My Defense for DLR

[Edeble Ed]

ok i have been meaning to write this for awhile. in my honest opinion, dlr is one of, if not THE best frontman ever. and keep in mind i can say this objectively, despite liking vh. think of all the great frontmen, and their styles. dlr has to be up there with the most energy. yet when u watch "the list", u dont even hear his name . and proof that roth was so great lies in the whole 80's scene. i get sick of watching all those hairband frontmen copying dlr, esp. brett michaels. and how many times have u seen them do a pitiful attempt at an eagle split. daves persona embodied the spirit of the 80's, which kinda died out with grundge. what pisses me off is that he isnt given due credit by the mainstream. he has become a joke, and when people say his name, its usually the but of a joke. the reason its like that is cuz people want to see the mighty fall. dave was the shit in the 80's. u couldnt touch him. and he let u know it. so now people say "he cant brag anymore." yet those people wish they could live the life he has. the adventures dave has lived r the stuff of legends. and they further add to his legacy.i so want to see him come back big and stick it to those who mocked him when this reuninon takes place.secondly, i honestly beleive dlr deserves more credit for vh's success then he is given. whether the backstage stories of vh that he made were true or not, it created a mystique to vh that made them all the more interesting. eddie wrote the music which dlr filtered to the world. and people argue about sammy being a better vocalist. i agree in terms of range, but what dave did better then sammy was create the right mood for a song. "little dreamer" to "on fire" to "push comes to shove" to "black sand" all r from different extremes, and all have dave setting the right tone. people can say what they want about dave today. about the lost voice, the receding hairline, etc. but from 78-88, no one could ever touch what he did. he was an original, and its a shame people label him among the late 80's frontmen, who he influenced. the dave of the early 80's should be among the jaggers, mercurys, tylers, plants of rock. hopefully one day he will finally get the recognition.

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Only adventures that I regret are the ones I missed - DLR

[VHwasCoolestWithDLR]

You kind of make it sound like Dave isnt worth a shit anymore. By the way, what song is black sand? I never heard of it.

[Edeble Ed]

I didnt mean to make him sound that way. i just feel those years he was in vh were never recoginized by the mainstream as a time when he was one of the best frontmen. and he still has that charm and energy to this day. black sand is a song off the dlr band album. its kind of a departure from his usual stuff, but it is an awesoem song

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Only adventures that I regret are the ones I missed - DLR

[VHwasCoolestWithDLR]

I think Dave is still agreta singer. It is always mentioned on here about him not hitting the higher notes but he never really hit high notes before except when he made that high pitched screetchy things he always used to do. I think he is still a great singer though, especially after i saw him live last year, he sang great. But if he did have trouble with high notes, i gotta solution...dont sing the high notes!

[TDR]

I get really frustrated that Dave isn't rated alongside Tyler, Jagger, Mercury & Ozzy. He should be, but 'cos he did it all with a smile on his face, and because his currency has been devalued by an overabundance of poor imitators (Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Poison, etc etc etc) He gets lumped in with the wannabes. I REALLY REALLY hope the boys have a HUGE hit with the new album, so we can put right this injustice and get Dave the credit due to him. Peace.

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Leading the Slawterhouse Security on Holiday...
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The bad news is that we have lost our way. But the good news is we are WAY ahead of schedule!
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I learned a lesson baby, and it left a scar. But now I see how you really are...

[Vince]

EdableEd- I would like to have the drugs you've been doing. "Roth..ONE OF THE BEST FRONT MEN EVER?" You got to be Fucking kidding me. Roth ain't even in the same realm as the greats like Plant, Freddie Mercurey, Jagger, Daltry,Gillan. Pleaseeee Man, I can understand you liking him with VH, but he's got nothing without Eddie. That's been proven. There are just some things I can't sit still for and Roth being one of the greatest lead vocalist ever, excuse me while I go vomit.

[blueeyedmurder]

Vince your amazing! How can you deny Roth's greatness as a front man? Like him or not I don't give Fuck. nearly Every front man in the 80's was trying to be DLR. Like the hair bands or not...he was the mold for all of those bands. You cannot influence a whole fucking decade of music and not be considered on of the greatest of all times. You're an idiot!

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"It's all over but the SHOUTING...
I've come to take what's mine!"
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Just Eat Us. The Smile is optional!!!

[This message has been edited by blueeyedmurder (edited August 23, 2000 at 07:56 AM).]

[Vince]

I'll tell you how I can deny it. I said it before and I'll say it again. Would you have herd of Eddie had it not been for Dave ...yes..no question. Would you have herd of Dave had it not been for Eddy. No Way. I do give him credit in being a decent frontman. But in the same league as Plant,Mercury,ETC. No fucking way!!!!

[blueeyedmurder]

Your opinion. I personally believe he is the best of all time. NO ONE can say Van Halen, without thinking of David Lee Roth. His showmanship, and Ed's Guitar playing equally defined Van Halen.

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"It's all over but the SHOUTING...
I've come to take what's mine!"
_________________________
Just Eat Us. The Smile is optional!!!

[Georgie]

Edeble Ed- I do agree with your summation that Dave was "The Frontman" until 1988 . . .but certainly not since. We'll wait and see what happens when VH returns with him.

B U T

Now, in all honesty, David Lee Roth certainly should have the same frontman recognition as Plant, Mercury, Tyler, etc. Roth was the frontman that all lead singers either copied directly or were measured against if they were any good in the 80's til today. His look, his style, his stage theatrics, and his howls were ripped off by Bon Jovi, Jani Lane, Sebastian Bach,Brett Michaels and even some artists today like Kid Rock.

We all do not take anything "The List" says seriously. We all know it is the National Enquirer of RNR. Any time Rick James, Joey McEntire,Elizabeth Perkins, Tiffany and Moby determine what the most important contributors to Rock are, you know you are in trouble.

Since 1978, what frontman is more influential or immitated then David Lee Roth? I personally prefer Sammy as VH's best vocalist but I can't sit here and tell you that he is anywhere near the frontman Dave was. I would be lying.

[Georgie]

My apologies. My post was directed at VINCE. I am sorry, Edeble Ed. I hear ya!

[billy007]

Thanks, Georgie

And for the argument that we wouldn't have heard of DLR if not for Edward Van Halen, well, I imagine you could say that about a lot of these singers - would we have heard about Plant without Page? Mercury without May? Jagger without Richards? We'll never know, will we? And the same can be said about David Lee Roth. I can just as easily say you might never have heard of Edward Van Halen without David Lee Roth as those three guys were languishing in L.A. backyards before Roth came along, but you never know - they might've hooked up with someone just as able to get them known. And so might have David Lee Roth.

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"Well, I'm a bum in the sun and I'm havin' fun
And I know you know I got no special plans..."

Eat Us And Smile, y'all

[Edeble Ed]

Vince : let me reiterate, i never said roth was the best VOCALIST. in fact i said i thought sammy had better chops. but roth is among the best frontmen/performers in rock. i am talking about the energy and getting the crowd into it. sure roth was best with eddie, but eddie was best with roth, not sammy or cherone (this is my opinion). who needs who more? i dont know, i dont really want to debate that.

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Only adventures that I regret are the ones I missed - DLR