The '70s gave us a slew of classic hard rock albums -- the likes of which may never be equaled -- and though it hasn't had the lasting influence of, say,
Boston's or
Ted Nugent's first albums,
Montrose's eponymous debut proved equally influential and important in its day. Released in 1973, the record also introduced a young
Sammy Hagar to the world, but the explosive aggression of
Ronnie Montrose's biting guitar left no doubt as to why it was his name gracing the cover. A rock-solid rhythm section featuring drummer Denny Carmassi and bassist Bill Church certainly didn't hurt, either, and unstoppable anthems such as "Rock the Nation" and "Good Rockin' Tonight" would lay the ground rules for an entire generation of late-'70s California bands, most notably
Van Halen. Admittedly, tracks like "Make It Last" and "I Don't Want It" sound rather dated by today's sonic standards (no thanks to their ultra-silly lyrics), but no amount of time can dim the sheer euphoria of "Bad Motor Scooter," the adolescent nastiness of "Rock Candy," and the simply gargantuan main riff of the phenomenal "Space Station #5." A welcome addition to any respectable '70s hard rock collection. [A two-LP Deluxe Edition of
Montrose was released in 2017, pressed on 180-gram vinyl and featuring 17 previously unreleased bonus tracks on the second LP, including six demos and 11 live tracks recorded in April 1973 at the Record Plant in California and broadcast on radio station KSAN.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia