There are those who believe Van Halen did former frontman David Lee Roth wrong, and those who, apparently, don't.

Those who lived through the heyday of the late seventies and eighties and fondly recall the hedonistic abandon of the time, thought the reunion of the original line-up of one of the most successful hard rock bands of all time was the stuff dreams are made of.

When the band Diamond Dave once called home issued a greatest hits album last year they included, as bands are wont to do these days, two new tracks. The twist was that instead of using their vocalist Sammy Hagar, who had replaced Roth, they had Roth himself sing on them. When the dust settled, Hagar was out and a reunion tour featuring Roth was the rumor. The original Van Halen appeared together at the MTV Video Awards, throwing gasoline on the fire of their return.

Unfortunately though, before anyone could catch their breath, Roth was out again, Extreme's Gary Cherone was said to be Van Halen's new frontman. David Lee Roth cried foul, claiming to have been misled by the band.

Roth is candid about his feelings regarding the break-up. "It was terrible, man, and it was even more terrible the second time. It's like, come on, we don't need to make this such a painful, agonizing procedure."

So then why did things play out the way they did?

"Because some people are just not happy unless they're miserable," Roth says seriously. "That's the best that I can make out of this. It's no longer even amusing. It's either shit or get off the fucking pot. Nobody cares otherwise. We all know there's gold in them thar hills, but now you've got to shut up and go get it. Otherwise I personally don't care about what they're going to do. Otherwise I don't care about what their next configuration is, or what their last was... at all."

As all of these things get sorted out, or, well, don't, life goes on, and the spirit that Van Halen personified becomes even more of a distant memory. In the years since they ruled the Earth, music has adopted an agenda that has little in common with what Van Halen embodied.

"I think my kind of music and the kind of experience contained therein is waaaay too important to take very seriously," Roth laughs.

"Every now and then that faction, the woe-is-me faction grows, and becomes the popular vote. It's like at Julliard academy... for five years Mozart is the shit, and then in five years if you like him you're a fag. It's all fashions and trends. I'm not sure what part of the era we're now a part of, but after five years of the Kurt Cobain era, people are looking for the balance. There's got to be some Miller Time added into the program. That's where I come in. I carry a microphone."

To chronicle that talent, Roth has put out two collections -- a "best of" album called, simply, The Best, and a memoir. Each attempts to transport us to a different, if not better place. The album, culled from his post-Van Halen solo work, shows us just what "carrying a microphone" can entail.

The record is a romp through "big rock," Diamond Dave style, and though he punctuates everything with a laugh, you can almost hear him losing his sense of humor over the course of the album.

His book, Crazy From the Heat, reads like listening to someone amped on speed. It's full of Hammer of the Gods-style vignettes about a rock star's life that flesh out, sometimes literally, everything you would be afraid it might.

"That's me," he says, only slightly defensively. "That's the way I talk in a normal social situation. I think the temptation is to flatten out into something academic or what you think is academic when you write a book, but this is all dictated or written by me. There's no ghost writer here. There's no interviewer."

Roth says there's been no reaction from Van Halen about his book.

"I'm sure everything will be hated and denied (laughter). 'Oh, that never happened. It's designed to destroy our good name.' Come on. The Van Halens have accused me of everything from the Gulf War to the ebola virus. I'm sure Alex thinks ebola virus is a stripper's name (laughter). It should be."

History, as it does in its sneaky way, will determine how Roth is viewed, but for now we're left to wonder if he was a metaphor for his time or if he actually created the times.

"I think it was both," Roth offers carefully. "Any artist who is comprehensive in his approach is both. You constantly direct as well as reflect. I think that you've got to take whatever raw talent you have and work it and work it."

Making your way through his album, and especially, his book, you can understand why Van Halen might not want to have Roth in the band. At the same time, you can see why he's the only choice that makes sense. Life's just like that sometimes.

SCOTT WILSON