Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

There are frontmen and women, and there are icons, the latter being the special kind which do more than just perform and maintain the relationship between band and the audience, they spread a musical infection which borders on delirium, they find a way to tap in to the fever and the euphoria of the occasion that sends waves of chaos across the largest venue, the stadium, or even the nestled and modest local scene and hang out; they are more than the face of the band, the voice of the moment, they are the larger than life symbol that a generation clings to as they search for expression and meaning.

To become that emblem of pure energy on stage, you have to have shown it in the studio, it must carry through the albums without a shred of hesitancy, it must be bold, brash, brave, and beautiful, and it must be seismic. Freddie Mercury of Queen is a prime example, Fish of Marillion another, and on the other side of the Atlantic, the energetic zeal of David Lee Roth tips the scales of the iconic and the portrait of the agent of chaos in all its bountiful forms.

To highlight this phenomenon of the studio staple of the whirling dervish, the complete album recording overseen by Warner Bros. during 1985 and 1994 has been neatly and in neon splendour released with the kind of fancy and overtones the listener might expect from ‘Diamond Dave’.

It is not until you immerse yourself into a boxset from an artist, a catalogue of memories that you can see the progression of the sound and attitude; thankfully with David Lee Roth that entertaining disposition was already fully formed, his cycle of work with Van Halen arguably assuring the depth of rock to come and from the opening five track E.P. which marked the beginning of his solo career and through the remainder of the heady 80s sun kissed MTV generation and into the 90s where the power of rock seemed to wain as more alternative visions were beginning to leave their mark.

The four albums, and single E.P., comprising of Crazy From The Heat, Eat ‘Em And Smile, Skyscraper, A Little Ain’t Enough, and Your Filthy Little Mouth, is a progression of bravado, a swagger alluding to the biggest show in town, one built on modesty, but an absolute belief in every moment laid down for the listener. Whilst Van Halen continued with Sammy Hagar in the role of vocalist, and produced some in depth and scintillating music, not the least in 5150 and OU812, however there was something missing, perhaps the flair, the showmanship, or just the core of what could be marketed as the new American music revolution that caught the zeitgeist at the exact moment it was required.

David Lee Roth: The Warner Recordings1985-1994 is a fantastic reminder of the packed confidence that the frontman provided for a generation, the strut, the passion and the vaunting promotion of his time away from the band that made his name, and to which he would eventually return for a final hurrah in A Different Kind Of Truth in 2012.

There is no doubting of the power and influence of the man and in this beautifully packaged box set, the reminder is there that time never truly sets on the iconic, it just becomes harder to find anyone with the same sense of presence on stage, or in the studio.

Ian D. Hall