David Lee Roth
Diamond Dave

For the first time, I'm reviewing a more recent album, at least from the XXI century!!! It is Diamond Dave, from 2003, the last album of the memorable David Lee Roth, singer of Van Halen and protagonist of a decent solo career.

A priori, even before listening to it, I was a bit prejudiced against this album because when you listen to the new work of a famous artist from years before, there is always the fear of what you will hear, both because you see your idol changing (and, sometimes, worsening), and because there is a strong nostalgia for the past, for what was and can never come back again…

After listening to the album, a saying that is used around here immediately came to mind: "putting on a patch of color", which means doing something to avoid making mistakes, for the sole purpose of not receiving criticism, or more bluntly, to cover one's ass! It may be just my opinion, but after “Eat ‘em And Smile” there won't be any more albums with the grit and energy of before, apart from some sporadic tracks, like “Slam Dunk!” from the DLR Band album or even “It’s Showtime” from "A Little Ain’t Enough", a record where the poor Jason Becker appears on guitar, hit in the back during the tour by infamous fate…

I can't help but notice in David Lee Roth a vain attempt to stay on the previous wavelength, for a consequent and inevitable surrender, perhaps hidden, to an entirely different genre. The so-called patches of color I was talking about refer to the covers found in the tracklist of Diamond Dave; we find Hendrix, Beatles, Doors, Steve Miller, and Savoy Brown. I have nothing against covers, quite the opposite, Dave himself proposes one of Sinatra’s in "Eat ‘em And Smile" and a year before produced a mini-EP of cover only, but in my opinion, there is a huge difference: in “That’s Life” for example, there is imitation, yes, but a dynamic, active imitation… While now you only notice coldness, pure mannerism (see “Soul Kitchen”). Take again, "Tomorrow Never Knows", certainly it is faithful, well-arranged, but the magic in the original version? Gone, in my judgment. Different is the case with “Ice Cream Man”, where the piano and sax are quite nice and give a retro air to the song. Lastly, I must criticize “If 6 was 9”, which I just can't bear, after all it's Jimi Hendrix, where's the guitar and why is it replaced by the bass? why not give to Caesar what is Caesar's? <> said dear Totò, but I don't like it at all…

I may be prejudiced against new albums and perhaps objectively the new type of music Dave proposed is okay, there's certainly worse, but for me he’s not the same anymore, it’s not what I want!!! And so I continue to watch his older videos and concerts, where he showcases his numbers and his fantastic performances!!! Looking at the cover, one gets the impression that Dave is still himself, eccentric and exhibitionist as always, but it's not so, the heart of this album shows us perfectly and, if you want to understand me, its soul is melancholic and full of memories, because it goes digging into the roots of music, to find acceptance of time and above all a place to truly feel at home.

That being said, the concept of the “patch of color” collapses inexorably, because it is the situation that changes: these cover songs, so aseptic, are nothing more than the projection of advancing age. And like a seer, David chose to sing “That’s Life”, this is life, this is the price for the glory and fame of a man who has become a rock legend: old age…