Album Review

Skyscraper is the second full-length studio album by David Lee Roth, the original and current lead vocalist of Van Halen. It was released in 1988 on Warner Bros. Records.

Skyscraper was issued shortly after the commercially and critically successful Eat 'em and Smile World Tour of 1986-1987. Skyscraper hit No. 6 on the Billboard Top 200 U.S. album chart during February 1988, en route to selling two million copies in the United States. The album features one of Roth's most popular singles, ''Just Like Paradise'', which reached No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Additionally, it features the acoustic ballad ''Damn Good,'' which reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Rock chart.

At the time of its release, the eclectic, quasi-psychedelic Skyscraper divided public and critical opinion. Although Roth's 1988 Skyscraper Tour was successful, many fans and critics disappointed by Van Halen's post-Roth, keyboard-heavy sound expressed similar dissatisfaction with Skyscraper. Guitarist Steve Vai (who co-produced Skyscraper, and wrote a majority of its songs) and bassist Billy Sheehan, who formed the core of David Lee Roth's solo band, left the group over various controversies regarding Skyscraper. [wikipedia.org]