Second new song released this month
David Lee Roth has surprised fans with yet another acoustic track. “Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway” was released on YouTube today (Wed, July 27th) featuring an image with the classic Van Halen lineup. While the nearly three minute song doesn’t mention the band directly, it does allude to Roth’s time with the group.
“We laughed, we cried, we threw the television off that balcony / That memory means so much to me / No doubt in me, I do believe that no one listens to both sides except the neighbors / Fine art of compromise / Happy losing half of mine cause she’ll lose her half later / First taste of being victim of the very songs I sing / Ended up with ‘say goodbye’ and ‘I hope I hear good things’ / Walk away / Walk away / Nothing could have stopped us back then anyway”
It’s the second new track Roth released this month. On July 10th, the rocker surprised dropped “Pointing at the Moon,” a piano/acoustic guitar ballad.
These songs are the first new music from the former Van Halen frontman since 2020 when he included five previously unreleased songs in The Roth Project, an online comic narrated by the singer. The songs included guitar and bass by John 5, Greg Bissonette on drums, Brett Tuggle on keys and Luis Conte on percussion which were recorded in Hollywood in 2007.
John 5 confirms to Eddie Trunk that both stem from those sessions. The guitarist says Roth was going for a singer/songwriter vibe.
“He wanted to do this kind of a more California sessions type of thing. And he’s such an artist, I was like, ‘Whatever you want to do, I’m there for you.’ So it is that kind of vibe. But there’s a lot of multi tracks and different acoustic parts that all work together. It’s kind of orchestrated, if you will,” he tells AL.com.
Roth announced his retirement last fall with a “career-ending residency” at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. However, “due to unforeseen circumstances related to COVID and out of an abundance of caution for those working and attending the shows,” the entire thing was canceled, even after the addition of new shows.
“I am throwing in the shoes. I’m retiring,” Roth shares. “This is the first, and only, official announcement. You’ve got the news. Share it with the world. I’m not going to explain the statement. The explanation is in a safe. These are my last five shows.”
Roth recently shared a cryptic message with Fox News when asked about retiring.
“There’s always a tomorrow for a singer. Not so much for a trombone player these days, okay?” he says. “How many times did Rocky retire? Seven. I think number three was my favorite? How many times did Rambo have to come out of retirement in order to make the sequel?”
Roth seems to be holding up any potential Eddie Van Halen tribute that’s been rumored in recent months. SiriusXM radio host Eddie Trunk shared during an episode of Trunk Nation on SiriusXM Volume 106 last week that Roth is the reason nothing has been solidified.
“I had a very, very, very reliable source tell me last night at The Black Crowes show that the hold-up on the Van Halen anything happening is a lot of it falling on David Lee Roth, that David Lee Roth — to no surprise, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody — is a difficult guy to wrangle, a difficult guy to get an answer on, a difficult guy to get focused on anything, a difficult guy to get to sign off on anything. He is all over the map, as you would expect and have seen throughout history, and that the big hold-up in anything happening with Van Halen is not Alex, who wants to do it and is trying. It’s actually Roth who needs to sign off and be involved.”
