To preface this review properly, I would like to state that I am a huge Sammy Hagar fan. I love Van Halen (especially the "Van Hagar" era), I love Hagar's solo work, and of course his new band Chickenfoot. I've read his awesomely entertaining and informative autobiography, seen practically all his music videos on DVD, etc., and even saw him in concert when he reunited with Van Halen back in 2004. He is easily one of my favorite artists. With all that said, the 2006 Livin' It Up album is horrible. Similar to, but not nearly as bad, as the abysmal Van Halen III, eventually, somewhere down the line, your favorite musician is going lay a rotten egg.

     This is Hagar's rotten egg, rotten apple, whatever you prefer. It has two highlights, "Sam I Am", and "Living on the Coastline." Two solid tracks out of an album of 11 - that is a lopsided disparity. I basically grew up listening to Hagar, and though I was clearly too young to enjoy Van Halen in its prime, I am excited when each passing Hagar solo work comes out, so when 2006 came and went, I was thrilled to get Livin' It Up!. I always appreciated Hagar's sense of depth, more so than most rockers of a similar mold. Much of Hagar's material always had better hooks, smoother melodies, well-written lyrics, and generally contained a good sense of heart and emotion. Livin' It Up! is a departure from all that and embraces a more party element, and being a beach bum, and all that. While I am happy for Hagar to be living such a peaceful lifestyle, I did not, and still do not, like this album as it seems to be an expression of said lifestyle.

     The fact that one of my favorite artists is covering a country song (Toby Keith cover) is just disturbing. Yep, you got me, I don't like country. A lot of people do, then again, a lot don't - I am one of them (to each his own!). I just didn't like Hagar doing country. I can tell he was trying to appeal to an older audience here, as the demographics for his sort of rock and roll have aged since his prime. I certainly get the idea, I just don't like it.

     Even if I look at this album objectively, it still isn't very good. It lacks the punch, effort, and musicality that goes into most other Hagar albums. It just seems that it was lazily slapped together. It lacks craftsmanship.

    I still listen to Hagar regularly to this day, but I never listen to this album anymore, perhaps only as a morbid curiousity. It does nothing for me, it doesn't appeal to me. I'm glad Sammy Hagar returned to his more usual self with 2008's Cosmic Universal Fashion - and then ultimately with the awesome of Chickenfoot. Now, don't get me wrong, I definitely appreciate when an artist experiments with different types of sound, as I feel I am pretty open minded. I like when Chris Cornell tackles pop, or when Metallica lightened up their sound, as I commend their natural evolution and the ebbs and flows of their careers. However, I can also point out when I don't like something - when the change or experiment doesn't pan out. Here, with Sammy Hagar's Livin' It Up!, it doesn't work.

TRACK HIGHLIGHTS:

"Sam I Am"

"Living On A Coastline"

-Kurt L.

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