer Glen Ballard decided to extend “Finish What Ya Started” beyond its original fade point until the tape runs out, when it ends abruptly. This longer, previously unreleased version was not advertised as such and led fans to think the track was defective.
So there you have it — as it currently stands, The Best Of Both Worlds is sadly the most comprehensive Van Halen collection out there. May as well go ahead and make your own. At least the music is above reproach.
It’s time for THE TENTH installment of WTF! Like the others, this is a collection of strange/humorous/whatever search terms that somehow led people to mikeladano.com. If you missed the last one, “Top ten edition”, click here!
who was the hunchback on the vban halen pretty woman video (It was David Lee Roth himself)
joe elliott kissing phil collen (No.)
iron meiden son so seven son yu tube
mike patton quiet riot(I have no idea what these two things have in common.)
It is hard to forget that day in the winter of ’92 when I heard Vince Neil had been fired from Motley Crue. Or quit. Whatever. It was disbelief! I was so into their previous albums, Dr. Feelgood and Decade of Decadence with its crushing single, “Primal Scream”. The Crue were at the top of their game! How could this happen?
But it did happen, and when the spring of ’94 finally rolled around, I picked up Motley Crue (self titled, no umlauts). I picked it up at the store that, in only a couple more months, I would be working in myself. I realized after only two listens that Motley Crue had gone from strength to strength. They had produced what was and still is their heaviest album, the most uncompromised, groovingest (is that a word?), serious piece of metal they’d ever done. Sabbath-esque at times, this was one heavy album. John Corabi was in on vocals and (for the first time in this band) rhythm guitar. John added new dimensions to a band that now demanded to be taken seriously.
The problem was, no one did. While I was working at a record store in ’94, I had a lonely stack of Motley Crue discs (sitting right next to a stack of David Lee Roth’s Your Filthy Little Mouth), going unpurchased. If this album had come out in ’94 by anyone else — Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden — it would have been a #1 smash hit and spawned at least 4 hit singles. It didn’t.
Originally just 12 tracks and now expanded to 15, the Motley Crue CD was heralded in by the grooving riff that was “Power To The Music”. A simple song accented by some of the best drum fills ever on a Motley disc (expertly captured by Bob Rock), “Power To The Music” was a rallying cry, something that the fans could relate to. Especially when Corabi shouts, “Don’t tell me to turn it down!” Lyrically this was not all that different from the old Crue. Musically, it followed the path set out by “Primal Scream”. Sound wise, this was a new different Crue, downtuned, with a gritty vocalist with power to spare, more guitars, clearer and louder drums, and sound effects. Just more of everything.
Some backwards guitar introduced “Uncle Jack”, a song about a child molester, with a distorted Corabi screaming, “I wanna rip your god-damn heart out!” This, friends, was the new Crue for a darker and more serious time. Corabi’s gritty, bluesy vocal melodies were anchored by Sixx, Mars and Lee, grooving as they had never done on record before (with additions from Bob Rock). The new Crue was on fire after only two tracks!
The single, “Hooligan’s Holiday” was next. At 5:51, this was an odd choice for a single. It boasted a strong chorus, some unusual (for Crue) guitar drones, and some more amazing sounding drum fills. Rock really outdid himself on the sound of this record. I think it’s the best sounding record that either the Crue or Bob Rock have made.
“Misunderstood” was the first epic piece and the second single. At nearly 7 minutes, it was again hardly a commercial song. It was the first song the band wrote together for the album. It reflected a lot of Zeppelin influences. It starts acoustic and somber, about a “little old man, left alone in desperate times, life’s passed him by.” Then it slows down, there’s some backwards parts, and the heavy riff kicks in. An orchestra backs Motley Crue, and the amazing Glenn Hughes joins Corabi on vocals. Perfection.
From there the Zeppelin influences continue. “Loveshine” could have been on Zeppelin III. I’m not sure how many different acoustic instruments are present, but there are a lot, layered here and there. There are also some odd percussion instruments that I have trouble picking out. This could have been another single, in a perfect world. One of the best songs on the record, “Loveshine” defied expectations by slowing the pace. I didn’t expect there to be any ballads at all.
The pace picked up again with “Poison Apples”, which begins with a tinny transistor radio sound before kicking into gear. The only glam rock song on the album (the chorus contains the line, “We love our Mott The Hoople”), “Poison Apples” is really the only possible mis-step on a great record. It simply sounds too much like the Motley Crue of old, which to me confused the direction of the album. I would like to hear Vince Neil tackle this one someday (when hell freezes over).
Side two of the record began with “Hammered”, one of the earliest pieces of music written. I believe the riff and groove go back to when Vince Neil was still in the band. “Hammered” is one of the most Sabbathy moments on the album. I used to play the outro riff on my guitar all the time. I loved that riff. This is a truly great song.
