Montrose - I Got The Fire: Complete Recordings 1973-1976 (2022)

• Comprehensive collection of early 70s Classic Rock outfit Montrose.

• Featuring their four Warner Brothers’ albums plus bonus tracks, demos and two live radio sessions.

The original four-piece Montrose formed in California in 1973 around lead guitarist Ronnie Montrose and singer Sammy Hagar, in a line-up completed by Bill Church on bass and Denny Carmassi on drums. In a relatively short but highly productive period of time Montrose released a handful of groundbreaking and highly influential albums, inspiring everybody from Van Halen to Iron Maiden, who covered Montrose’s ‘Space Station #5′, as well as ‘I Got The Fire’ not once but twice. Forming after Ronnie Montrose left the Edgar Winter Group, their self-titled debut was recorded with famed producer Ted Templeman (Doobie Bros, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton).

Signing to Warner Brothers Records, the self-titled ‘Montrose’ was a hard rock master class. The second CD in this set kicks off with six demo tracks, as well as their debut performance, recorded for KSAN radio at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California on 21st April 1973.

Their second album, 1974’s ‘Paper Money’, was again produced by Ted Templeman. This time Alan Fitzgerald had replaced Bill Church on bass. ‘Paper Money’ capitalized on their hard rocking debut; the bonus tracks are stereo and mono single edits of the title track, ‘Paper Money’, plus a mono edit for ‘Connection’.

The fourth CD finds Montrose back at the Record Plant recording another session for KSAN radio while promoting the ‘Paper Money’ album. As well as classics ‘Rock Candy’ and ‘Bad Motor Scooter’, the band dusts off some rock ‘n’ roll classics with ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Trouble’.

Sammy Hagar and Montrose parted ways in early 1975, when the singer was replaced by Bob James. The other major change for third album ‘Warner Bros. Presents Montrose!’ was Ronnie Montrose taking over production duties.

A year later ‘Jump On It’, produced by Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, John Lennon, Cheap Trick), was Montrose (the band’s) fourth and final album (until ‘Mean’ in 1987). With Jim Alcivar on keyboards providing much of the bottom end, unusually only three tracks feature an actual bassist. The bonus tracks are mono and stereo single edits for ‘Music Man’ and ‘Let’s Go’.