Skyscraper
Studio album by
David Lee Roth
ReleasedJanuary 25, 1988[1]
RecordedSpring – Autumn 1987
Studio
  • Capitol (Hollywood)
  • Stucco Blue (Los Angeles)
  • Smoketree (Los Angeles)
Genre
Length41:23
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerDavid Lee Roth, Steve Vai
David Lee Roth chronology
Eat 'Em and Smile
(1986)		 Skyscraper
(1988)		 A Little Ain't Enough
(1991)

Skyscraper is the second full-length studio album by David Lee Roth, released during his solo career after his departure from Van Halen. It was released on January 25, 1988, on Warner Bros. Records, shortly after the commercially and critically successful Eat 'Em and Smile Tour of 1986–1987.

Development

Guitarist Steve Vai (who co-produced Skyscraper, and co-wrote many of its songs) and bassist Billy Sheehan quit over various controversies regarding Skyscraper.

In a 2022 interview with Eonmusic, Vai said that the song "Damn Good" was developed from a piece called "Scandinavian Air Solo", originally slated to appear on his Passion and Warfare album.[4]

Roth's management received a phone call asking for permission for "Just Like Paradise" to be used as the theme song of a new television show, Beverly Hills 90210. They rejected the idea without asking Roth first, so an original piece of instrumental music was used instead.

Track listing

All songs were written by David Lee Roth and Steve Vai unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Knucklebones" (Gregg Bissonette, Matt Bissonette, Roth) – 3:18
  2. "Just Like Paradise" (Roth, Brett Tuggle) – 4:03
  3. "The Bottom Line" – 3:38
  4. "Skyscraper" – 3:40
  5. "Damn Good" – 5:49
  6. "Hot Dog and a Shake" – 3:19
  7. "Stand Up" (Roth, Tuggle) – 4:39
  8. "Hina" – 4:41
  9. "Perfect Timing" (Roth, Tuggle) – 3:41
  10. "Two Fools a Minute" – 4:29

Covers of "California Girls" and "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody", from Roth's 1985 Crazy from the Heat EP, are on some editions released in Europe.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Robert ChristgauC+[6]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[7]
The Daily VaultC−[8]
Kerrang![9]
Los Angeles Times[10]
Rolling Stone[11]

Skyscraper was received with divided public and critical opinion.[8] Although Roth's 1988 Skyscraper Tour was successful, many fans and critics were disappointed by Van Halen's post-Roth, keyboard-heavy sound and expressed similar dissatisfaction with Skyscraper.

Skyscraper hit No. 6 on the Billboard Top 200 U.S. album chart during February 1988,[12] toward selling two million copies in the United States. "Just Like Paradise" is one of Roth's most popular singles, reaching No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.[13] The acoustic ballad "Damn Good" reached No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Rock chart.

Cash Box called "Stand Up" an "engaging, catchy rock song, with a funky danceable groove"[14] and "Damn Good" a "satisfying and artistic effort".[15]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart performance for Skyscraper
Chart (1988–1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[16] 14
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[17] 6
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18] 39
European Albums (IFPI)[19] 31
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[20] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 28
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[22] 7
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] 12
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[24] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 11
US Billboard 200[28] 6

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

  • David Lee Roth – vocals

The band

Guest musicians

  • Gary Falcone – backing vocals on tracks 1 and 9
  • Joe Pizzulo – backing vocals on track 1
  • Tommy Funderburk, Tom Kelly – backing vocals on track 2
  • John Batdorf – backing vocals on track 9
  • Magic Moreno – backing vocals on track 10
  • Dr. Funk, PhD – bass synthesizer
  • Todd Grace, Richie Raposa – programming, keyboard programming

Production

  • David Lee Roth – producer, concept, cover design
  • Steve Vai – co-producer, engineer
  • Magic Moreno – engineer, mixing
  • Gary Wagner – engineer
  • Doug Parry – engineer
  • Paul Levy – engineer
  • Steve Holroyd – engineer
  • Marnie Riley – engineer
  • Stephen Shelton – engineer
  • Bob Cats – mixing
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Pete Angelus – concept, cover design
  • Galen Rowell – photography
  • Vigon Seireeni – artwork
  • Gina Vivona – artwork
  • Eddie Anderson – personal assistant

References

  1. ↑ "BPI".
  2. ↑ "David Lee Roth : Skyscraper".
  3. ↑ "Top 50 Glam Metal Albums". Metal Rules. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Steve Vai eonmusic Interview January 2022".
  5. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "David Lee Roth - Skyscraper review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  6. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "David Lee Roth - Consumer Guide Reviews: Skyscraperkyscraper review". Robert Christgau.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  7. ↑ Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 295. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  8. 1 2 McVicker, Ben (November 29, 2011). "Skyscraper - David Lee Roth". Daily Vault.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  9. ↑ Zell, Ray (January 30, 1988). "David Lee Roth - 'Skyscraper'". Kerrang!. No. 172.
  10. ↑ Willman, Chris (January 24, 1988). "Havin' a Ball With David Lee, Megadeth and Metallica : Check List **** Great Balls of Fire *** Good Vibrations ** Maybe Baby * Running on Empty- Skyscraper review". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  11. ↑ Frost, Deborah (March 24, 1988). "David Lee Roth - Skyscraper". Rolling Stone. No. 522. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  12. ↑ "David Lee Roth Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  13. ↑ "David Lee Roth Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. April 16, 1988. p. 8. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. July 30, 1988. p. 15. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  16. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 259. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  17. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0946". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  19. ↑ "European Hot 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. February 13, 1988. p. 20. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  20. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  21. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  22. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  23. ↑ "Charts.nz – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  28. ↑ "David Lee Roth Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  29. ↑ "British album certifications – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". British Phonographic Industry.
  30. ↑ "American album certifications – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". Recording Industry Association of America.
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