Another epic followed, this one “Til Death Do Us Part”. An ironic title considering that this was to be the only album with Corabi, it was also once the title track. Very Sabbathy once again, “Til Death Do Us Part” contains a slow droning riff, some clear and crisp cymbal work by Tommy, and some of the heaviest kick drums I’ve ever heard. A classic in any parallel universe.
My two favourite songs followed. “Welcome To The Numb” brings back more Zeppelin influences (think a souped up “Travelling Riverside Blues”), with Mars’ virtuoso slide guitar. The groove here is unbeatable and the guitar work ranks with Mars’ all-time best. Coulda woulda shoulda been a single. I recall Nikki Sixx saying that this song barely made the album, as it had too much of the “old Motley vibe”. I disagree; I think it was modern and cool.
“Smoke The Sky” is the “drug song”. “We love our THC, when it’s time we smoke the sky!”. It borders on thrash metal. Fast, riffy and heavy, this was single #3. The pace is incredible and the song will put you into a sweat. Corabi makes absolutely no bones about the subject matter:
Marko Polo hailed it heaven,
Socrates inhaled it too,
Mr. President, tell the truth!
“Droppin’ Like Flies” brings back the Sabbathy grooves. Another slower riffy monster, it too is not brief at 6:26 with a long guitar oriented outro. It is followed by the final track on the original CD, “Driftaway”, which is another ballad. I think it took a lot of guts to end a CD this heavy with a ballad. This song too, perhaps, could have been performed by the original band. After banging your head for nearly an hour, this track acts as a comedown of sorts. It’s my least favourite song, but it’s not a bad ballad.
The bonus tracks on the reissue include the first B-side, “Hypnotized”. This sounds like a demo to me. It is very heavy, very Sabbathy, and very raw. It has a long, drawn out droning outro. “Babykills” has a funky groove and clavinet. This has a bit of a glam metal sound, and was originally released on the mail-away EP Quaternary (which also contained 4 solo tracks, one from each band member). I am glad it has been returned to its rightful place on the Motley Crue album. Finally the CD ends with “Livin’ In The Know”, from the Japanese version of Quaternary. Not an outstanding track, it is clear that Motley Crue included the best material on the album itself. All killer, no filler — and “Livin’ In The Know” is admittedly filler.
It is very unfortunate that this album did not sell, and the fans couldn’t accept a Crue without Vince. In hindsight, it is great we got Vince back to (eventually) make the decent Saints Of Los Angeles CD. However, with Vince Neil solo at the time with his great Exposed album, and the Crue delivering this masterpiece, I was content for them to stay apart. While grunge had certainly taken over, Motley Crue did sabotage their own chances with some terrible interviews including one on MTV where they expressed indifference to their former lead singer being injured in a surfing accident. They later walked out on the interviewer, and MTV played that clip ad nauseum. Stunts like these, and having swastikas on stage, tanked any chances this album ever had.
Once again I must give special mention to producer Bob Rock, who also played some additional bass and guitar on this CD. He managed to produce a heavy package without overproducing. There is heaviness, there is amp hiss, and yet the clearest crispest drums I’ve ever heard. He captured the downtuned guitars without making them muddy.
Pick up Motley Crue, turn off the lights, and get ready to rock to the heaviest and best album this band has ever made. It is a true classic in any just universe.
I even bought it twice, to get both booklets! (And then again, in the Music to Crash Your Car to: Vol. 2 box set.)
Changes were afoot in the land of Roth after the success of Eat ‘Em and Smile. Keyboardist Brett Tuggle was hired in as a full-time member. Steve Vai was promoted to the rank of co-producer for the next album. Billy Sheehan was put on a leash, his busy bass stylings reduced to typical pop rock lines on much of the new material. One song even had a programmed bass instead of the real thing.
It seemed like a sudden about-face. David Lee Roth had left behind the Van Halen-nouveau trappings of the last album in exchange for a much slicker and more commercial sound. What resulted was Skyscraper, a synth-heavy odd duck that nevertheless spawned a massive hit single still getting radio play today. Revisiting it, this almost (only almost!) sounds more like a Vai album than a Dave album. That’s not a bad thing, depending on how you feel about the 6 (soon to be 7) string master. Certainly, his loopy noodling was reaching an early peak here, but his stylings are not for everyone.
My biggest complaint would be the sidelining of Billy Sheehan. I mean, you’ve got possibly the best bass player in the universe in your band: Exploit that! Don’t keep him playing 1/4 notes. In a 1988 Hit Parader interview, Sheehan said that he had to leave the band in order to express himself. He referred to the “note police” (Roth) who ordered him to play it simpler. After Skyscraper, he was replaced by drummer Gregg Bissonnette’s brother Matt (no slouch).
