Sammy Hagar, aka the Red Rocker, has had a long and storied career outside of Van Halen playing with numerous and various musicians along the way. In 2013, he released a collection of songs with some of these friends. Of the nine studio tracks, there are three originals and six cover songs. The album reunites Sammy with his former Montrose bandmates Denny Carmassi and Bill Church on three tracks. Sammy does a cover of Bob Seger's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" with his backing band The Waboritas. The most impressive cover song is his interpretation of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus". Sammy is playing along with Chad Smith (Chickenfoot), Michael Anthony (Van Halen/The Circle) and Neal Schon, who Sammy played along with in Hagar Schon Aaronson and Shrieve in 1984. They recorded a live album and played a few shows in San Francisco but a planned studio album never materialized. On "Personal Jesus", the song is converted from the techno original into a "Bluesy" romp complete with background singers who provide the extra soul and depth to the song. The guitar work by Neal Schon is exceptional and the solo fits in perfectly as if it was originally part of the song. The album is rounded out by two live tracks taken from a Ronnie Montrose tribute concert from 2012. The two tracks again feature his former Montrose bandmates Denny Carmassi and Bill Church who are joined by virtuoso Joe Satriani. This album like most recent Sammy Hagar solo work sets a tone and mood which would go perfectly with an ice cold beer and relaxing chair to back an enjoy.
