''A Little Ain't Enough'' is the third full-length studio album by

David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Best known for his wild, energetic stage persona, he was the original lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen across three stints, from 1974 to 1985, in 1996 and again fro ...

, released on January 15, 1991 through

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

. It was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

on April 11, 1991. Produced by

Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, 31 ...

, the album featured the lead guitar work of

Jason Becker Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...

, a then up-and-coming guitarist who was diagnosed with

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

(ALS, aka

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

) 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. 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 later reissued (in

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed form) in 2007 through the Friday Music label. The tour supporting the record was successful in Europe but the American leg, supported by Extreme and

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

, turned into a financial failure, with low attendance and one-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. The touring band featured

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

and Lizzy Borden guitarist

Joe Holmes Joe Holmes (born June 11, 1963) is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his stint with Ozzy Osbourne between 1995 and 2001. He has also played with Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and the L.A. band Lizzy Borden in addition to lea ...

, bassist

Todd Jensen Todd Jensen is an American bassist who has played for various artists, including the bands Sequel, Hardline (band), Hardline, and Harlow (band), Harlow, as well as David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Steve Perry (musician), Steve Perry, Alice Cooper,S ...

from

Hardline In politics, hardline (or hard-line) is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...

, longtime collaborators

Brett Tuggle Brett Tuggle (September 23, 1951 – June 19, 2022) was an American musician who is best known for his keyboard playing with Fleetwood Mac and the David Lee Roth band. Career Early years As a child, he studied classical piano and learned guitar ...

and

Gregg Bissonette Gregg Bissonette (born June 9, 1959) is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David ...

, and for the first few shows Desi Rexx from

D'Molls D'Molls, also known as D'Molls 777, was an American heavy metal and glam metal band. Featuring lead vocalist/guitarist Desi Rexx, bassist Lizzy Valentine, guitarist S. S. Priest, and drummer Billy Dior the band signed a recording contract w ...

as second guitarist. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the title track, "A Lil' Ain't Enough" received significant play on MTV. The song "Hammerhead Shark" is a cover and partial re-write of the song by the same title from the 1990 album "Walking on a Wire" by

Lowen & Navarro Lowen & Navarro was a songwriting team composed of David Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro, who met in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. They wrote the song "We Belong," which became a major hit for Pat Benatar in 1984, and the song "Hammerhead Sha ...

Track listing

Personnel

* David Lee Roth – vocals, harmonica, concept *

– lead guitar *

Steve Hunter Stephen John Hunter (born June 14, 1948) is an American guitarist, primarily a session player. He has worked with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper, acquiring the moniker "The Deacon". Hunter first played with Mitch Ryder's Detroit, beginning a long as ...

–

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

, rhythm guitar * Paul Baron – brass *

– drums, percussion * Matt Bissonette – bass, vocals * Derry Byrne – brass * Brian Dobbs – engineer * Tom Keenlyside – brass * Marc LaFrance – backing vocals *

George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

– mastering * Jim McGillveray – percussion * Ian Putz – brass *

– producer, mixing * Randy Staub – engineer * David Steele – backing vocals * Chris Taylor – engineer *

– keyboards, vocals * John Webster – keyboards * Pete Angelus – concept * Jim Pezzullo – art direction, design

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Ain't Enough David Lee Roth albums 1991 albums Warner Records albums Albums produced by Bob Rock Glam metal albums