Customer Reviews

Cosmic Universal Fashion

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Interesting album if expectations are tempered. The title track (and video) reference "Right Now" but has more kinship with "Marching to Mars" ~ boppy, mod, ruminating, slick. Terrific radio tune! Next two tracks do grunge metal with social consciousness ~ nice Eddie imitation on the former. From there, Sammy takes care of his fan base: cars, girls, partying, boogieing. His vocal range is easy nowadays, the songs pleasantly formulaic. Kinda a ZZ Top groove, unassuming but earnest, well-oiled. Some modest forays into funk and 60's keep the set moving along. The acoustic closer is shameless filler, though. Whatever, this dude's been working his butt off since 1973, once the mightiest arena yeller in the biz ~ as far as I'm concerned, he's got the right to coast. Nice to have ya back! And cool takin' care of Mike!

Let's get this straight, I am a long-term fan of all things Red Rocker and so this disc was a seriously welcome treat. It is more of an e.p than a new album but any new release is cool. The songs are not too bad, but well below Sammy's previous level. It is 10 times better than the 'Livin it up record but a bit 'Cheesy' on too many occasions.

What worries me most is that over the past 3 records Sammy has released, I have noticed his voice sounding more and more strained. I know the guy is 61 so I am greatfull he is still making music at all, but maybe he needs to go back to a more serious style and hit the 'I'm Sam I am' type stuff on the head a bit. I am looking forward to a return to form...

I've been a Sammy Hagar fan for many years now and i have to say that this latest attempt at creating music is just that.. "an attempt". there's nothing here that hints at reinvention whatsoever. Sam prides himself on his tequila and his livin' it up lifestyle. the inclusion of that particular lifestyle in his music has not carried over very well on this disc or his previous one for alot of fans. The title song in and of itself..sucks. "Psycho Vertigo" is okay and "Peeping through a hole" would have been alright if i hadn't already heard Jeff Scott Soto sing that with Soul Sirkus. The Soul Sirkus version blows this one to pieces. the rest of the disc is filler. It just doesn't have the elements of a "rockin'" Sammy Hagar record. Sammy is capable of creating better more listenable hard rock music even at the ripe old of 60! I really hope that the music that he's recorded with Satriani,Mike and Chad is far superior to this latest spud. I'll be waiting to hear the music from that "project" whatever name they decide to give it when it finally comes out.

I'm a lifelong Sammy fan, I own every album, but I was pretty disappointed this one. I originally wrote this as a one-star review and said I saw nothing redeeming about it, but a few tracks are gradually growing on me.

He has lost something on his voice (understandably at 60), and I don't feel like he has adjusted the music well to fit. His last album, albeit a far departure from his norm, at least explored some new directions. This one, I feel, is just a collection of stuff to put on an album.

If you liked the more country / beach style of "Living It Up" you'll like the tracks "When The Sun Don't Shine" and the "Dreams/Cabo" cover on this one. Those are probably my favorites, because his rock voice just isn't working for me right now - too gutteral and often flat. The acoustic VH cover would be nice, but 2 of the 4 minutes are intro dialog. That's interesting the first listen only.

"Switch on the Light" is pretty fun with Billy Gibbons on it. That one in particular is really growing on me.

The "Fight for Your Right to Party" cover is just gratuitous - the roadie doing guest vocals? May make for a fun moment at a concert (once), but to immortalize it in print is inexplicable to me (not to mention a poor choice of a cover to begin with - the Wabos have a lot more musical talent to showcase than a 1 riff rap song).

"24365" is an attempt at funk, but when you think of "Would You Do It For Free" with Bootsy Collins (on "Marching to Mars") - that's the standard and this doesn't come close. This one does feature Bootsy, but it's just forced. I can't stop comparing it to "Would You Do It For Free" which I hold as one of Sammy's best songs ever, both for the music, the message and the history behind it.

A lot of people here are talking about "Loud" and "I'm on a Roll" as the best rockers on here, but I didn't care for either of them - the music was good but I thought the lyrics were awkward - cringe-worthy in some cases. (Note to musicians everywhere, PLEASE quit rhyming with "Steve McQueen" in songs!)

The two Planet Us songs ("Peephole" and "Psycho Vertigo") are good but just out of place. I think that's my biggest problem with this album - it's an almost random collection of stuff that doesn't flow. Put those Planet Us songs on a compilation sometime, or just via I-Tunes or whatever, but they are truly from a different era and just don't fit well.

I hate to say this, because there was a long period where I ate up everything from Sammy, but the years of screaming have taken their toll. There's not a lot of successful 60 year old screamers that have worked as steadily as Sammy through the years, and there's a reason. I think he needs to consider where he needs to go vocally to keep making interesting music. It probably will be different and a big change for his fan base to adopt, but we're all aging, too. I think his fan base needs to understand if he has to adapt his music to protect his voice better - we'll get more years of music from him if he does.

If you like ALL Sammy, dating back to Montrose and his eclectic '70s solo catalog, CUF may appeal to you. There are songs that rock (like his '80s catalog), and some with a country-ish twang.

