Sammy (and Steve Lukather) are featured on “Color Blind“, a track off of the long-awaited final album from Ronnie Montrose, 10X10. In addition, the classic two Montrose albums will also be expanded and reissued on Sammy’s birthday, October 13th.
“This song was the first one Ronnie and I ever did where he came to me with something he had the musical ideas for first. I heard it and I said, ‘Yeah, I like that one — let me work up something for that.’ I don’t know why the racial thing came up at the time — maybe there was something going on in the news. I can’t remember what pulled those lyrics out of me, but I love them a lot. They’re relevant lyrics forever. That song has a statement to it… It’s valuable to have 10×10 be seen as Ronnie’s last work, rather than going and digging up some stuff from his past. This was something he truly had a vision for.” -Sammy
Ronnie Montrose was at work on a guest-packed new studio project before his 2012 death, with a core trio rounded out by Styx bassist Ricky Phillips and Kiss drummer Eric Singer. Phillips completed work on 10X10, enlisting a group of Montrose’s friends and collaborators that includes Sammy Hagar, Glenn Hughes, Phil Collen, Tommy Shaw and Edgar Winter – the latter of whom played guitar on Montrose’s 1972 album, They Only Come Out at Night. You can hear “Color Blind,” featuring Hagar and Lukather here:
“His songs still have the fire and angst of a young rebel, but with some added wisdom and foresight voiced in his own unique language of ‘guitar-speak,’” Phillips says in a press release. “On 10X10, we hear Ronnie at the top of his game, from the opening crunch guitar of ‘Heavy Traffic,’ all the way to the closing song ‘I’m Not Lying,’ which was Ronnie’s tip of the hat to his friend Robin Trower.” You can see a complete list of collaborators below. 10X10 is due on Sept. 29, just weeks before Rhino releases deluxe editions of 1973’s Montrose and 1974’s Paper Money on Oct. 13. These double-disc reissues include newly remastered versions of the original albums, which featured Hagar on vocals, plus bonus discs of previously unreleased material. A complete list of the bonus tracks is also below.
Ronnie Montrose, ’10X10′ Track Listing
“Heavy Traffic” (Eric Martin and Dave Meniketti)
“Love Is an Art” (Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer)
“Color Blind” (Sammy Hagar and Steve Lukather)
“Still Singin’ With the Band” (Glenn Hughes, Phil Collen Jimmy “Z” Zavala)
“Strong Enough” (Tommy Shaw)
“Any Minute” (Mark Farner and Ricky Phillips)
“The Kingdom’s Come Undone” (Ricky Phillips and Joe Bonamassa)
“One Good Reason” (Bruce Turgon and Brad Whitford)
“Head On Straight” (Davey Pattison and Marc Bonilla)
“I’m Not Lying” (Gregg Rolie, Tom Gimbel and Lawrence Gowan)
Montrose, ‘Montrose: Deluxe Edition’ Bonus Tracks
“One Thing On My Mind” (Demo)
“Shoot Us Down” (Demo)
“Rock Candy” (Demo)
“Good Rockin’ Tonight” (Demo)
“I Don’t Want It” (Demo)
“Make It Last”(Demo)
“Intro: Tom Donahue” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“Good Rockin’ Tonight” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“Rock Candy” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“Bad Motor Scooter” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“Shoot Us Down” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“One Thing On My Mind” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“Rock the Nation” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“Make It Last” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“You’re Out of Time” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“Roll Over Beethoven” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)
“I Don’t Want It” (Live KSAN Radio Session, 1973)