Customer Reviews

Sammy Hagar & the Waboritas - The Long Road to Cabo

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What's Good About It?

Long Road to Cabo:

There is so much material here; I don't know where to begin. Unlike Sammy's last DVD, this is not a live concert, per se. It's a documentary of the group's last outing on the Sam and Dave Tour. It follows the group's live performances on the road, hitting different towns, and throws in most of the behind the scenes action that went along with it. You do get 15+ live performances of Sammy's greatest hits from his time in Montrose, Van Halen, and his solo career. However, the performances are taken from various shows, and the music is dubbed from just one of the performances. Sometimes they break away from the song for interviews. This is a documentary, so it's not really about each song.

You'll learn that Sammy still loves to perform. The band is very close to one another. Most of the soundchecks are them goofing off. When it's time for the show, the stage is set to look like a party bar, much like Sammy's Club Cabo Wabo. Hagar even has a bleacher section on stage for his fans. Throughout the tour Sammy and company welcome special guests to the stage. In Detroit, The Nuge jams with `em, in New England Gary Charone (you read that right) sings the finale with Sam, and during most of the tour, Michael Anthony plays base on the Van Halen tracks. How cool is that? Some of the interview footage gives insight into Hagar's home life, childhood, and hobbies. I love the sports car collection.

The Extras:

Disc 2 is the holy grail of Sammy Hagar material, that grail being filled with Cabo Wabo Tequila of course. If Hagar put it on tape, it's here. The video section has 11 classic and current Sammy Hagar videos. Ten of them have an addition commentary track. Too see Sammy in that old yellow and red jumpsuit is really something. I'm sure he regrets it. Six of the music videos show up in a karaoke section. The words are displayed and highlighted at the bottom of the screen while the video plays. Some of the audio is cut out so it's just you singing along.

The best part of this disc hands down is the discography section. It covers Hagar's entire career (Montrose, solo, Van Halen, and side projects). You can view each era separately or start at the beginning and let it run through today. What's unique about it is that on the screen it shows the album cover and any and all artwork associated with it, and at the same time, a 20 second clip of each song on the album is played. Once the last track on the album is played, it's on to the next.

There's a trivia section that asks you various questions about the documentary on Disc 1. When you answer right, you continue on, when you answer wrong you get a reaction from the band or crew. Usually I skip stuff like this. DON'T SKIP IT! Answer every question right and you will be rewarded.

Sammy's Kitchen is kind of lame. It's a cooking segment where Hagar shows you his recipe for spaghetti surprise. It does look delicious though.

The Vault is loaded with everything else they couldn't categorize. There's a bootleg live performance of "My Baby's on Fire", complete with a red Trans-Am on stage. A Montrose video of "Bad Motor Scooter" is also included. If you flip through the rare photos section, you'll be treated to a rare B-side released in Europe only entitled "Don't Get Hooked". To round out the disc, you can view hand written lyrics for some of Hagar's hits.

Anything Bad?

We get it Sammy. You hate David Lee Roth.

Bottom Line

The Long Road to Cabo is a Sammy Hagar fans wildest dream. Hagar certainly had his loyal followers in mind when he put this collection together (act fast, the pressing is limited). Judging by the groups energetic and interactive stage performance (and actually being at one of them); Sammy Hagar is setting his sights on being the hard rock version of Jimmy Buffett.

Ever wonder what it's like to be in "Sammy's World"? This DVD gives you that glimpse into what really goes on before, during, and after a national tour. It's got all the songs you would expect to see, but this DVD is more about the man and his life than just another concert video. It's obvious how much this DVD meant to Sammy. His whole family shows up half way through it discussing how Sammy got to where he is today. The additional undercurrent of the Sam and David Lee Roth tour, and all its pageantry, makes a great story for even the non-Sammy believer.
The bonus disc is a surprise. Recently many of the classic rockers have been releasing their old music videos as DVD's. Sammy could have done that with his library as a separate release, but he included it in this package as a bonus disc, as well as his entire discography, a trivia game, and old archival footage. Hours of extra viewing that adds up to a DVD that the true fan can't help but smile about. Buy Sammy's Birthday Bash DVD 2001 Tour to see Sammy's concert. Buy The Long Road to Cabo to see Sammy's heart.

