Sammy Hagar was building himself up as a platform for musical success, with his iconic vocal range, decent tunes and Rock attitude. This is one of his early career albums, and is notably fresh sounding and inspired. Sammy Hagar was really working hard to achieve success, and it was beginning to deliver. Let’s see if this album matches that call. It features the then singer and guitarist from Journey, but is Sammy Hagar full throttle. Let’s jump in.

We begin with Love Or Money which begins with Sammy singing, “I may be crazy, but I ain’t no fool!” before kicking into an awesome Rock music piece that sounds uplifting and energetic. It is a great Pop/Rock piece that sounds original, awesome and authentic for Sammy Hagar. A brilliant introduction to this album, and the piece sounds really cool. Some shred style guitar parts are in the solo here. The Red Rocker was back, and very unstoppable. A brilliant mix of sound and intent, nice song.

Next is 20th Century Man which has some subdued Rock riffing to begin with, before going into another good song. Sammy Hagar personifies a typical male in society here, and it is an interesting and out there Rock song. Some strange sounds in the midsection that could not exist before the 20th century in the midsection, before going straight back into the song at hand. Interesting tale, and a Rocking piece no doubt. Good song.

Miles From Boredom is ridiculously great. The guitar part throughout is loud, overdriven and awesome. There was no single coil, twangy stuff here, this is Gibson humbucker sounding territory here. The lyrics and music match together, and this is a fun and interesting piece that sounds wonderful. A powerful statement, Sammy Hagar made great Rock music here. This is a top song, and is both emotionally melodic (in a happy way) and rhythmically powerful. The Red Rocker does extremely well here. Nice tune. Great to hear.

Mommy Says, Daddy Says is a more Pop sounding piece about difficulties with parents. Of course, we are all guilty at points of being rebellious towards our parents. Still, this is a wonderful piece of music that is a little quirky yet classy and memorable, too. A great musical statement, this is an interesting listen.

Next is In The Night (Entering The Danger Zone) which has a good Rock riff, before Sammy Hagar sings about living life to the full. A good song to hear, Sammy Hagar writes both decent Rock riffage and personal lyrics about the things one can experience. It goes into an odd midsection, before Black Sabbath style guitars enter this piece. A lone vocal piece is here, before the Rock jam kicks in once again. This section of lone vocal and guitar playing alternates, and we have a top piece of music here. Different, and somewhat reminiscent of Pink Floyd, this is a good five minute long song. Towards the end, it goes back into main section of music. Wonderful and different (for Sammy Hagar) music listening.

Following is The Iceman which begins with a drum faded in intro. A piano led part then occurs, and we get into a story about a person who is pretty much trouble. A weird, yet good piece of music that sounds a bit unusual, this is a good listen, but maybe a little too unusual to understand deeply. The guitars here are loud and awesome here. Weird, yet wonderful for Sammy Hagar, it is a good song, maybe not a great one, but good nonetheless. It fades out with some decent singing in it.

Bad Reputation begins with some nice loud Rock riffs, then launching into a song about a girl who has said bad reputation, which is a misjudgement by others onto her. A wonderful and explorational piece of sonic Rock goodness with a nice story attached to it. This was the era of big stadium Rock music, and Sammy Hagar does really well here in that sense. A great song that sounds alive and kicking, this music by Sammy Hagar is definitely underrated. Definitely worth hearing. Nice tune.

Heartbeat comes next, and has Sammy Hagar putting his heart on his sleeve here. A lovely piece of music that sounds really wonderful, with a chanted chorus and great harmonies, this is a winner of a piece. This may have actually been a true life story from Sammy Hagar, but we will never know that for certain. Really good listen, this guy has some great music that kicks well. The harmonies, instrumentation and structure here are wonderful, and this is an underrated song. Nice to hear.

Following is Run For Your Life. No, it is not a cover of The Beatles song on Rubber Soul. Instead, it is a melancholy piece about the experiences that one has with a lover. A beautiful song about heartbreak, this is an extraordinary music to hear. A bit soppy, but hey, that’s okay at this point of the album, as a bit of variety is needed here. A fine listening experience, this is refreshingly good. Towards the end, Sammy Hagar sings softly with some quiet guitar parts, before launching into a furiously loud outro. Decent song.

Last here is The Danger Zone which is actually a pretty interesting piece that is intended as a phone answering machine message. Well…it’s not quite that but is wonderful nonetheless. Less than a minute long, this finishes this album nicely.

This is a very decent musical album that shows Sammy Hagar growing stronger musically and improving as time goes on. Being one of the hardest working musicians out there, he delivers. This album proves this point and although it is not as popular as Van Hagar, it is surprisingly good. Nice album.

Well crafted.

8/10