SAMMY HAGAR
Livin' It Up
Rhino Records 2006
www.redrocker.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
Sammy Hagar (recently labeled as the hard rock Jimmy Buffett), returns with his latest album written and recorded on his own terms that celebrates his “life’s a beach” way of life.

Genre
Hard rock / pop rock / country rock

The Good
I want to get this out of the way before we get started; I love Sammy Hagar’s music and I love Cabo Wabo Tequila. With that being said, on to the review. The Red Rocker toots his own horn on the acoustic/country opener “Sam I Am.” The track has an incredible bounce to it, as Hagar drops references to his past and present life. “The Way We Live” starts off with a great rock riff, but breaks down to a heavy vocal track. Hagar’s new found affection for country music is expressed again on the touching ballad “Halfway to Memphis.” Sammy’s always had a way with the ballad, but come to think of it, his heavy stuff was kind of pumped up ballads. Anyway, it’s another great emotional acoustic ditty with “Sailin’.”

The Bad
Tough to be the hard rock Jimmy Buffett when your new album has you sounding almost exactly like Buffet. There’s a lot more country influence to Sammy’s sound. In fact, two of the songs were co-written by country music stars; “I Love This Bar” (Toby Keith) and “One Sip” (Kenny Chesney). And if you didn’t know that Hagar lives in Mexico, owns two bars, a tequila company, and lives to tell you all about them; you certainly will after listening to this album. Livin’ It Up is basically an advertisement for all things Sammy.

It would be fine if it was subtle, but it’s too in your face. For example; “Living on a Coastline” (about Mexico), “Mexico” (um, Mexico again), “The Way We Live” (Cabo Wabo Cantina), “I Love This Bar” (um, Cantina again), “One Sip” (Cabo Wabo Tequila disguised as a love song), and “I’ll Take You There” (it’s a cover, and Hagar found a way to work his cantina and a former Van Halen song [Cabo Wabo] into the lyrics).

The Verdict
Livin' It Up is a decent lounging album, but its more so catered to Hagar’s bars (or any Mexican themed bar). It's not so great for fans of Sammy's hard rock past or rock music fans in general. There’s a fine line between writing about your life experiences and just being a shill for your lifestyle. Sammy Hagar has crossed the line into shillsville. (Guess I blew my chance at some free tequila?)

Did You Know?
Sammy Hagar formed The Other Half with Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony. The duo performs a Van Halen set (with Sammy’s band backing them up) after Hagar’s solo sets.

Rating: out of 5

--George Dionne