Tag: montrose

It’s quite hard to keep track of what Ronnie has released, especially as a timeline as he was jumping from Montrose to solo, to Gamma to solo, to Montrose, and all stops in between. This album came out in ’87 and it didn’t do that well sales-wise. I guess it sort of mirrors what was around at the time, as there is a strong LA rock vibe going down mixed in with Ronnie’s distinct tone.

Don’t Damage The Rock is a hard uptempo rocker to get things going, with some great guitar. Game Of Love has that slight sleaze vibe to it. Pass It On is a really cool track. A great old school mid-seventies riff and pounding groove, with some great guitar. Hard Headed Woman follows and it’s a big hair rock riff and groove that pounds along. Definitely my favourite track on the record. M For Machine feels like a Gamma tune, and I bet this was around for those sessions.

Side two kicks in with the hard rocking Ready Willing And Able, a nice chunky riff and an ear worm hook and chorus. Man of The Hour starts with a big fat riff, then we gallop along until the huge chorus hits with a great pounding groove behind it. Flesh And Blood is a slow plodding groover with a decent riff and nice solo. The album closes out with Stand, and it’s a power ballad of sorts but the solo is killer.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

This the second Montrose album, and the last to feature Sam The Sham before his falling out with Ronnie and his departure to be a solo artist. This version has a bonus live album that was recorded at KSAN radio in ’74. It’s hard to believe it, but this album was the band’s highest charting album at #65. I always thought the first album was the best, but I guess not sales wise.

After the wam-bam of the first album, the first two tracks are a bit of a let down as they are very laid back and are both covers. It’s not until we get to The Dreamer where the volume gets turned up and Hagar does his best Paul Rodgers impression. Starliner is quite an interesting track as there is no vocal, but you can see that Ronnie was trying to change the band’s sound. I Got The Fire is the first track which could have been on the first record and it’s a great up tempo tune. The one thing you notice on this album is the guitar sound is a lot cleaner and the distortion has been dialled back.

My favourite track on the album is the dirty blues groove of Spaceage Scarifice. We’re Going Home sounds as though it should have been in Laurel Canyon in the late sixties – it feels as though its on the wrong album. The final track is Paper Money and this also has a very hippy vibe to it. If you didn’t know which album was recorded first, this or the self titled first album, you would probably say this one as it sounds older than it’s predecessor. I’m not sure if the fighting between Ronnie and Sham was the reason this album sounds very disjointed, but I guess it was having an effect.

7/10 from The Grooveman.

It’s really hard to believe that this album was recorded back in 1973. Produced by Ted Templeman, and engineered by Donn Landee – who would later use this album as the blueprint for Van Halen’s first album. This is the 2017 remastered edition which comes with the bonus disc of live at KSAN radio in ’73, and was recorded before the band had even decided on a name. This was the first time that Sam the Sham had appeared on record, but Ronnie had been around for a while doing sessions and being a part of Edgar Winter’s band.

This album does rock the dandruff away, from the opening distorted chords of Rock The Nation, to the close out tones of Make It Last – this is one of the best debut rock albums ever. Ronnie’s distorted guitar and riffing was new for everyone at the time, and to me, this was heavier sounding than Sabbath. Combined that with Hagar’s vocals, which are more Robert Plant than the man himself, it’s no wonder these guys were ripping up a storm across the states. It’s hard to pick a favourite, as there are so many tracks that have become classics, but if I’m pushed Rock Candy would do it for me. Killer riff and epic vocals – it doesn’t get better than that. The live bonus album actually has three tracks not on the album: Shoot Us Down, You’re Out If Time, and the Chuck Berry classic, Roll Over Beethoven.

9/10 from The Grooveman.