Skyscraper (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Skyscraper Tour)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is about the David Lee Roth album. For the 2018 film soundtrack, see Skyscraper (soundtrack).

Skyscraper
Error creating thumbnail: File missing
Studio album by
David Lee Roth
ReleasedJanuary 21, 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)
Singles from Skyscraper
  1. "Just Like Paradise"
    Released: December 1987[4]
  2. "Stand Up"
    Released: April 1988[5]
  3. "Damn Good"
    Released: July 1988[6]

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 21, 1988, on Warner Bros. Records, shortly after the commercially and critically successful Eat 'Em and Smile Tour of 1986–1987.

Development

[edit | edit source]

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.[7]

Reception

[edit | edit source]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg[8]
Christgau’s Consumer GuideC+[9]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[10]
The Daily VaultC−[11]
Kerrang!StarStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[12]
Los Angeles TimesStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[13]
Rolling StoneStarStarFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svgFile:Star empty.svg[14]

Skyscraper received divided public and critical opinion.[11] 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,[15] toward selling one 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.[16] 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"[17] and "Damn Good" a "satisfying and artistic effort".[18]

Tour

[edit | edit source]

In Kerrang! magazine, Mick Wall reviewed a Worcester Centrum concert in 1987, saying, "There's nothing humourless and tense about a David Lee Roth show; it's just straight up, high times excitement! Nothing ever stops moving - the music, the band, the lights, him least of all ... Kid, you gotta be ready when this stuff comes at you, otherwise you'll miss something and get left behind!"[19] Neil Jeffries reviewed the Monsters of Rock performance at Castle Donington in 1988, "This was the way to play Donington. Grab the audience by the lapels, get the band to play a killer set and then hit the crowd with the sucker punch - make 'em laugh."[20]

In a retrospective review in 2012 of a Hirsch Memorial Coliseum concert in 1988, Fred Phillips said, "Sure, the singing wasn't perfect while he was doing all that stuff, but they never were. And nobody cared. With his flashy outfits and outlandish performance, he was a rock star in the fullest sense of the word for those couple of hours, and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand."[21]

In 2024, former David Lee Roth bassist Billy Sheehan dispelled rumors of stage duct tape blocking instrumentalists away from Roth's space in the Eat 'Em and Smile tour, but: "It did exist on the Skyscraper tour. One of the reasons I wasn't there."[22]

Charts

[edit | edit source]

Weekly

[edit | edit source]
Chart performance for Skyscraper
Chart (1988–1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[23] 14
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[24] 6
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[25] 39
European Albums (IFPI)[26] 31
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 28
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[29] 7
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 12
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 13
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 11
US Billboard 200[35] 6

Certifications

[edit | edit source]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[37] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Track listing

[edit | edit source]

U.S. release

[edit | edit source]

All tracks are written by David Lee Roth and Steve Vai, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Knucklebones"
3:18
2."Just Like Paradise"
4:03
3."The Bottom Line" 3:38
4."Skyscraper" 3:40
5."Damn Good" 5:49
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hot Dog and a Shake" 3:19
2."Stand Up"
  • Roth
  • Tuggle
4:39
3."Hina" 4:41
4."Perfect Timing"
  • Roth
  • Tuggle
3:41
5."Two Fools a Minute" 4:29
Total length:41:23

European CD reissue

[edit | edit source]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."California Girls" (The Beach Boys cover)
2:51
2."Medley: Just a Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody" (Louis Prima cover)
Sam Butera (arrangement)		4:42
3."Knucklebones"
  • G. Bissonette
  • M. Bissonette
  • Roth
3:18
4."Just Like Paradise"
  • Roth
  • Tuggle
4:03
5."The Bottom Line" 3:38
6."Skyscraper" 3:40
7."Damn Good" 5:49
8."Hot Dog and a Shake" 3:19
9."Stand Up"
  • Roth
  • Tuggle
4:39
10."Hina" 4:41
11."Perfect Timing"
  • Roth
  • Tuggle
3:41
12."Two Fools a Minute" 4:29
Total length:48:56

Personnel

[edit | edit source]
  • 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

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ "The Best" CD liner notes (1997)
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0946". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  25. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  27. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  29. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  30. ^ "Charts.nz – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  31. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  32. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  33. ^ "Swisscharts.com – David Lee Roth – Skyscraper". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  34. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  35. ^ "David Lee Roth Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  36. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  37. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Skyscraper_(album)&oldid=6924738"