Montrose is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Montrose, released in 1973 by Warner Bros. It was produced by Ted Templeman. Montrose marks the recording debut of vocalist Sammy Hagar, who would later achieve international success as a solo artist and as a member of the American hard rock band Van Halen.
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Montrose | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 17, 1973 (1973-10-17) | |||
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 | ||||
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Ronnie Montrose chronology | ||||
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Sammy Hagar chronology | ||||
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Singles from Montrose | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Classic Rock | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10[3] |
Record Collector | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
After having done session work for various musicians including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock and Edgar Winter, Montrose was guitarist 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.[5]
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.[6] 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.[citation needed] Though the album was not a big seller upon its initial release, peaking at No. 133 on the US Billboard 200,[7] 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.[8] Some critics have arguably labeled it the "first American heavy metal album".[9] 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.[10]
The album was voted as the 4th best Metal Album of All Time by Kerrang! magazine in 1989.[11]
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]
Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[13]
No. | Title | Length |
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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 |
No. | Title | Length |
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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 |
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 |
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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 |
All credits adapted from the original release. Only the mastering credits are from the 2005 Audio Fidelity release.[5]
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Templeman, Ted; Renoff, Greg (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life In Music. Toronto: ECW Press. pp. 162–167. ISBN 9781770414839. OCLC 1121143123.
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