- Montrose · 1973
- Montrose · 1973
- Montrose · 1973
- Montrose · 1973
- Montrose · 1973
- Montrose · 1973
- Montrose · 1973
- Montrose · 1973
- Jump On It · 1976
- Paper Money (Deluxe Edition) · 1974
- The Very Best of Montrose · 1974
- The Very Best of Montrose · 1974
- Paper Money · 1974
Essential Albums
- Montrose's self-titled debut is one of the better rock ’n’ roll platters of the '70s. Featuring singer/guitarist Sammy Hagar (who later reprised his frontman role in Van Halen, a band heavily influenced by Montrose) and the extremely gifted guitarist Ronnie Montrose (who'd already done sessions with folks as varied as Van Morrison and Herbie Hancock), this album is filled with hearty-riffed rock ’n’ rollers ready-made for speeding Camaros, backyard kegger parties, and girls breaking curfew in too-loose halter tops. Easy sexual metaphors abound, of course, always in the guise of anthems—see “Bad Motor Scooter,” “One Thing on My Mind,” and the absolute California cock-rock classic “Rock Candy.” But you can’t really fault Montrose for that; it was the idiom of the times, as far as FM rock radio was concerned. And no one—not Foghat, Ted Nugent, Lynyrd Skynyrd, or Black Oak Arkansas—did American-sounding rock better in 1973 than Montrose. And for a true, transcendental hard-rock moment, listen here to Montrose’s skull-crushing cover of Ray Brown’s 1947 jump-blues classic “Good Rocking Tonight.” Timeless.
About Montrose
In the early 1970s, when hard rock was ruled by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and AC/DC, Montrose was one of America’s few heavy hitters. With minor FM hits such as “Rock Candy” and “Bad Motor Scooter” and the undeniable fretwork of guitarist Ronnie Montrose, the California quartet achieved more lasting infamy as the primary influence on Eddie Van Halen. Over the course of four albums and two line-ups--the first of which featured future VH vocalist Sammy Hagar on lead vocals--Montrose provided the common link between the hard blues of the Rolling Stones and the Faces and the power metal of the 1980s.
- ORIGIN
- San Francisco, CA, United States
- FORMED
- 1973
- GENRE
- Hard Rock