Unknown Soldier

Overview
By the time of their third album the hard rocking Montrose had not made the commercial breakthrough that was expected. Their debut album which would become a much revered set in the future didn’t break them into the big time (on my 1973 review list) and their more diverse and interesting second set Paper Money failed to ignite the charts as well. So it was probably no surprise then, that the ambitious Sammy Hagar packed his bags and decided to up sticks and embark on a solo career. The band also said adios to producer Ted Templeman, whose commercial style production really should’ve been just what the doctor had ordered, considering his track record with bands up to that point! Sammy Hagar was soon replaced by the excellent and unheard of Bob James, a Ohioan native who had already been knocking around the LA music scene in a Montrose based cover band of all things! The band also decided and keeping with current musical trends, to become a quintet by hiring unknown keyboardist Roy Alcivar, who would go onto become part of Gamma later on in the decade. The band after putting their third album together, then decided to set up shop at the Record Plant LA to record what would be known as Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! In many ways this was truly a group effort, as it’s one of those albums that was composed by the band as a whole and the band members share credits on nearly all of the original tracks on the album. The interesting album cover also featured ‘a big movie’ production type feel, probably in an effort to garner more commercial success for the band. But as with the previous two albums Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! would again fail to sell any significant amounts of copies, and more than likely nowhere near what Warner Brothers were looking for. The first three Montrose albums are actually quite distinct in a number of ways and all three have their highs and lows, but the a-side of this album might rank song for song as their strongest effort.

Bob James- Vocals
Ronnie Montrose- Guitar
Bill Church- Bass
Roy Alcivar- Keyboards
Danny Carmassi- Drums

Production- Ronnie Montrose


Album
Matriarch- Bob James’ rocky voice starts off the song and we instantly go into a Deep Purplesque style opening rocker. This is a song that’s full of energy and the keyboards of Roy Alcivar are used to great effect here. All I Need- An acoustic softer number that probably had the band eyeing a single here. The song is then beefed up by a heavier chorus and main section, before going back into softer territory again. Twenty Flight Rock- A great cover of the Eddie Cochran song written by Ned Fairchild. Whaler- Essentially a progressive rock track by the band, which features a guest-spot by Novi Novog on the viola, this is my favourite track on the whole album. Dancin’ Feet- A straight up rocker and later performed by Van Halen as a cover song. Oh Lucky Man- A keyboard driven cover of the Alan Price song, that featured on the British film of the same name. One and a Half- A 1 minute plus acoustic instrumental courtesy of Ronnie Montrose. Clown Woman- A sluggish bluesy rocker that smacks of being a weaker tracker, but does have some nice bluesy slide-guitar by Ronnie Montrose. Black Train- Without a doubt the best track by miles on the b-side of the album, this is a pacey effort which features some of Ronnie Montrose’s best guitar work on the whole album.

Verdict
Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! is quite simply an album that has a chilled out feel at times and there are times when it works really well and times when it doesn’t work at all. The best tracks on the album include “Matriarch” “All I Need” and “Whaler” which are on the first side of the album, and then of course there is the album closer “Black Train” which is a really stellar track overall. This is an album that is highlighted by the quality of the artists on show, rather than the quality of the material available. Fifty percent of Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! ranks as the band’s best work, whilst the other fifty percent is screaming out to be improved upon! As expected the artistic quality is led by Ronnie Montrose on guitar, but he is equally matched at times by the excellent newbie Roy Alcivar on keyboards and both Bill Church and Danny Carmassi don’t miss a beat on bass and drums. But it’s Bob James’ vocals that are a revelation at times and despite being far less known than Sammy Hagar, he’s a vocalist of wider scope than Sammy Hagar and was a great vocal talent that deserved far more than just disappearing into the cruel obscurity of rockdom. In many ways he reminds me of Harry Shaw of Hard Stuff, who after leaving the band, was hardly ever heard of again! Bob James’ vocals on the first three songs of the album which are “Matriarch” “All I Need” and “Twenty Flight Rock” all basically display his prowess as a vocalist. In these three songs he gives us hard rocking power, soft and melodic composure, and some real rock ‘n’ roll energy, but his best is saved for the a-side closer the excellent “Whaler”. Now this is an album where the stronger material certainly sits on the first side of the album and therefore Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! takes a definite nose-dip quality wise on its b-side, which is a shame really, because had the b-side of the album been up to the same quality as the a-side, Warner Bros. Presents… Montrose! would’ve been much higher up on the 1975 year listings. After this album the band for their fourth effort, would hire producer Jack Douglas of then Aerosmith fame for the album, but by then it was business as usual for the band with poor sales and that album also proved to be the band’s weakest effort, and it was clear the band would never achieve what they’d set out to originally do. It would take later take the Montrose connection to Van Halen (especially through Sammy Hagar) to revive the memory of Montrose. The album Warner Bros. Presents…. Montrose! effectively pulls the curtain down on a band, that should’ve achieved far more success than they ever attained.

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