In the early years, Sammy had a borderline R&B influence (listen to Sam's did a cover of "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" or "Keep on a Rockin'"). Although it's nice to hear some variety, you've got to be in the mood to hear some of this. I think the same applies to the 'twang' or 'Buffet' influenced material he's put out lately.

Let's face it... If he doesn't try to appeal to a new audience (and it would appear that country is the path of least resistance), it's going to hurt our (Sammy fans) chances of enjoying future new albums or tours. I doubt any teens or college kids are rushing out to buy a 61 year-old rocker's album, so Sam's gotta expand the market with the 35+ crowd.

Give the album a couple listens before you ditch it. If you don't feel it, you have nearly 35 years of other Sammy material to listen to.

This is certainly not a one star album, nor is it a five star. I would give it a 3.5 if I could, but that's not an option on Amazon.

Keep On A-Rockin'!

The Red Rocker has been pretty consistent since leaving Van Halen back in 1996, releasing a new album every few years. For the most part they've been pretty good; even if they weren't classics there'd be at least a couple of songs fans of old-school 70s/80s rock would like. The hard-rocking "Ten 13" (2000) and the Jimmy Buffet-esque "Livin' it Up" (2006) were especially good. Unfortunately, however, "Cosmic Universal Fashion" (2008) is somewhat of a dud.

This isn't a terrible album, by any means--it's just that it's nothing special. The songwriting is very pedestrian and the songs, overall, have a "been there" tired feel and a cover version of the Beastie Boy's "Fight for your right to Party" is completely unforgivable (the dude can rock at 61, but covering this song is just...wrong).

The slinky "Vertigo" and a reworked, downbeat, somewhat melancholy live version of "Dreams" are cool, but apart from that, little stands out.

Sammy will rebound, no doubt, but I'd give this one a pass.

Cosmic Universal Fashion is in my opinion a really good album.I dont get all the bad reviews.It has some truly noteworthy songs and some are really good kick ass rockers! I liked it better than Livin it Up its more of a return to form for Sammy.

I really loved Ten 13 and Red Voodoo even Not 4 Sale was pretty damn good.This one is right up there i would say.

Sounds like a jam session at times. No polish, rushed. A few songs are ok. Very disappointed overall. His last good cd was Ten 13. That seems like a long time ago.

Hagar's last record, Living It Up (2006), seemed to be a clear indication that he was running on creative bankruptcy. This latest release confirms it. At least Living It Up was somewhat unified. This album sounds like a bunch of unrelated outtakes and recycled old tunes thrown together just to get some product out the door, which is essentially what it is. With as many talented guests that appear on this album you would expect more of it, but the sum is not equal to the parts. To be fair, there are 2 very good songs on this record-"Psycho Vertigo" and "Loud." In fact, they are 2 of the best rockers that he has recorded since leaving Van Halen. But 2 songs do not make a record, and the rest of the album is just so annoyingly stupid that any person of marginal intelligence will be hard pressed just to make it through a full listen. "24365" , "I'm On A Roll" , and Hagar's nauseating cover of "Fight For Your Right" could quite possibly be nominated for the worst songs ever pressed to CD. The title track and the closer, "Dreams/Cabo", are just rehashes of Hagar's Van Halen years in new arrangements, and the grunge-inspired "Peephole" sounds horribly dated for a song that was just released. It may be time for Hagar to lay off the tequila to search for some true inspiration, and take his music a little more seriously, if he is going to continue to release albums and ask his fans to pay for them.

A devoted rock and roller friend of mine said that he stopped listening to Hagar when Sammy "became Jimmy Buffet," a reference to Sam's last two albums with the Wabos. I have to admit, the last two outings did listen like grade C versions of "Cabo Wabo" and "Mas Tequila," with only one track between the two making it onto my replay list on the old iPod. So, when I heard about Sam's Cosmic Universal Fashion and sampled the tracks, I was excited to hear a return to the Red Rocker rock and roll roots. And, generally, Sammy succeeds with this new release; yet it still doesn't quite hit the mark for me.

Yes, there is a much harder edge to this CD than the last few Wabos albums and it is nice to hear some metalistic guitar work (portions sound remarkably like Eddie V) and the pounding drive. But if you are looking for the blend of that hard driving rock and Sammy's more melodic side, this isn't the album for you. There's very little melody here and that can be OK, but the result is that few of the tracks are particularly memorable.

The title track is really interesting, and while "Loud" has its moments, there is a passion lacking, something not helped by the lyrics feeling as if they'd come straight off an album from the 1970s. Sam throws in his remake of the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right to Party," one of his live show staples, and ballad-y live treatments of "Dreams" and "Cabo Wabo" which are pleasing if a little distant.

There is nothing either terribly remarkable or terribly offensive about the remaining tracks, save for "24365," which actually sounds like the Saturday Night Live skit starring Eddie Murphy when Eddie--as James Brown--sings about gettin' in the hot tub. Hands down it should never have made the cut.

All in all, this isn't a one-listen CD. It's pleasant enough, but it isn't anywhere near the level of Sam's best work. I'm still waiting for something that gets me moving the way "Little White Lie" did, but this will tide me over until we get there.