Time for DLR to hang 'em up.

[Crazy from the Hemp]

I finally had a chance to listen to some of the recent bootlegs of the Song for Song Tour and it's painfully obvious that David Lee Roth can no longer sing. Whatever the cause, smoking, coke, inactivity, etc., he has lost what little range he had in his instrument and is a pale imitation of himself as a former vocalist. I know many Roth fans will reply that he was a never a great singer and, for his ability, his singing is acceptable at this point, but that is clearly not the case.

Eddie cannot accept a vocalist who cannot deliver in the studio or on the road, nor should we as VH fans.

I first noticed the drastic loss of range on the greatest hit singles and the subsequent DLR Band record, and his recent live performances confirmed what I suspected, that Dave now struggles mightily to hit any note a minor shade over his natural baritone. I think this is one of the primary reasons why he's reportedly been a more stationary performer on this tour. I've seen this with a lot of aging performers who struggle so much with breath control that they have to conserve their energy to hit a decent note. For DLR, this is a double whammy, he can no longer sing and saving energy to croak out some notes affects his ability to prowl the stage as he once did.

I think this also explains the crappy sound mix for the recent shows that so many have complained about. The drummer in our band is a soundman and he says it's the oldest trick in the book to disguise a singer's deficiencies by burying him in the mix.

IMO, this has to be Eddie's primary reason for nixing any potential reunion and even Roth himself realizes this. In his book, he took great pains to state that his struggles to record vocals during the botched reunion sessions were because he was not in 'road shape.' Then, in the midst of a hastily arranged club tour, he posted to his site that he'd recorded some music with Eddie and was now "holding forth with the high note" and looking forward to an inevitable reunion. I think this was Dave's desperate way of saying, I've hit the clubs and have got the voice back, let's start recording again.

At this point, I truly feel sorry for Dave. Like too many performers before him, he's eroded his musical talents with a lifetime of excess and the current tour will be his anti-climactic swan song as a performer.

As one of the biggest Roth-era fans ever, I agree with the growing sentiment that it's time to look to the future, albeit a future that doesn't include Dave. Personally, I would prefer a fourth singer, someone who could give the band some new energy and return them to their edgier roots (Sebastian Bach, Jeff Keith, Chris Cornell), but without a label, I think they'll opt for the commercially proven Sammy and the hit/miss combo of good rockers and syrupy pop that he brings to the mix. A new singer unless he's a great mimic would also restrict their ability to play the old stuff which Hagar obviously can do, at least for his portion of the catalogue. I would think we could expect the new music sooner rather than later as well since Ed's probably got a ton of material in the can and the band has to realize that their fan base is rapidly eroding due to the inactivity.

Just my opinion, but I'm interested to hear the thoughts of the rest of you, especially those who can give an unbiased opinion of Dave's vocals on this current tour.

Thanks for the good times DLR. You were the best.

[Brett]

I know where this thread is headed, but I'll send it the Opinions forum anyway.