DIAMOND DAVE
Honestly, I would have bet a million bucks that after coming off the road with SAMMY HAGAR and the
Sam & Dave Tour, and seeing thousands of people each night freaking out when he played old-school VAN HALEN songs, that DAVID LEE ROTH would have opted to cash in on that old VH sound and make another record like
DLR BAND, a disc that contained tracks like "Slam Dunk" and "Wa Wa Zat!", tracks that could have EASILY put him back on the radar as a hitmaker. The problem was that when "Slam Dunk" hit radio (and did well in a lot of markets), Dave (being the genius that he is) didn't tour behind it. Hence, the album tanked...and it really could have saved his ass.
I would have lost that bet. BADLY.
Diamond Dave is not AT ALL what I would have expected from him. He's covering THE DOORS, SAVOY BROWN, STEVE MILLER, THE BEATLES, JIMI HENDRIX, and yes there is ONE VAN HALEN song on the disc. Dave does a piano-loungy version of "Ice Cream Man".
He sounds most at home with "Thug Pop" (a song co-written by John Lowery, who co-wrote many of the songs on the
DLR BAND disc, and who is now known as Jon 5, guitarist for MARILYN MANSON) which gives him a chance to howl a little bit and show off some of those old-school Van Halen-era vocal chops (the guitar riff is very VH-ish, as well).... and then it gets all goofy again.
Back, I say...back to Vegas with you David Lee Roth. Go and bake out in the sun until your skin turns brown and leathery and your bleached hair starts falling out...
...whoops, too late.
