"The Best of Sammy Hagar""The Best of Sammy Hagar"When I ordered Three Lock Box, on a whim I decided to throw this one in for the hell of it. Some good, plain old rock'n'roll here, especially "I've Done Everything for You", which was done by Rick Springfield later on. (Actually, I used to think Rick Springfield did it originally, and Sammy's version was a cover!) A fine collection.
"Standing Hampton""I'll Fall in Love Again" was the first Sammy Hagar song I ever heard, and it instantly clicked with me. The rest of the songs are more generic rock'n'roll, not to exciting, except of course the excellent tracks "There's Only One Way to Rock" and "Heavy Metal". And yes, "Piece of my Heart" is the Janis Joplin song -- but "Sweet Hitchhiker" is a Sammy original, and NOT the Credence Clearwater Revival song!!
"Three Lock Box"I used to own this on crappy vinyl and loved the hell out of it. The best song here is "Remember the Heroes", which features co-vocals by Mike Reno of Loverboy and keyboards by Journey's Jonathan Cain. I had to special order this CD after years of searching in vain for it used.
Another great album that came out around this time was a collaboration with Neal Schon (another Journey guy) and two other guys, under the name of Hagar, Schon, Aaronson & Schrieve....another gem in my collection, so you better click that damn link NOW!
"VOA""I Can't Drive 55" is the classic track here...and come to think, now that they've changed the speed limit laws, shouldn't he rename the song? Call it "I Can't Drive 75" or something. The other songs really suck (though "Dick in the Dirt" is kinda cute..."I knew this guy named Richard," indeed!)
"I Never Said Goodbye"This album came out after Sammy joined Van Halen, presumably to fulfill his record contract. Originally it was just titled Sammy Hagar, but MTv held a "Name Sammy's Album!" contest and this is the title that won. I used to own the untitled version but sold it for no apparent reason, and picked this one up when I saw it had the new title on it. (Some would think that the untitled version is worth more as a collector's item, but that's actually not true.) Some excellent music here, "When the Hammer Falls" is a MONSTER rocker, and "Privacy" has got a heavy, driving rhythm to it. One of Sammy's best.
"All Covered Up" (CDR live bootleg; various sources)Here's an interesting collection that I picked off of someone's trade list, in exchange for a copy of my H.S.A.S. boot. Except that the Van Halen songs aren't really covers, since Sammy was a member of the band, at the time!! ("Ain't Talkin' Bout Love" and "Rock & Roll" are taken from the Live Without a Net video, and "Won't Get Fooled Again" comes from Right Here, Right Now -- dunno where "Unchained" and "Jump" come from.) Also, "Whiter Shade of Pale" is taken directly from Through the Fire, and "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" and "Piece of My Heart" are also ripped straight from the official studio releases. The rest come from a variety of bootlegs (I assume), with very good quality overall. The bootleg is titled "Sammy Hagar & Friends", because apparently most of the songs feature guest artists, which would include Neal Schon and Eddie Van Halen, I presume. :) But there's no track information whatsoever, so the only "friends" I know of for sure are the three original members of Cream, who are introduced at the end of "Crossroads". (Further information is definitely needed!)
Oh yeah, I figure "Baba O'Reilly" must've been recorded around 1984 or so, because Sammy introduces the song by saying, "This is a song by the Who, one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time, and I hope you got to see them on tour last year, because it was their final tour and you'll probably never be able to see them again!" (And I got this before John Entwistle died, so he wasn't referring to THAT...)
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