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| Skyscraper | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 21, 1988[1] | |||
| Recorded | Spring – Autumn 1987 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:23 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | David Lee Roth,Steve Vai | |||
| David Lee Roth chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Skyscraper | ||||
| ||||
Skyscraper is the second full-length studio album byDavid Lee Roth, released during his solo career after his departure fromVan Halen. It was released on January 21, 1988, onWarner Bros. Records, shortly after the commercially and critically successfulEat 'Em and Smile Tour of 1986–1987.
In a 2022 interview withEonmusic, Vai said that the song "Damn Good" was developed from a piece called "Scandinavian Air Solo", originally slated to appear on hisPassion and Warfare album.[7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [8] |
| Christgau’s Consumer Guide | C+[9] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[10] |
| The Daily Vault | C−[11] |
| Kerrang! | [12] |
| Los Angeles Times | [13] |
| Rolling Stone | [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 withSkyscraper.
Skyscraper hit No. 6 on theBillboard 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]
InKerrang! magazine, Mick Wall reviewed aWorcester 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 theMonsters of Rock performance atCastle 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 bassistBilly Sheehan dispelled rumors of stage duct tape blocking instrumentalists away from Roth's space in theEat 'Em and Smile tour, but: "It did exist on theSkyscraper tour. One of the reasons I wasn't there."[22]
| 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 |
| USBillboard 200[35] | 6 |
| 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. | ||
All tracks are written byDavid Lee Roth andSteve Vai, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(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 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hot Dog and a Shake" | 3:19 | |
| 2. | "Stand Up" |
| 4:39 |
| 3. | "Hina" | 4:41 | |
| 4. | "Perfect Timing" |
| 3:41 |
| 5. | "Two Fools a Minute" | 4:29 | |
| Total length: | 41:23 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(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" |
| 3:18 |
| 4. | "Just Like Paradise" |
| 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" |
| 4:39 |
| 10. | "Hina" | 4:41 | |
| 11. | "Perfect Timing" |
| 3:41 |
| 12. | "Two Fools a Minute" | 4:29 | |
| Total length: | 48:56 | ||
The band
Guest musicians
Production