Very entertaining and in depth coverage of the Sam and Dave tour. They interview everyone in the band, and they tell about how they auditioned. His mom, brother, sister and sons talk about his upbringing. His wife talks about how they met. Plenty of backstage footage, pre and post concert, including the group prayer. Airplane footage, off-day footage, pre- and post-MTV award presentation footage, they show his garage--full of sports cars, his house in Maui, etc. The politics of the tour are well documented, as are Sammy's feelings about a Van Halen reunion. The video portrays Sammy as someone who everyone close to him feels lucky to know. The band is very cohesive. His friends in the video--Ted Nugent, Randy Savage, Mikey, etc. all have great things to say about him. You can tell he enjoys performing, and this comes through loud and clear if you ever see him in person. Especially after seeing Dave's opening act.

If I have any criticism, (and it's a minor one)--I wish they would have left the songs uninterrupted, and maybe even had an option where you could play all of the concert footage in succession. Otherwise, it's a winner.

Live songs include: Red, Shaka Doobie (The Limit), Rock Candy, Heavy Metal, Eagles Fly, I Can't Drive 55, Rainy Day Woman, Wild Thing (w/ Ted Nugent at Pine Knob--I was there), Rock and Roll (with Gary Cherone), Poundcake (with Michael Anthony), Runaround (with Michael Anthony), , When It's Love (w/ Michael Anthony)Top of The World (backstage, pre-concert w/ Michael Anthony), Best of Both Worlds (with Michael Anthony).

The non-concert footage is peppered with snippets of songs spanning Sammy's 30 year career.

The second disc has a trivia game, several of his videos, along with commentary, a cooking demonstration (pasta recipe), a Waborita demonstration, discography, and some archive footage from Montrose era (Bad Motor Scooter), a list of side projects, and original lyrics to several of his post-Van Halen era songs.

By the way, his Cabo Wabo Birthday Bash is an excellent concert video--one of the best I've seen.

Sammy--if you can hear me out there--come back to Michigan without a co-headliner!

This DVD is something I've been waiting for! It's great to see Sammy interact with his family, friends, band, crew, etc. in this kind of setting. We usually don't get to see him in this light.
The second bonus disc is worth the price alone in my opinion. Sammy's music videos have never been released on DVD before, and some real gems are included on this disc, WITH commentary! There is so much to see, watch, listen and do on this disc!
This DVD is probably the best music video I've ever purchased.
Thanks Sammy!

This is a great peak into the life of a rock star...a TRUE rock star on the road. Sammy would argue about the rock star thing and say that he is a party guy who happens to sing rock music, but to me...that is a rock star!

There is this great DVD that came out in 2003 called "The Long Road To Cabo" by Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas. There are two DVDs in the set. The first DVD is a mix of some live Hagar tracks mixed in with a whole lot of Sammy, well, being Sammy. "Four cameras were rolling 24/7" is what the case tells me. Listening to Sammy Hagar go on and on about how much better he is then David Lee Roth. He talks about Van Halen. He talks about food. He shows off his family. But what is often missed on this DVD is the music. How loyal his fans have been, "The Red Heads", through all his ups and downs. The body of music this man has made will blow you away. From his start with Montroes, in my opinion, one of the best debut albums ever! Through his long and rocking 70s and early 80s solo career. The whole Van Hagar thing, that was a high in his song writing career! Back to the solo master that he is. The "Red Rocker" has made some of the best in your face rock music of all time. You get to hear what an ear he truly has for music. The band he put together, The Waboritas, are truly gifted! It was easy to see why David Lee Roth had his hands full playing on the Sam And Dave tour. Sammy's band made him look and sound good every evening. They are no "back up band!!" You also get to hear Sammy Hagar with guest stars like Gary Cherone, his replacement in Van Halen for one album, Ted Nugent, Michael Anthony and Kid Rock. I could have done without the Kid Rock crap, but hey Sammy is a legend. He does take a few shots at Kid because he likes to hang with David Lee Roth during one of the shows. There is nothing like hearing "Red" done live, the way it should be done! Does a great version of "Wild Thing" with Ted Nugent. His take on L.Z.'s "Rock & Roll" with Gary Cherone is good too. They play it in New York City in front of the police and fire fighter heroes! He even has a little fun with Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Women 12 & 35". Just wish you got a little more of that song! If you look past all the B.S. and rock star poser crap. If you get past the "shucks mam, I'm just doing my job" type of demeanor he has through most of the DVD, you will find what is for real, THE MUSIC!!
By the way, the second DVD is not a throw away. You get Sammy's solo music videos, video commentary, trivia game with a bonus video if you get the question right, Sammy's kitchen (Sammy does his own cooking show for you), sing with Sammy, one of the most complete discography's I have ever seen on an artist and the vault (other little goodies).

