Montrose (album)

Montrose is the debut album by the American hard rock band Montrose released in 1973 on the Warner Bros. label. It was produced by Ted Templeman. The album marks the recording debut of vocalist Sammy Hagar, who would later achieve international success as a solo artist and member of Van Halen.

Montrose
Studio album by Montrose
Released	October 17, 1973
Studio	Warner Bros. Recording Studios and Sunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California, Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California (guitar overdubs)
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock
Length	32:22
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Montrose & Ted Templeman
Montrose chronology
Montrose (1973) Paper Money (1974)
Ronnie Montrose chronology
They Only Come Out at Night (1972) Montrose (1973) Paper Money (1974)
Sammy Hagar chronology
Montrose (1973) Paper Money (1974)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Classic Rock	[2]
Record Collector	[3]

History

After having done session work for various musicians including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock and Edgar Winter, Montrose was Ronnie Montrose's first record leading his own band which featured Denny Carmassi on drums, Bill Church on bass, and a then-unknown Sammy Hagar (at that time 'Sam Hagar') on vocals.[4]

While considered a classic by many hard rock fans, the album's reputation has grown over time. In 1989, Hit Parader named it within the Top 100 Heavy Metal albums of all time.[5] Tracks from the album received scant radio airplay, with "Rock Candy" and "Bad Motor Scooter" being notable exceptions. It has been reported that the band's label, Warner Bros., did not know how to market Montrose, and, already having the Doobie Brothers and Deep Purple to cover the rock and hard rock genres, saw the band as something of a redundancy on their roster of artists. Though the album was not a big seller upon its initial release, peaking at No. 133 on the US Billboard 200,[6] it eventually proved to be an international sleeper hit which over a period of several decades has sold in excess of one million copies, attaining platinum status.[7] Some critics have arguably labeled it the "first American heavy metal album".[8] Often cited as 'America's answer to Led Zeppelin', it is held to be influential among hard rock/heavy metal musicians.

Ronnie Montrose chiefly used a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Bandmaster amp, and a Big Muff fuzzbox by Electro-Harmonix to record the Montrose album.[9]

The album was voted as the 4th best Metal Album of All Time by Kerrang! magazine in 1989.[10]

Reception

• Iron Maiden recorded "Space Station #5" as a Be Quick or Be Dead single b-side.
• "Make It Last" was covered by Van Halen in their early club days (available on Van Halen bootlegs).
• Punk band Stiff Little Fingers used the riff from the "Space Station #5" for the introduction on their single "Suspect Device" (1978).[11]

European release

In 1974, the album was released in Europe via Germany under the title Rock the Nation. This version featured a track listing which duplicated the U.S. release but featured a different front sleeve image that replaced the band's photo with that of a large-busted blonde girl sporting a pink see-through blouse.[12]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[13]

Side 1

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Rock the Nation" (Ronnie Montrose)	3:03
2.	"Bad Motor Scooter" (Sammy Hagar)	3:41
3.	"Space Station #5" (Hagar, Montrose)	5:18
4.	"I Don't Want It" (Hagar, Montrose)	2:58

Side 2

No.	Title	Length
5.	"Good Rockin' Tonight" (Roy Brown)	2:59
6.	"Rock Candy" (Denny Carmassi, Bill Church, Hagar, Montrose)	5:05
7.	"One Thing on My Mind" (Hagar, Montrose, J. Sanchez)	3:41
8.	"Make It Last" (Hagar)	5:31

Montrose (2017 rerelease bonus)

On October 13, 2017, Rhino Entertainment released a Deluxe Edition. The first six tracks are demos from the album's recordings. The remaining are from the group's debut performance, a session on KSAN radio from the Record Plant in Sausalito, California on April 21, 1973.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"One Thing on My Mind" (demo)	Hagar, Montrose, Sanchez	3:40
2.	"Shoot Us Down" (demo)	Montrose	4:32
3.	"Rock Candy" (demo)	Carmassi, Church, Hagar, Montrose	3:55
4.	"Good Rockin' Tonight" (demo)	Brown	3:20
5.	"I Don't Want It" (demo)	Hagar, Montrose	3:07
6.	"Make It Last" (demo)	Hagar	4:06
7.	"Intro by Tom Donahue"		0:54
8.	"Good Rockin' Tonight"	Brown	3:55
9.	"Rock Candy"	Carmassi, Church, Hagar, Montrose	4:46
10.	"Bad Motor Scooter"	Hagar	5:01
11.	"Shoot Us Down"	Montrose	4:54
12.	"One Thing on My Mind"	Hagar, Montrose, Sanchez	3:27
13.	"Rock The Nation"	Montrose	4:55
14.	"Make It Last"	Hagar	6:04
15.	"You're Out of Time"	Montrose	3:35
16.	"Roll Over Beethoven"	Chuck Berry	4:53
17.	"I Don't Want It"	Hagar, Montrose	3:55

Personnel

• Sammy Hagar – lead vocals
• Ronnie Montrose – guitar
• Bill Church – bass guitar
• Denny Carmassi – drums

Production

• Ted Templeman – producer
• Donn Landee – engineer
• Stephen Jarvis – engineer (guitar overdubs)
• Steve Hoffman – mastering[4]

References

1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Montrose - Montrose review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
2. Makowski, Pete (February 2010). "Montrose - Montrose". Classic Rock. No. 141. p. 89.
3. Jones, Tim (February 2010). "Montrose - Montrose". Record Collector. No. 372. Retrieved 2016-09-02.
4. "Montrose - Montrose - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
5. "Top 100 Metal Albums of All Time". Hit Parader. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
6. "Montrose". Billboard. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
7. "Montrose". RIAA.com. 1986-10-13. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
8. Montrose (CD liner notes). Montrose. Warner Bros. Records. 2017. R2 557787.CS1 maint: others (link)
9. "Ronnie Montrose | Vintage Guitar® magazine". Vintageguitar.com. 2002-10-28. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
10. "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time". Kerrang!. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
11. "Stiff Little Fingers performing Suspect Device on Ulster TV 3rd June 1978". YouTube. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
12. "Welcome To The Number One Sammy Hagar Discography". Redrockerdiscography.com. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
13. Montrose (LP sleeve). Montrose. Warner Bros. Records. 1973. BS 2740.CS1 maint: others (link)

Further reading

Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life In Music. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 162–167. ISBN 9781770414839. OCLC 1121143123.