Review
If you were expecting the Sammy Hagar of Montrose, or the Sammy Hagar of Van Halen, or even the Sammy Hagar who can’t possibly drive 55, you will be mighty disappointed. There’s really nothing on Sammy Hagar & Friends that shows the Hagar that we’ve known for decades. Where is the beloved Red Rocker?
Maybe Sammy had dreams of winning a Country Music Award, with attempts Sammy Hagar & Friends that appear to be more power country than power rock. An example of this is the song “Bad on Fords and Chevrolets.” Oh, it’s bad alright. Poor Sammy won’t be winning anything for this tepid tune.
What seals the deal for a solo album gone bad is mediocre remakes of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” (For God’s sake, WHY?!) and Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” — from bad to peculiar, respectively.
Sammy Hagar & Friends only gets rockin’ right towards the end with “Going Down” (Live in Studio-Take 1)” — with Neal Schon’s guitar taking charge — but by then it’s too late.
The Red Rocker has hit the slow groove of retirement — this is rock and roll from a rocking chair — and even his “friends” can’t help.
Note: The “Deluxe Edition” does have the saving grace of the bonus track of a Montrose song, ”Space Station #5,” performed live from the Ronnie Montrose Tribute Concert on 4/27/2012 at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco.
