Eat'em and Smile

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Professional reviews
Eat 'Em and Smile

Studio album by David Lee Roth
Released	July 7, 1986
Recorded	The Power Station, New York; Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA; Can-Am Recorders, Tarzana, CA
Genre	Hard Rock
Length	30:39
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer(s)	Ted Templeman
All Music Guide link
David Lee Roth chronology
Crazy from the Heat (1985)	Eat 'Em And Smile (1986)	Skyscraper (1988)

Eat 'Em And Smile was the debut full-length album by David Lee Roth (formerly of Van Halen), released in 1986.

1 History
2 Spanish Version
3 Track listing
4 Personnel
5 Charts

[edit] History

The album was a critical and commercial success. In a review in Spin magazine (Oct. 1986) Glenn O'Brien wrote that: "all those Dave pooh-poohers are going to have to eat their poo-poo when they hear this album, Eat 'Em and Smile, because this is, like the fulfillment of what Van Halen was only deafeningly hinting at ... This is a lollapalooza of a band, performing excitingly in all Dave's areas of interest, from rotorooter speed metal to jump blues to Sinatraland to hefty mental and back. And not only does Dave have a voice that oozes character and performs caricature with virtuosity, the guy is a tuned-in tunesmith as well, and when I'm in my ride on the freeway of love there's nothing I'd rather hear than a selection that includes the alarmingly cool 'Ladies Night in Buffalo'; the tortuous, expeditious, and personable 'Shy Boy'; the natty cover 'Tobacco Road'; my theme song 'I'm Easy'; and the heart, soul, and whoopee cushion of the classic 'That's Life.' Brothers and sisters: Yo, enjoy!"

Rolling Stone (RS #482, 11 September 1986) commented: "Contrary to appearances, David Lee Roth is no dummy. While many expected him to go totally Hollywood and outcamp Crazy from the Heat on his first full solo LP, Dave smartly decided to try to reconstruct the axe-wielding crunch of vintage Van Halen ... In cuts like the metallically catchy 'Yankee Rose,' he mauls more scenery than ever, and every punch line hits just right. Throughout the album, in fact, the giggles just keep comin', but it's important to note that Roth's life-of-the-party routine works only because his comedic timing is so dead-on."

Kerrang, in a 4.5 star review, wrote that "Eat'Em and Smile is the greatest Van Halen album they'll never make. It's the natural successor to 1984 in a way that 5150 has singularly failed to be. All Mr Roth has done is exchange one backing band for another, only this one does what HE wants them to do! And while Van Hagar have been bad-mouthing Roth in the press, The Man has been preparing this fine two-fingered answer to all their bitching."

Van Halen jokingly named their 1988 release OU812 (phonetically: Oh, You Ate One Too?) after this album.

[edit] Spanish Version

Sonrisa Salvaje is the Spanish 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, after Sheehan 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 more racier lyrics, so not to offend the more conservative Spanish. According to Sheehan, the album wasn't received well with many people considering it "Gringo Spanish," and any future Spanish-version ideas were dropped. With the exception of the vocals, the basic music tracks are the same as the "Eat 'Em and Smile" version, with the only exception being "Big Trouble", which ends abruptly as opposed to fading out on the English version.

[edit] Track listing

"Yankee Rose" (Roth/Vai) – 3:47
"Shy Boy" (Sheehan, arr. Roth) – 3:23
"I'm Easy" (Field/Price) – 2:03
"Ladies' Nite in Buffalo?" (Roth/Vai) – 4:08
"Goin' Crazy!" (Roth/Vai) – 3:21
"Tobacco Road" (John D. Loudermilk) – 2:27
"Elephant Gun" (Roth/Vai) – 2:23
"Big Trouble" (Roth/Vai) – 3:56
"Bump and Grind" (Roth/Vai) – 2:42
"That's Life" (Kay/Gordon/Rutherford) – 2:29

[edit] Personnel

David Lee Roth - Vocals
Steve Vai - Guitars
Billy Sheehan - Bass, Backing Vocals
Gregg Bissonette - Drums
Jeff Bova - Keyboards
Jesse Harms - Keyboards
Sammy Figueroa - Percussion
The Waters Family - Backing Vocals
The Sidney Sharp Stings - Strings

[edit] Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1986	The Billboard 200	4

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1986	"Goin' Crazy"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	12
1986	"Goin' Crazy"	The Billboard Hot 100	66
1986	"That's Life"	The Billboard Hot 100	85
1986	"Tobacco Road"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	10
1986	"Yankee Rose"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	10
1986	"Yankee Rose"	The Billboard Hot 100	6