![]() In a 2022 interview with Talk Louder (via Blabbermouth), the bassist called working with Roth "like getting a PhD in Show Biz 101 - he knew it inside and out." Although Sheehan "didn't like the results" of Skyscraper personally, he admitted that "it takes a lot of courage to make that kind of a turn. Sheehan also had kind words for his former boss. "Dave and I were just really forensic," he told EonMusic, "because it was his first production outing, and he's got great ears and all - but we probably lacked being producers that made rock and roll records as a career." Vai also took some responsibility for the sound of Skyscraper, which was less aggressive than the Ted Templeman-produced Eat 'Em and Smile. "Dave and I were enjoying working together so much that we created our own little production team," he said. "We just started chipping away at it and we said, 'Let's just continue the way we're going and see what we come up with.'" Over the years, Skyscraper has enjoyed a positive reappraisal among some fans, and Vai looked back fondly on co-producing the LP with Roth. "It was really fulfilling to be in Dave Roth's band all those years," Vai told Classic Rock in 2022. The accepted view became that Roth was an egomaniacal control freak who didn't know what to do with his own career. ![]() Sheehan and Vai both exited Roth's band shortly after the album's release, reportedly dissatisfied with his new musical direction. Two years later came Skyscraper and - after the glow of "Just Like Paradise" wore off and the video for "Stand Up" hit MTV rotation - the turbulence. The raunchy, tongue-in-cheek romp was well-received by fans and critics, hitting the Top 10 and going platinum, and it gave Roth some bragging rights over his old mates in Van Halen, who had released the blander (but better-selling) 5150 around the same time. After splitting with Van Halen in 1985, Roth put together an all-star backing band comprising guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Gregg Bissonette for Eat 'Em and Smile. It was the culmination of one of rock's most famous divorce stories. 64 on the Hot 100 - Roth's last solo song to hit the chart - Skyscraper became seen as the moment when the singer's career began a decline from which it would never recover. It’s a bit of a nod to the swinging big-band sound that brought Dave to solo fame with his reworking of “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody”.But not everybody appreciated the sonic left turn of Skyscraper, which found Roth abandoning his bread-and-butter hard rock of 1986's Eat 'Em and Smile in favor of keyboard-heavy pop-rock, lounge-lizard camp and eclectic experimentation. After the funky dance-rocker "Stand Up" stalled at No. The closing tune, “Two Fools a Minute”, is jazzed up by a Steve Vai horn arrangement, and includes some more incredible bass-diddling from Sheehan. “Hina” and “Perfect Timing” are my least favourite tracks on the record, but that’s only because I like the other ones so much. ![]() “Stand Up” is a thumping funk-rocker featuring more of Vai’s incendiary stringwork it’s like a cross between the Brothers Johnson and Scorpions, if you can imagine that. “Hot Dog and a Shake” is another rabid rocker, lit white-hot by Vai’s tasty flash effects and knock-Eddie-on-his-ass Valen Halen licks. The second side of Skyscraper continues with more of the superb sounds heard on the first. “Damn Good” is a lazy acoustic guitar showcase that calls to mind the Doobie Brothers during their “Black Water” period. Side one ends off with “Damn Good”, another switch for Roth, who appears to have reached some sort of creative peak (although a lot of credit must go to Vai, who co-wrote this track, and five others, together with Roth).
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