A Little Ain't Enough

Last updated
A Little Ain't Enough
ALAE cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 15, 1991
Recorded1990
Studio Little Mountain (Vancouver)
Genre
Length53:10
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Bob Rock
David Lee Roth chronology
Skyscraper
(1988)
A Little Ain't Enough
(1991)
Your Filthy Little Mouth
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [4]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]

A Little Ain't Enough is the third full-length studio album by David Lee Roth, released on January 15, 1991, through Warner Music Group. It was certified gold on April 11, 1991. Produced by Bob Rock, the album featured the lead guitar work of Jason Becker, a then up-and-coming guitarist who was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease) a week after joining the band. He managed to finish recording the album, but was unable to tour in support of the album, as his condition left him with little strength in his hands.

Contents

The album marked the beginning of Roth's commercial decline, given the drop-off in sales from his prior two albums. During the year of the album's release, the Seattle grunge movement was beginning a sea change in rock, and Roth's brand of glam metal was considered, by mainstream audiences, obsolete. Although the album went out of print on the Warner Bros. label in 1996, it was reissued (in remastered form) in 2007 through the Friday Music label.

Release

A music video for the title track, "A Lil' Ain't Enough", received significant play on MTV. [7] [8]

The song "Hammerhead Shark" is a cover and partial rewrite of the song by the same title from the 1990 album Walking on a Wire [9] by Lowen & Navarro.

Tour

The tour supporting the record was successful in Europe, but the American leg, supported by Extreme and Cinderella, turned into a financial failure, with low attendance and a third of the shows cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Setlists were shortened and songs from the current album dropped as the US tour went on.[ citation needed ]

The touring band featured Ozzy Osbourne and Lizzy Borden guitarist Joe Holmes, bassist Todd Jensen from Hardline, longtime collaborators Gregg Bissonette and Brett Tuggle, and for the first few shows [10] Desi Rexx from D'Molls as second guitarist. [11]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."A Lil' Ain't Enough" Robbie Nevil, David Lee Roth 4:42
2."Shoot It" Gregg Bissonette, Nevil, Roth, Brett Tuggle 4:13
3."Lady Luck" Craig Goldy, Roth4:40
4."Hammerhead Shark"Eric Lowen, Roth, Preston Sturges3:34
5."Tell the Truth" Steve Hunter, Roth, Tuggle5:18
6."Baby's on Fire"Hunter, Roth, Tuggle3:22
7."40 Below"Hunter, Roth, Tuggle4:54
8."Sensible Shoes"Dennis Morgan, Roth, Sturges5:09
9."Last Call" Matt Bissonette, Gregg Bissonette, Rocket Ritchotte, Roth, Tuggle3:22
10."The Dogtown Shuffle"Hunter, Roth, Tuggle4:58
11."It's Showtime!" Jason Becker, Roth3:46
12."Drop in the Bucket"Becker, Roth5:05
Total length:53:03

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1991)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [12] 26
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [13] 22
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [14] 21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [15] 30
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [16] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [17] 12
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [18] 17
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [19] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [20] 11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [21] 5
UK Albums (OCC) [22] 4
US Billboard 200 [23] 18

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [24] Gold50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [25] Silver60,000^
United States (RIAA) [26] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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