The opening rocker “Knucklebones” is a great song, but falls a little limp. Skyscraper‘s production is cold, sterile, and digital; like in that 80’s way before the technology had really come along. It does boast complex guitar riffing mixed in with idiosyncratic Dave lyrics. Dave has acknowledged that Vai was in the driver’s seat for this album, and its complexity is a testament to that.
Elsewhere there are some progressive moments (the title track, “Hina”), stage-ready rockers (“Perfect Timing”, “Hot Dog and a Shake”), good time ballads (“Damn Good”) and whatever-the-hell (“Three Fools A Minute”). All of this is surrounded by a fun, party-like atmosphere courtesy of Dave as the band’s hoots n’ hollers along.
I consider this album to be a brave experiment, and Dave’s highest artistic achievement. Not his best album, but his most artistic. While not as instantly likable, rocking, or consistent as Eat ‘Em And Smile, it is endlessly ambitious, layered, and most importantly fun. Dave is the ringmaster of the greatest party in town. Skyscraper is the party where the smart dudes stop in for a beer.
Craig Fee at 107.5 Dave FM, the world’s biggest Van Halen (not Van Hagar!) fan has this to say:
I still have a soft spot for “Just Like Paradise,” “Stand Up” (the more you do it the less you fall down!) and “Hot Dog & A Shake.” With Steve Vai on lead guitar, this album is a killer follow-up to EEAS.
I’m glad I asked Craig for his comment because our song likes and dislikes on this album are almost opposite! My faves? “Skyscraper”, “Hina”, “Just Like Paradise”, “Knucklebones” My filler: “Stand Up”! So there ya go. Maybe this record has something for everyone?
Last time on Record Store Tales, we talked about Andy and Ashleigh and the discovery of great rock bands such as Rush, Max Webster, and Van Halen. Andy was even more curious now about what great rock was out there.
Rock music is about so much more than just the songs. There’s the concerts, the live experience. There’s the history of the bands, the stories and the context. And there were the music videos. How could one possibly talk about a great band like Van Halen without mentioning groundbreaking, defining music videos that they made? Since a picture is worth 1,000 words, I decided the best way to explain these things was to have a Rock Video Night at my place.
90% of my video collection was from the Pepsi Power Hour. Back in the days before YouTube, a channel like MuchMusic would have an hour or two a week devoted to the heaviest videos in rock, and I tried to record the show every week. I had amassed a large collection of VHS tapes, probably about 120 hours of music videos, interviews and concerts altogether. That’s not including the hundred or so officially released video tapes that I bought over the years. We had a lot to watch so I had to hone down the set list for the evening.
Since I am and always have been OCD about my music collection, I had a meticulously typed list of every track on every video that I made. I carefully planned the evening’s entertainment. There were some videos that I know these kids had to see. They were all one musical generation younger than me. They grew up on videos like “Jeremy” and “Fell on Black Days”, not “Jump” or “Go For Soda”. I had to make them understand my time, when it was OK to have sword fights and dwarves and laser guns in your videos.
Ash and Andy arrived along with my other employees Braddy D and Chris P. The set of videos that I chose to share with them that evening included:
SAVATAGE – “Hall of the Mountain King”. Summary: Dwarf seeks Mountain King’s gold. Must try to steal it without waking him, while band is playing in the same caverns. Not sure why the King doesn’t hear Jon Oliva singing. (below)
VAN HALEN – “Oh Pretty Woman”. Summary: Lady in distress has been kidnapped by two dwarves. A hunchback in a treehouse (David Lee Roth) telephones a samurai (Michael Anthony), Tarzan (Alex Van Halen), a cowboy (Eddie Van Halen), and Napoleon Bonaparte (David Lee Roth) to save her. (below)
ARMORED SAINT – “Can U Deliver”. Summary: Band driving a Buick with armor and an anti-aircraft cannon seek a glowy sword. Band plays concert in front of rocker dudes and scantily clad babes while wearing leather armor. (below)
GRIM REAPER – “Fear No Evil”. Summary: Band drive a DIY armored APC on a quest to free long-haired slaves from an evil half-man half-something with Wolverine claws. (below)
MIKE LADANO, BOB SCHIPPER and DAVE KIDD – “Nothing But A Good Time”. Summary: A highschool video I made, lip synching to “Nothing But A Good Time” by Poison.We had our English teacher do the schtick at the beginning where he plays the prick boss who gives the kid a hard time before the song comes on. We made it in ’89 and it was our school’s selection to send to the annual regional Film Awards! (below)
Rock Video Night was a great success in many regards. The kids had a great time finally seeing David Lee Roth doing the splits in “Jump”. Ash was still not won over by the rock, but that’s OK. What wasn’t OK is that I had really sour stomach issues that night! I tried so hard to be a good host, and I kept excusing myself, but…they tell me the smell was wafting down from the upstairs bathroom.
So, Rock Video Night ended on a rather stinky note.
DAVID LEE ROTH – “Stand Up” (1988 Warner promo 12″ remix single)
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