Sammy Hagar: VOA (West German ''Target'' Pressing) CD Track Listing

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Sammy Hagar VOA (West German ''Target'' Pressing) (1984)
Originally Released 1984\nCD Edition Released 1984 ??\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: VOA was the last album Sammy Hagar recorded before he became the lead singer of Van Halen, and this effort shows why he was invited to join the band. With songs like "I Can't Drive 55," he adds a simple melody to the song which never distracts from the all-important, hard-driving riff. On "Two Sides of Love," he shows that he has the ability to pull off a power ballad, wrenching every bit of feeling out of the song. Like Hagar himself, VOA is never subtle, but in hard rock, that's a positive attribute. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nCommercial success at last, December 10, 2005\nReviewer: R. C. Whitehead "A Renaissance Man in the Digital Age" (Huntsville, AL USA)\nTHIS IS IT - the album that established Sammy Hagar as the pre-eminent lyrical rocker. "I Can't Drive 55" was the song everyone had to have in the car; you put the top down, your shades on and your foot flat to the floor and DARED the cops to do anything about it. \n\n"VOA" - the title track - was nothing but the Reagan "proud-to-be-an-American" ethos given a soundtrack. It was good to be a young serviceman when this album came out, and this was the song that put the world on notice that you didn't mess with the US. \n\nFor sheer, naughty, lick-your-lips-and-grin fun, "Dick In The Dirt" has no equal. The whole disc is that kind of fun; no Hagar library is complete without it.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nDated, but a great 80s rock album, May 27, 2005\nReviewer: Daniel Maltzman (Arlington, MA, USA)\nIn 1984, while Van Halen dominated the world with an album named after that year, Sammy Hagar wasn't doing too badly for himself either. 1984 saw the release of Sammy Hagar's thirteenth album (tenth solo album, plus two with Montrose and one with HSAS), "VOA," short for "Voice of America." \n\nWith "VOA," Sammy Hagar basically sticks to his tried-and-true formula that had been successful with his 80s Geffen hits "Standing Hampton" and "Three Lock Box." It's another collection of well-written, all-American 80s rock n' roll. But with "VOA," the songs sound more melodic than ever, probably due to the amount of keyboards that were used. The whole album is tinged with synthesizers. Truth be told, in part because of the keyboards, this album has not aged very well. It sounds VERY dated, even by Sammy Hagar standards. Some of the songs are downright cheesy, but that's okay, they're still well written and a lot of fun. Sammy Hagar's songwriting and guitar playing was as strong as ever, and he had a great back-up band-Bill Church (bass), Jesse Harms (keyboards), David Lauser (Drums) and Gary Pihl (guitar). This album has a great, up-beat vibe and rocks pretty hard. All eight tracks on "VOA" are solid, each with a good hook and sing-along chorus. \n\nThe album starts out strong with the classic anthem "I Can't Drive 55." "Swept Away" has an almost mystical feel to it, but rocks hard. The mid-tempo "Rock is in my Blood" keeps up the momentum. "Two Sides of Love" is similar to a million other 80s power ballads, but this song is so catchy, and Hagar sounds so vitalized, it's impossible not to rock along to this song. "Dick in the Dirt" is sophomoric, for obvious reasons, but not without humor, and is imposible not to sing along to if you know the words. My one real bone to pick with this album is its title track "VOA." This fast-paced rocker is actually musically a really good song. But the lyrics are so bad, so embarrassingly awful, that it's hard not to cringe whenever I hear it. Sammy Hagar may not be Bob Dylan or John Lennon, but he can do better than this. It's pseudo-patriotic gibberish at its worst. For example: \n\n"You in the middle east, you be on your toes. \nWe're bound to strike, everybody knows. \nJust tell your friends, the USSR \nWe're gonna, we're gonna crash that party, 'cause they've gone too far, yeah! \nWe don't like it. (Oh, no!) \nWe can make it stop (Oh, yeah!) \nWe won't take it (Uh!) \nLet it rock! \nWhen we're together, we're the best. \nWe think as one, there's no contest. \nWe've got the power, they know the score. \nWe'll get so strong there'll be no war." \n\n"Don't Make me Wait," much like "Two Sides of Love," is another 80s sounding AOR power-balled, and is just as good. The no-holds-bar mid-tempo "Burin' Down the City" is solid and a good way to close the album. \n\nAfter listening to this album, it's easy to see why Van Halen chose Sammy Hagar to be their lead singer after the departure of David Lee Roth. He's a gifted singer/songwriter and definitely has a knack for writing catchy songs with good hooks and sing-along choruses. Despite the fact that this album sounds pretty dated, it should please most fans of Sammy Hagar, and of 80s rock in general. \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nToo much synth rock, November 10, 2002\nReviewer: Quinn Miller "millerq72" (Columbus, OH United States)\nI'm sure I will have to take some slamming for this review. Apparently everyone else thinks VOA deserves 5 stars. I must be listening to a different album. To my mind, VOA represents Hagar's weakest effort for Geffen, noticeably slacking when compared to Three Lock Box and particularly Standing Hampton. I realize it was 1984, but what the hell is up with all those synths? All the cheezy synths wouldn't be so bad if Hagar had strong material to work with, but songs like "Swept Away," "Rock is in My Blood," and "Don't Make Me Wait" are half-baked. Sam has never written particularly complex songs, but the structures on VOA are the most basic I've heard. Even "I Can't Drive 55," (now renamed in concert "I Can't Drive 65") doesn't help matters much. I'm guessing the corporate suits had something to do with the over-production displayed throughout. Still, you can't deny Hagar's vocal ability, he scorches as usual. I would recommend any other in print Hagar album over VOA, in particular his post-Van Halen releases.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nAnother great CD by Sammy!!, June 14, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nThis is the third album in the Geffen trilogy of platinum albums that put Sammy into true rockstar status. "I can't Drive 55" and "Two Sides of Love" are the most popular songs here, but "Swept Away" is a great tune!! This music is all Sammy, and while possibly the weakest (if you can even call it that!) in the Trilogy, it stands by itself as a fantastic album. I strongly recommend this one, but don't miss "Standing Hampton" and "Three Lock Box" while you're at it. This music truely withstands the test of time and will make you happy!!\n\nHalf.com N/A
This rock cd contains 8 tracks and runs 36min 46sec.
Freedb: 6f089c08
Buy: from Amazon.com

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