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Montrose

 
Album Review: Montrose
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Montrose

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  • Artist: Montrose
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1973
  • Total Time: 32:22
  • Genre: Rock

Review

The '70s gave us a slew of classic hard rock albums -- the likes of which may never be equaled -- and though it hasn't had the lasting influence of, say, Boston's or Ted Nugent's first albums, Montrose's eponymous debut proved equally influential and important in its day. Released in 1973, the record also introduced a young Sammy Hagar to the world, but the explosive aggression of Ronnie Montrose's biting guitar left no doubt as to why it was his name gracing the cover. A rock-solid rhythm section featuring drummer Denny Carmassi and bassist Bill Church certainly didn't hurt, either, and unstoppable anthems such as "Rock the Nation" and "Good Rockin' Tonight" would lay the ground rules for an entire generation of late-'70s California bands, most notably Van Halen. Admittedly, tracks like "Make It Last" and "I Don't Want It" sound rather dated by today's sonic standards (no thanks to their ultra-silly lyrics), but no amount of time can dim the sheer euphoria of "Bad Motor Scooter," the adolescent nastiness of "Rock Candy," and the simply gargantuan main riff of the phenomenal "Space Station #5." A welcome addition to any respectable '70s hard rock collection. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Rock the Nation Ronnie Montrose Montrose (3:03)
Bad Motor Scooter (Lyrics) Sammy Hagar Montrose (3:43)
Space Station No. 5 (Lyrics) Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose Montrose (5:16)
I Don't Want It (Lyrics) Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose Montrose (2:58)
Good Rockin' Tonight Roy Brown Montrose (2:59)
Rock Candy (Lyrics) Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose, Denny Carmassi, Bill Church Montrose (5:05)
One Thing on My Mind (Lyrics) Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose Montrose (3:41)
Make It Last Sammy Hagar Montrose (5:27)

Credits

Sammy Hagar (Vocals), Sammy Hagar (Group Member), Montrose (Producer), Montrose (Main Performer), Ronnie Montrose (Guitar), Ronnie Montrose (Group Member), Denny Carmassi (Drums), Denny Carmassi (Group Member), Bill Church (Bass), Stephen Jarvis (Engineer), Donn Landee (Engineer), Ted Templeman (Producer), Norman Seeff (Photography), Dave Bhang (Art Direction), Dave Bhang (Design), Steve Hoffman (Mastering), Beverly Taddei (Production Coordination), Christine Morse (Pre-Production)
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Wikipedia: Montrose (album)
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Montrose
Studio album by Montrose
Released October 1973 (1973-10)
Genre Hard Rock
Length 32:22
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Ted Templeman
Professional reviews
Montrose chronology
Montrose
(1973)		 Paper Money
(1974)

Montrose is the debut album by the band Montrose in 1973 which was produced by Ted Templeman. After having done sessions work for various musicians including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock and Edgar Winter, this was Ronnie Montrose's first record leading his own band. It featured then little known Sammy Hagar (then known as Sam Hagar) on vocals. While considered a classic by many hard rock fans, tracks from the album have received scant airplay on the radio with "Bad Motor Scooter" being the only possible exception. It has been said[by whom?] that Warner Bros. Records did not know how to market Montrose, the band or album and the band eventually went under as a result. But the album has undergone a renaissance since then, eventually going platinum.

Van Halen (which Hagar would eventually join) had used this album as a blueprint for their own debut (which Templeman also produced) and there are some similarities in the sound of the Montrose album to early Van Halen. Ronnie Montrose mainly used a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Bandmaster and a Big Muff to record the Montrose album [1]. Eddie Van Halen himself considered Ronnie Montrose to be an influence and "Make It Last" was covered by Van Halen in their early club concerts and is available on Van Halen bootlegs, and "Rock Candy" was rehearsed during the sessions for Van Halen's debut album. There are at least two, slightly different, versions of the Montrose album cover. Also, the tracks are in a different order on different copies, again with at least two versions. The album was voted as the 4th best Metal Album of All Time by Kerrang! Magazine in 1989

Iron Maiden has also done a cover from this album. "Space Station #5" has been released as a B-Side from their single "Be Quick or Be Dead" from 1992.

Contents

European Release

The album was released in Europe (via Germany) in 1974, re-titled "Rock The Nation". This version had an identical tracklisting but a different sleeve showing a painting of a girl with four breasts. [2]

Track listing

  1. "Rock the Nation" - 3:03
  2. "Bad Motor Scooter" - 3:41
  3. "Space Station #5" - 5:18
  4. "I Don't Want It" - 2:58
  5. "Good Rockin' Tonight" (Roy Brown cover) - 2:59
  6. "Rock Candy" - 5:05
  7. "One Thing on My Mind" - 3:41
  8. "Make It Last" - 5:31

Alternate track listing

  1. "Rock the Nation"
  2. "Space Station #5"
  3. "I Don't Want It"
  4. "Make It Last"
  5. "Bad Motor Scooter"
  6. "Good Rockin' Tonight" (Roy Brown cover)
  7. "Rock Candy"
  8. "One Thing on My Mind"

Personnel

v • d • e
Montrose
Ronnie Montrose · Sammy Hagar · Bob James · Bill Church · Alan Fitzgerald · Jim Alcivar · Denny Carmassi · Randy Jo Hobbs · James Kottak · Johnny Edwards · Glenn Letsch
Studio albums
Singles
"Rock Candy" · "I Got the Fire" · "Bad Motor Scooter" · "Make It Last" · "Rock the Nation" · "Space Station #5"

References

  1. ^ http://www.vintageguitar.com/features/artists/details.asp?AID=2110
  2. ^ http://www.redrockerdiscography.com/montrosediscography/lp/rockthenation.html

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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