Montrose

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Montrose is the debut album by the 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.

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. While considered a classic by many hard rock fans[citation needed], 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 #133 on the U.S. Billboard chart, 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. Often cited as 'America's answer to Led Zeppelin', it is held to be highly influential amongst hard rock/heavy metal musicians including Iron Maiden and Van Halen, both of whom have recorded and/or performed cover versions of songs from the album. Some critics have arguably labeled it the "first American heavy metal album".[citation needed]

As per Sammy Hagar, the album's producer Ted Templeman later used Montrose as a blueprint for Van Halen's debut album.[2] Ronnie Montrose chiefly used a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Bandmaster amp, and a Big Muff effect box to record the Montrose album.[3] Guitarist Eddie Van Halen considered Ronnie Montrose to be an influence, and "Make It Last" was covered by Van Halen in their early club days (available on Van Halen bootlegs). "Rock Candy" was also rehearsed during sessions for Van Halen's debut album, which shared the same producer (Ted Templeman) and recording studio (Sunset Sound Recorders) as Montrose.

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

Iron Maiden has recorded & performed several cover versions of songs from the album, including "Space Station #5", which was released as the B-Side of their single "Be Quick or Be Dead" (1992).

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

"Rock the Nation" (Ronnie Montrose) - 3:03
"Bad Motor Scooter" (Sammy Hagar)- 3:41
"Space Station #5" (Hagar, Montrose) - 5:18
"I Don't Want It" (Hagar, Montrose)- 2:58
"Good Rockin' Tonight" (Roy Brown) - 2:59
"Rock Candy" (Denny Carmassi, Bill Church, Hagar, Montrose)- 5:05
"One Thing on My Mind" (Hagar, Montrose, J. Sanchez) - 3:41
"Make It Last" (Hagar) - 5:31