This DVD was awesome from top to bottom. The AMAZON review of this DVD tells you EXACTLY what you are getting. So anyone who did NOT like this becuase they thought this was a Concert DVD(In particular the one reviewer who gave this 2 stars becuase he didn't READ what he was purchasing!) really is missing what they have in front of them: A COMPLETE look at Hagar from every vantage point possible.

How this documentary did not garner any industry accolades is imo a crime. For some reason, there is a bug up too many experts and rock insiders you know what's, for them to truly just sit back and appreciate Sammy.

If you guys would just drop the "DLR Chip" that is on your shoulders and stop holding it against SAMMY that Dave got the boot from VH, you might find out that Hagar has had a pretty amazing career and has produced some awesome music over the past 30 + years.

And checking out this DVD would be a great place to start if you want to find out what you missed.

Hawk

Sammy just "gets it". This is the perfect mix of music and all that goes into making it. The man's personality shines through and you can tell he is totally enjoying life. We should all be so lucky! If you are a casual fan or a Redhead...this is the thing to buy!!! Mas Tequila, baby!

This DVD is the closest thing to being back stage at a Sammy Hagar live show. A totally energized display of what Sammy does best-ROCK. The second DVD has classic videos and other interesting bits of Sammy-ness that it makes this DVD a total bargain at whatever price you pay. This DVD is just another example of how underrated Sammy is in the music biz and by the entertainment media.

I really really like Sammy Hagar. I have been enjoying his work ever since I first heard his concert album All Night Long released in 1979. I was not a fan of Van Hagar but I have enjoyed his solo work and definitely dig Chickenfoot.

This dvd, Long Road to Cabo, is not very interesting. He mentions in the film that they have filmed 152 hours of stuff (one hundred and fifty two hours) but whoever did the editing left us with a shallow product full of mindless foam. There's just no depth! It's all hyper-edited with teeny-weeny interview segments spliced in-between songs composed of shots from multiple performances.

Concert footage, really, should be left whole so that the viewer who will never see the man in concert can at least get a vicarious thrill at watching an unedited performance from start to finish without hyperactive jumpcuts. Just point the camera at the stage and leave it alone! We don't want all this flashy to and fro. We don't need to see the bassist and then the drummer and then the singer and then the guitarist and then back for a split second at the bassist and then the drummer and etc etc etc. Just let us watch the show in peace, man!! I promise I won't fall asleep if you just use one friggin camera and keep it pointed at the stage!

So, disc 1 is mostly concert footage mixed with tiny momentary interviews of no real depth or meat. The concert footage is all flash and hyper-edits. Each song you 'see' is composed of footage of that same song but from many different performances. YAWN.

Disc 2 is full of odds and ends that are mostly just blah blah blah...not very interesting at all. There is one exception and that is the segment where Sammy is cooking in his kitchen. I LIKED IT VERY MUCH. I liked seeing his posh kitchen and enjoyed watching the man cook in a tv-chef kind of way. It's actually the most revealing and interesting segment of both dvds. The rest is just pap.

Overall it suffers from the pretence that life for Sammy and his mates is just one big happy party with no intellect or soul or introspection. If you're expecting to see some sort of showdown between Sammy & David Lee Roth you will be disappointed. Roth is shown for all of 2 seconds shaking hands with Sammy outside of Roth's tour bus at the beginning of the tour. There is no footage of any shenanigans. All we get are some tiny clips of Sammy in the back of a limo talking about how Dave messed him about regarding who would open and who would close the shows.

And to think: 152 hours! One hundred and fifty two hours of film and this was the best they could come up with. Why? Because Sammy is worried about boring his fans. He thinks the majority of his fans are like those beer-swilling morons who trek to Cabo to see him perform and will cheer at anything good or bad. When actually, the majority of his fans have more brains and soul than he gives them credit for. Most of his fans read and understand the lyrics; those who go to Cabo clearly don't.

Oh well. I am sure there's a decent film somewhere in that 152 hours of footage, but it's doubtful we will ever see it.

The Long Road to Cabo was aimed at the lowest common denominator---the shallow stoners and drunks who never did well in school and will never fathom such lines as 'We can't change the world/We gotta change the way we think about it'.

Just calling it like I see it, baby. I love you, Sam. But man, you really don't know your audience because if you did, you would've given us something far better than this inane claptrap.