Sammy Hagar

After making his name as the voice behind Montrose, Sammy Hagar launched his own band in 1976 and spent most of the next decade churning out unmemorable assemblages of raucous, glandular hard rock. At this writing, all but three of his 10 solo albums are out of print, and the world is none the worse for it. Nor is Hagar (who has since replaced David Lee Roth in Van Halen), inasmuch as the remaining albums are the least embarrassing remnants of his solo career.

Although Standing Hampton has the veneer of hard rock -- loud guitars, loud drums, loud everything else -- the writing is surprisingly pop-friendly, and it includes two of Hagar's finest: "There's Only One Way to Rock" and the tuneful, touching "I'll Fall In Love Again." Three Lock Box pursues that approach into full-blown pop rock, and ends up sounding like bad-imitation Journey, but VOA -- which includes the got-a-fast-car anthem "I Can't Drive 55" -- returns him to the chest-thumping sound of yore, with predictably tedious results. (J.D. CONSIDINE)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide