No one can accuse Sammy Hagar of lacking a sense of occasion. As the one time master of ceremonies for Van Halen, the Red Rocker knows exactly how to usher in a weekend, and today he did so by announcing a new album with the Circle, and sharing the title track with the world.
Crazy Times is typically weekend-appropriate. Front and center we have Hagar’s voice, which has always been reference quality as to what you’d want from a hard-rock frontman – all syrup and gravel and soul. Hagar is joined by his backing band, the Circle, which features some cats that will be more than familiar to those reading here.
There is Hagar’s long-time lieutenant on electric guitar, Vic Johnson. He is accompanied by Michael Anthony on bass guitar. Of course, Anthony, like Hagar, enjoyed some success with a modern beat combo named Van Halen. Rounding out the lineup is drummer Jason Bonham, son of John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham, proving that rhythm can in some instances be a hereditary trait.
The whole shebang was recorded in the company of Dave Cobb at Nashville’s RCA Studio A. Stick your best pair of headphones on and listen to the track – you can hear that this choice is money well spent.
Cobb always has this uncanny gift of making it sound as though you are in the room with the band whenever he tracks a rock band. That’s why Slash ft Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators hit him up for their latest album, 4, which was recorded live in the studio. It sounds very much like Hagar enjoyed a similar esprit de corps tracking this.
“Going back in the studio, creating and being with the music is just what felt natural,” Hagar said. “And it was just so different from any record I’ve ever made. There was joy in the hard work, catharsis and the camaraderie we’d craved. It was like those two years of not being able to do very much fell away and we really all came together and let it out in the music and lyrics. We were able to express what we all felt.”
Crazy Times is out September 30 via UMe. Head to Sammy Hagar (opens in new tab) for more details.
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Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.
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