rtbuck
Senior Member
Sammy Hagar – ‘Street Machine’
Released: 1979
Label: Capitol
Review by: Bucky
Track Listing:
1. "Growing Pains" - 3:46
2. "Child to Man" - 4:28
3. "Trans Am (Highway Wonderland)" - 3:46
4. "Feels Like Love" - 4:21
5. "Plain Jane" - 3:49
6. "Never Say Die" - 4:47
7. "This Planet's on Fire (Burn in Hell)" - 4:34
8. "Wounded in Love" - 3:50
9. "Falling in Love" - 4:44
10. "Straight to the Top - 3:29
By 1978/’79 I was heavy into the “Concert” scene so when it was announced that Boston was coming up to Buffalo I was psyched…Psyched that is until I found out some Country & Western singer named Sammy Hagar was opening! Yes, for some reason I thought Sammy was some old Country singer! I don’t know why I thought this, maybe because I associated his name with Merle Haggard but needless to say I decided not to go. Within a year from that show one of my favorite bands from back then were coming up…Cheap Trick with…Sammy Hagar. This time I decided to go & at about 10AM the morning of the show something happened. I was listening to QFM-96.9 FM, the DJ announced the next song was to be from Sammy Hagar’s new album ‘Street Machine’, & the next 3minutes & 46 seconds just blew me away as “Growing Pains” cranked out of my JC Penney component stereo. I couldn’t even wait for the concert so my Uncle Ken drove me to the mall so I could buy this record which I did & I loved the entire record (by the way the concert was great all around but I actually gave Sammy the edge over Cheap Trick that night).
‘Street Machine’ is an album which belongs in every home of every rocker out there. This is a ‘Sammy Hagar’ album (He alone is listed as the songwriter on every song except for “Wounded in Love” which was co-written by his then wife Betsy) but his band featuring bassist Bill “Electric” Church (who was the bassist for Montrose on their debut album & was part of Sammy’s band from ’76 through 1984’s smash album ‘VOA’), guitarist Gary Pihl (who was part of Hagar’s band from 1977 through the ‘VOA’ album), & drummer Chuck Ruff (from Edgar Winter fame) were a tight kick ass rock band. I seen Hagar twice with Church & Pihl in concert & the band really stood out as a whole unit & not as musicians backing up Sammy.
The album’s opening track “Growing Pains” kicks off with an awesome sounding power riff backed with power chords which cycle throughout the tune. This remains my favorite Hagar tune to this day. “Child to Man” is up next & this is a well written tune both lyrically & musically. The song may be mellow but I wouldn’t really consider it a ballad (kind of Zep’s “Thank You” meets Bad Company). This tune really has a sound & style which should have made it a classic. “Trans Am” is one of those kick ass tunes that makes you want to go back in time & pop an 8 track in your firebird, push that pedal to the metal, & bury that mph needle!(the 6 pack of Rolling Rock is optional!). “Feels like Love” has a cool riff running through it & a sound that would fit in great on Ted Nugent’s ‘Weekend Warriors’ album. “Plain Jane” has a fun pop feel to it while “Never Say Die” is a dark mellow tune. The album really picks up the pace on “This Planet’s on Fire” which is a fast driving song full of energy. “Wounded in Love” is just an all around bad ass tune. “Falling in Love” is a decent mellow tune but kind of forgettable when compared to the rest of the album & the album closes with an oldie style rocker titled “Straight to the Top” which has its moments & is fun but its style does not belong on this album.
Overall, I love the album & at least in my area it started getting Sammy some well deserved airplay on FM radio (not a lot but it seemed to pave the way a bit & open the door for later albums such as ‘Standing Hampton’, ‘Three Lock Box’, & ‘VOA’).
Bucky
