The album that shaped Sammy Hagar as a performer: “Exactly the way I wanted”
In the grand pantheon of rock singers, Sammy Hagar always tends to fly slightly under the radar. Although no one in a band like Van Halen can be considered underrated, many of the group’s best moments in their second era tend to be forgotten just because of how down-to-earth Hagar is half the time. The man seemed just proud to be there fronting one of the greatest bands in the world, but he admitted that there was someone even better out there in Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck.
When looking at the rest of the British blues guitarists that had come out of the late 1960s, though, anyone would have been awed after seeing Beck for the first time. Outside of maybe Jimi Hendrix, Beck had the delicate touch that any guitarist would kill to have, almost like he was trying to squeeze every last bit of emotion out of his fretboard when he played half of his material.
He was also one of the few guitarists who could actually manage to entertain a crowd just by using his music. Whereas many bands at least need a vocalist to help hold the audience’s attention, it was more impressive just to go to a show and see Beck assault his six-string for a few minutes, including the incredible covers he made of songs like ‘Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers’.
If there was one person who could give Beck a run for his money, Stewart was it. Though he never claimed to be God’s gift to musicians, his signature rasp blended perfectly with how Beck played the guitar, almost like they were trying to talk to each other through their instruments half the time.
When hearing them first come together on the album Truth, Hagar remembered being insanely jealous of what he heard, telling Goldmine, “I was lucky enough to see this band live, and I was completely filled with both envy and admiration. The way that Rod Stewart sang was exactly the way that I wanted to sing. The way that Jeff Beck played guitar was exactly the way that I wanted to play. This record has so much to do with who and what I am as a performer today.”
Even though Hagar is more than a competent guitarist whenever he decides to throw down a solo, he does at least have a habit of leaning into the gruff side of his voice most of the time. When you’re in a band with Eddie Van Halen, you’re bound to lose almost any guitar battle, so it made more sense for Hagar to lean into his vocals half the time, anyway.
When you listen to some of “Van Hagar,” there are a few hints of what Beck and Stewart did in the way that Hagar and Eddie interact. On a track like ‘Dreams’, for instance, Hagar doesn’t sound like he’s trying to outdo Eddie but more enhancing what he was already trying to do, usually taking the melody of the riff and singing it outright or soaring over it half the time.
More than anything, hearing the fire that Beck and Stewart played with on Truth is a lesson that every kid needs to learn if they want to become a rock star. Regardless of how much time you put into your craft, it’s about never backing down to anybody, no matter what they may have against you.
