I Never Said Goodbye

I Never Said Goodbye
Studio album by Sammy Hagar
Released	June 23, 1987
Recorded	1987
Genre	Hard rock
Length	45:33
Label	Geffen Records
Producer	Sammy Hagar & Edward Van Halen
Professional reviews
Allmusic link
Sammy Hagar chronology
VOA (1984) I Never Said Goodbye (1987) Marching to Mars (1997)

I Never Said Goodbye is a Sammy Hagar solo album, his only solo album to date released while Hagar was a member of Van Halen. The album was recorded in ten days as a contractual obligation to Geffen Records as a condition of his leaving the label to join Van Halen.

It is also sometimes known as Sammy Hagar, and some pressings even left it simply titled Sammy Hagar, but it is not the same album as his 1970s self-titled release.

The album was originally titled Sammy Hagar, and included an untitled cover. The album was re-named I Never Said Goodbye, the name being chosen as part of an MTV promotional contest.

It features Eddie Van Halen on bass. In an interview, Eddie said he also played a very brief part on guitar uncredited.

The songs "Give to Live" and "Eagles Fly" were also performed live by Van Halen together with Hagar. "Give To Live" also topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1987, a first for Hagar as a solo artist. The former song was included on the album Live: Right Here, Right Now, the latter on the optional Bonus Disk as well as on the "Jump" single.

Song Information

• "Returning Home" was intended to be a sequel to "Silver Lights" from Sammy's first album Nine On A Ten Scale. Whereas "Silver Lights" was a story about aliens taking humans off the Earth, "Returning Home" tells the story of the humans' return trip. Sammy said that it could also apply to a tale that his future self might tell a child at that time. ^[1]

• "Standin' at the Same Old Crossroads" was released in an extended version on the "Give To Live" single.

• "Privacy" was inspired by several run-ins that Sammy had with California Highway Patrol while driving in his car with black-tinted windows. While a court challenge would always rule in Hagar's favor, the law could not prevent the CHiPs from consistently pulling him over and giving him tickets. ^[1]

• "Eagles Fly" was demoed with three other songs as a follow up to Hagar's VOA album before joining Van Halen. Once they had almost finished recording 5150, "Dreams" had not yet been written, 5150's producer Mick Jones suggested that the band needed another song. Sammy presented "Eagles Fly" to the band acoustically, which was rejected for being too folksy. The band would later join Hagar performing the song live on their 1995 Balance tour. The song's lyrics deal with the level of consciousness when a human is first immediately born, where they are aware of all that is and all that was. ^[1]

Track listing

1. "When the Hammer Falls" (Sammy Hagar) - 4:09
2. "Hands and Knees" (Sammy Hagar) - 4:52
3. "Give to Live" (Sammy Hagar) - 4:23
4. "Boys' Night Out" (Sammy Hagar) - 3:19
5. "Returning Home" (Sammy Hagar) - 6:17
6. "Standin' at the Same Old Crossroads" (Sammy Hagar) - 1:46
7. "Privacy" (Sammy Hagar) - 5:23
8. "Back Into You" (Sammy Hagar/Jesse Harms) - 5:15
9. "Eagles Fly" (Sammy Hagar) - 5:00
10. "What They Gonna Say Now" (Sammy Hagar) - 5:09

Personnel

• Sammy Hagar: Lead/Background Vocals and Guitar
• Edward Van Halen: Bass/Background Vocals/Producer
• Jesse Harms: Keyboards/Background Vocals
• David Lauser: Drums/Background Vocals

Additional Personnel

• Albhy Galuten: Additional Keyboards and Percussion
• Omar Hakim: Drum overdubs on tracks 2 & 8
• David Thoener: Engineer/Co-Producer
• Rob Beaton: Assistant Engineer
• Cary Butler: Assistant Engineer
• Robert DelaGarza: Assistant Engineer
• Marc DeSisto: Assistant Engineer
• Greg Fulginiti: Recorder
• Mark McKenna: Assistant Engineer
• Toby Wright: Assistant Engineer

Singles

• "Give To Live" b/w "When The Hammer Falls" b/w "Standin' At The Same Old Crossroads" (Extended Version) - US (Geffen 0-20712)
• "Give To Live" b/w "When The Hammer Falls" b/w "Standin' At The Same Old Crossroads" (Extended Version) - UK (Geffen GEF 23T 920 712-0)
• "Give To Live" b/w "When The Hammer Falls" - US (Geffen 7-28314-A)
• "Give To Live" b/w "When The Hammer Falls" - US (Geffen GEF 23)
• "Give To Live" - US (Geffen PRO-CD-2750)
• "Give To Live" b/w "When The Hammer Falls" - Canada (Geffen 92 83147)
• "Give To Live" b/w "When The Hammer Falls" - Germany (Geffen 928 314-7)
• "Give To Live" b/w "When The Hammer Falls" - Japan (Geffen P-2279)
• "Eagles Fly" b/w "Hands And Knees" - US (Geffen 28185-7)
• "Eagles Fly" b/w "Hands And Knees" - Japan (Geffen P-2323)
• "Eagles Fly" b/w "Eagles Fly" edit - US (Geffen PRO-A-2854)
• "Eagles Fly" b/w "Eagles Fly" - US (Geffen 7-28185-A)

Versions

• Geffen Records (US LP) : GHS 24144
• Geffen Records (US CD) : GEFD-24144
• Geffen Records (Germany LP) : 924 144-1
• Geffen Records (Germany CD) : 924 144-2
• Geffen Records (Canada LP) : XGHS 24144
• Geffen Records (Japan LP) : P-13530

External links

Lyrics from Sammy's official site link

References