Sammy Hagar-Cosmic Universal Fashion

Roadrunner
2008



Sammy Hagar has had a long and varied career. Of course he really hit the big time in some ways when he replaced David Lee Roth in Van Halen. However I always thought his greatest moments were during that first Montrose album and some of his solo releases like VOA. Through it all he has always been fairly consistent as a singer and he established his own vocal style a quite some time ago and has building upon it over the years. So I wasn't sure what to expect from him some thirty-five plus years into his career. This album certainly does not a cohesive feel to it, but that's okay. The title track pops on and it's a slightly surprising approach as the style of choice here is light industrial. However don't get sold on style because Sammy hops around through much of the album. "Loud" like it could have been about twenty some years. Then you get a decent rendition of the Beastie Boys' "Fight for your right to party" which of course was originally done twenty plus years ago. He tries his hand at different styles, but never gets too far away from his comfort zone. That approach results in an album that's safe, but enjoyable enough. Perhaps not his best or most creative work, but he obviously had fun making it and that shines through in the majority of the songs.