Montrose (album)

Montrose
Studio album by Montrose
Released	October 1973 (1973-10)
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	32:22
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Ted Templeman
Montrose chronology
Montrose (1973) Paper Money (1974)
Ronnie Montrose chronology
They Only Come Out at Night (1972) Montrose (1973) Paper Money (1974)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Montrose is the debut album by the band Montrose in 1973 which was produced by Ted Templeman.

History

After having done sessions work for various musicians including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock and Edgar Winter, this was Ronnie Montrose's first record leading his own band. It featured then little known Sammy Hagar (then known as Sam Hagar) on vocals. While considered a classic by many hard rock fans, tracks from the album have received scant airplay on the radio with "Bad Motor Scooter" being the only possible exception. It has been said^{[by whom?]} that Warner Bros. Records did not know how to market Montrose, the band or album and already had Deep Purple and the Doobie Brothers to cover the hard rock genre. Montrose eventually went under as a result. But the album has undergone a renaissance since then, eventually going platinum and some critics have gone as far as to label it the "first American heavy metal album".

Van Halen (which Hagar would eventually join) had used this album as a blueprint for their own debut (which Templeman also produced) and there are some similarities in the sound of the Montrose album to early Van Halen. Ronnie Montrose mainly used a Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Bandmaster and a Big Muff to record the Montrose album.^[2] Eddie Van Halen himself considered Ronnie Montrose to be an influence and "Make It Last" was covered by Van Halen in their early club concerts and is available on Van Halen bootlegs, and "Rock Candy" was rehearsed during the sessions for Van Halen's debut album. There are at least two, slightly different, versions of the Montrose album cover. Also, the tracks are in a different order on different copies, again with at least two versions. The album was voted as the 4th best Metal Album of All Time by Kerrang! Magazine in 1989.

Iron Maiden has also done a cover from this album. "Space Station #5" has been released as a B-Side from their single "Be Quick or Be Dead" from 1992.

Punk band Stiff Little Fingers used the riff from the "Space Station #5" for their single "Suspect Device" in 1978.

European Release

The album was released in Europe (via Germany) in 1974, re-titled "Rock The Nation". This version had an identical tracklisting but a different sleeve showing a painting of a girl.^[3]

Track listing

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
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, Sanchez) - 3:41
8. "Make It Last" (Hagar) - 5:31

Alternate track listing

1. "Rock the Nation"
2. "Space Station #5"
3. "I Don't Want It"
4. "Make It Last"
5. "Bad Motor Scooter"
6. "Good Rockin' Tonight"
7. "Rock Candy"
8. "One Thing on My Mind"

Personnel

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

Production

• Produced by Ted Templeman
• Engineered by Don Landee and Stephen Jarvis
• Mastered by Steve Hoffman

References

• Montrose; "Montrose" liner notes; Warner Brothers Records 1973
• All Music Guide [1]

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ http://www.vintageguitar.com/2865/ronnie-montrose/
3. ^ http://www.redrockerdiscography.com/montrosediscography/lp/rockthenation.html