Year: January 1977 (CD Aug 24, 1994)
Label: Tochiba-EMI (Japan), TOCP-8342
Style: Rock, Hard Rock
Country: Salinas, California, U.S. (October 13, 1947)
Time: 39:02
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 255 MbI
first became a big-time Sammy Hagar fan after I saw him open up for
Boston in 1977. It was a concert I will never forget. Boston was good,
but Sammy Hagar just completely blew me away because I basically had
never heard of him before. I wonder how many people first discovered
Sammy Hagar from that tour. When you think about it, that’s one of the
reasons why record companies put up-and-coming artists as opening acts
on tours for major bands.
Now, of course, Sammy Hagar had already
made a name for himself in the music business as the lead vocalist for
Montrose. Nonetheless, if you weren’t a Montrose fan or didn’t pay much
attention to album credits, you probably never heard of Sammy Hagar.
Capital Records and, of course, the Red Rocker himself were out to
change all of that. The one song I remember the most from that night was
“Red.” The next day, I went to Sam Goody’s record store at the Smith
Haven Mall, and there it was.
It made perfect sense. Everything on
the cover was red, the car, the buildings, the people on the street and
the clothes that Sammy Hager wore. I never understood why they didn’t
call the album Red. It was just called Sammy Hagar. However, over the
years, most Sammy Hagar fans have referred to it as the Red Album. Just
like Beatles fans referred to the White Album as The White Album even
though it was just called The Beatles.
The cover for Sammy Hagar’s
self-titled debut album was shot on location in London on Stockwell
Road. The buildings in the background were actually all red. The outfit,
that is the red outfit that Sammy Hagar was wearing was borrowed from
Foghat’s Tony Stevens. And, of course, we don’t really know who owned
the car, but it’s a cool-looking car. The reason the photograph was
taken in London was because Sammy Hagar recorded his self-titled album
at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.
The Sammy Hagar album opened up
with what would become one of his signature songs called “Red.” This was
exciting rock and roll music with a fantastic opening. The way the bass
and drums created that driving groove set it all up for those power
chords that hit you rapid-fired as if an invasion had just begun. It
sounded so good, every instrument thriving in its own space with power
and emotion. I still get pumped up every time I hear this song. Scott
Mathews was incredibly powerful on this track. David Lewark and Sammy
Hagar’s guitar work was extraordinary, while Bill Church’s bass playing
provided pulsating eighth-note patterns that took it home. Alan
Fitzgerald’s keyboard work wrapped it all up with some special effects
that drizzled all over the track at some very key moments.
The
album’s second track was a cover of Donovan’s “Catch The Wind.” For
myself and probably many other young 16-year-old rock fans, that was the
first time I had ever heard of that song. The third track to appear on
the album would instantly become a fan favorite. Sammy Hagar’s own
composition “Cruisin’ & Boozin'” was a testament to the times. It
was common place for young people to get in their cars, stop at a local
7-Eleven, pick up a few six-packs of beer, and drive around all night
looking for fun or trouble. What a great song this was, though. The
rhythm change from the grooving verse to the half-tempo party atmosphere
in the chorus was very effective. It just made you want to have a good
time like the song said. We used to play this one all the time in the
car.
(full version: classicrockhistory.com/why-sammy-hagars-1977-sammy-hagar-lp-was-one-of-his-best/)
01. Red (04:04)
02. Catch The Wind (04:38)
03. Crusin' And Boozin' (03:09)
04. Free Money (03:59)
05. Rock 'N' Roll Weekend (03:09)
06. Fillmore Shuffle (03:44)
07. Hungry (03:05)
08. The Pits (03:06)
09. Love Has Found Me (03:51)
10. Little Star/Eclipse (06:14)
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