David Lee Roth, Eat ‘Em And Smile (1986)
 I’ve been all about the Van Halen and David Lee Roth lately. Roth – easy to laugh at the madness, now but what a frontman. And at the height of his powers what a singer! Here he had the killer band too – Billy Sheehan on bass, Steve Vai on guitars, Gregg Bissonette on drums. Man oh man. You could listen to this album just for them. And, sure, this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, nor is it meant to be, but it’s held up well I reckon. Doesn’t sound dated, doesn’t sound silly – just a kick-ass hard-rock/metal album from the 80s. Any silliness or cheesiness was there at the time. If anything I reckon the record has aged well. My copy is now very special to me because I met and interviewed Bissonette and he signed the inner sleeve. As below… 

Sample Track: Shyboy

The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown