David Lee Roth’s solo career has been fascinating, frustrating, sometimes glorious, occasionally risible but rarely anything other than entertaining. The man with the billion-dollar ego quit Van Halen in 1985 with the intention of becoming the ultimate showbiz juggernaut, a rock’n’roll Frank Sinatra with the high kicks of an Olympic gymnast and the kind of luxuriant chest rug not seen since Allied Carpets went bust.
As the five releases covered in this no-frills, every-expense-spared box set illustrate, he started strong then precipitously tailed off. 1985’s four-track EP Crazy From The Heat, released while he was technically still in Van Halen, was Showbiz Dave in full effect, serving up showboating Beach Boys, Edgar Winter Band and Lovin’ Spoonful covers, plus a none-more-Vegas update of Louis Prima’s Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody medley. The Van Halen brothers reportedly hated it, and Dave was officially out the door a couple of weeks after it was released.
