Audio Fidelity continues their Gold CD reissues with a classic Montrose debut that introduced Sammy Hagar and Ronnie Montrose along with Montrose members Denny Carmassi on drums and Bill Church on bass, to an early ‘70s audience who appreciated their testosterone-based rock and overt sexual overtones. Montrose, the band, unleashed their big rock sound, at times Zeppelin-like, to favourable reviews moving on to produce an arguably better release with their 2 nd LP, Paper Money. The band disintegrated shortly thereafter, with Hagar making a name on the solo markets and eventually hooking up with a Diamond Dave-less Van Halen for some glory years while Ronnie Montrose continued under his last name moniker for a few more albums that included Jump On It and Warner Brothers Presents.
Montrose’s debut offered the anthemic, big guitar “Rock the Nation,” which sends Hagar’s vocal into Robert Plant territory while providing a range that defined Montrose’s sound for a few albums. Hoffman’s delicate extraction reveals handclaps here that, frankly, for whatever reasons I’ll not go into here, I don’t remember having heard before. The album then launches into the sexual anticipation of “Bad Motor Scooter.” The heavy intro to this song really shows off the mastering prowess of Hoffman as he manages to add real fuel to the scooter engine-revving sounds from the guitar.
“Space Station #5” returns to Zeppelin territory in many ways including the spacey intro sound, channeling Led Zeppelin’s 2 nd and 3 rd albums through a single song not to be missed. “I Don’t Want It” brings to mind early Foghat, along with much of “One Thing On My Mind.” One of the best songs on the album is the cover of Roy Brown’s popular “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” here done as good, if not better, than many bands covering the same tune have produced. The best song, in my opinion, is the Montrose defining “Rock Candy” with its memorable drum and guitar intro and its “…hot, sweet, and sticky..” sexually charged rock bravado.
Sammy Hagar’s work in this proving ground laid the foundation for his later years as he piled success upon success with a vocal expertise that set him apart from many in his day. Ronnie Montrose went on to do solo work but never acquired the lasting respect he should have. But many have fallen under this same curse; Buchanon, Gallagher, and Peter Green immediately come to mind. Bill Church left Montrose after this effort while Denny Carmassi went on to work again with Hagar in Sammy's solo outings.
The Audio Fidelity Gold release of this classic offers the familiar AF goodies that pays respectful attention to the album’s original art as well the preservation the smart looking slipcase provides the CD. The mini-cover of the original album on the slipcase is a cool touch adding value to an already impressive reissue that is art unto itself. The insert is reverent in the sense that it offers not only the original album cover but also added shots of the original LP label along with sufficient production information, old and new. With mastering done from the original master tapes and a superlative overall sound the result, you’d be nuts not adding this Montrose debut to your library of ‘70s gems that have stood the test of time.
Now it’s time for Audio Fidelity to provide Paper Money the same respect. I’ll be there for it.
