Red audiobook

I've recently read some books on Eddie Van Halen. I also watched Sammy Hagar being interviewed by Dan Rather and was really surprised about how devastatingly frank he was regarding original Van Halen singer/frontman David Lee Roth. As a high schooler growing up I admired Van Halen's debut album, and I remember my clubbing years hearing "Jump" as a megahit on the radio. I never really accepted Sammy Hagar's version of Van Halen, although I enjoyed a hit off their "OU812" album and bought the cassette. After reading producer Ted Templeman's biography I was astounded to learn how badly David Lee Roth's singing was regarded. He was often made to re-do his vocals separately from the band until he could finally get it right. Van Halen even rejected Roth's original audition due to his mediocre singing, but something about his personality whipped up an audience- and they eventually snapped him up. Listening to Hagar's vocals on Van Halen's tunes now, I realize how strong, clear and powerful they are in comparison to Roth's. He also was in the band longer and more albums were sold during his tenure. I also watched a Van Halen reunion concert on YouTube with an older Roth and Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang was the bassist. I couldn't believe how weak Roth's vocals were. As backup singers, Eddie and Wolfie's harmonies outshone their lead singer. In the Rather interview, Sammy revealed that he never felt threatened filling Roth's shoes. It was made very clear that Sammy felt his talents far outclassed Roth's. In fact, he also felt that his solo career was on a high at the time and he wasn't being done a favor being asked to replace Roth. It just was kind of a happy accident that turned out great. Sammy had his Ferrari being tuned up by his favorite master mechanic who also serviced Eddie Van Halen's car. The mechanic knew Van Halen was looking for a singer and suggested Sammy to Eddie. Eddie replied, "Give me his number!" and called him immediately from the car shop. It turned out I snapped up the kindle version of Hagar's autobiography years ago, but hadn't read it. It was a real eye opener. I have a lot more respect for this man now. He is far more than a great singer. He's an amazing business man. He's worth many millions due to taking chances, working hard and his entrepreneurship. Alongside his musical career, he created various businesses, his largest selling his own tequila. At one point he was offered $100 million bucks to buy out the business. He's very level headed. He may have dabbled in sex, drugs and rock and roll, but he never lost control the way the Van Halen brothers did. I was rather shocked at the extent of Hagar's truthfulness when discussing his former band members, and even iconic musician Stephen Stills. Hagar holds nothing back, which makes for great reading! Hagar is a man of great qualities. He has the attitude that despite your background, with determination and hard work you can achieve anything. He is a great example of this, because he had a very rough childhood (which is described in the book). This was a very interesting and ultimately uplifting read.

Most rock star autobiographies are pretty much the same. Guy grows up in a dysfunctional house in bad neighborhood (The father in this story was the town drunk and the city is Fontana, CA, known to some as Felony Flats), guys falls in love, gets married, has a kid all the while struggling to keep a career as a musician going. Guy has limited success for awhile. There are ups. There are downs. Finally guy hits it big. Joins an existing successful rock band and makes it even bigger. Now either the author or someone close to the author has substance abuse problems which threaten the success of the band that has made it. Okay, so in this case Sammy Hagar does have a remarkable story to tell: He was the guy who was crazy enough, in a controversial move, to replace David Lee Roth as the lead singer in Van Halen back in the mid-80's, and at the same time turn his back on a highly successful solo career. As a sophomore in high school, I remember the release of "5150" with nervous anticipation. I wanted to project to work, but the newly released single, "Why Can't This Be Love" wasn't my cup of tea. Needless to say, even if the album wasn't perfect, the record was pretty good. What makes Hagar's book so intriguing is his story telling style. He's very honest and matter-of-factly. There are several amusing anecdotes throughout the book but sadly the book does deal with the drinking problems of band mate Eddie Van Halen and the fall out that took place ten years into Hagar's tenure as Van Halen singer. Die hard fans of Van Halen will probably be familiar with a lot of the drama written about here, but it's presented tastefully, not in a "I'm good, they're bad" kind of style. As a fan of Van Halen since the days of DLR, I would really like to read a autobiography written by Michael Anthony, Van's Halen's bassist who was quiet during Roth split 1, Roth split 2, and Hagar split 1 as well as the coming and going of Gary Cherone. There would be a book for VH fans. Well, that and of course one from Edward himself.

Pretty good memories from a huge deal rocker.. love the music but the life style would be my undoing!

Everyone knew that the Van Halen brothers were repugnant, alcoholic psychos, but the stories in the book are awesome and drive home how crazy they really are. Musical talent doesn't remotely make up for the utter contempt I have always had for them (and Roth... what a freak).I loved the first part of the book because I'd been a fan of Hagar long before VH ever entered my radar. It was great hearing about his life and where he got his work ethic (mom) and it was astounding hearing how diverse his financial portfolio is, from a sprinkler system business to mountain bikes. Good on him. I was disappointed in how things ended with Betsy, because it seems like he really never tried to understand mental illness or what he could/couldn't do to help her and just threw in the towel. What he did when she and the kiddo were coming for a surprise Christmas is fucking low, too. Hearing about the birth of the cantina and the ridiculous interactions with David Lee Roth were interesting. Why anyone would come within 20 feet of Roth, either professionally or personally, is a mystery to me. As for the Van Halen boys? I guess you reap what you sow - cancerous tongue and divorces. Enjoy your "fame."

I'm a huge fan of Sammy Hagar. Now, if you had ask me during the Van Halen days when Roth and the boys were at their Apex if I would ever accept anyone, let alone Sammy as the new lead singer I would have told you to "fuck off". Come to think of it, that's exactly what I did say.But ever since 5150 dropped, I have been a fan of his. The guy just brings so much raw energy to whatever he does and on top of that he gives some of the best interviews out there and is a likable guy. After reading the excerpt of Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock in the pages of Rolling Stone magazine a few months ago, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. Reading those few pages about his time with the Van Halen brothers had me convinced this was going to be the greatest Rock Bio of all time.That was not the case here. The book is a very good and easy read. But it's far from perfect. It starts off rather slow. It's not until we get into his Montrose days does the book kick it up a notch. But once it gets into the Van Halen years or more to the point of when Sammy dishes on all things Eddie and Alex does this book go to a completely different level. You will find yourself turning pages as fast as you can. This is the fastest I have ever read any book. Less than a day. Sheesh!Me and my buddy Rich (should I have phrased it like that? It sounds like I'm talking about a drummer. Haha.) have been talking about Van Halen and all the fucked up things in and out of this band for years. So this book is like reading what we have always been talking about for the last 10 years. This is good stuff right here and will have you looking at Eddie in a completely different light.Unfortunately these are the only high points of the book. There's plenty here to keep you busy. But I was disappointed that there wasn't more to the story about his tour with David Lee Roth. I knew there was some bad blood between the two out on the road and I was hopeful that we would get all the dirt once and for all. Sadly, that doesn't happen here.After such a huge, thrilling ride for pretty much the entire book, it goes flat at the end. Not a whole lot was said about Chickenfoot at all to close it out which is kind of disappointing. Having said that, I can absolutely recommend this book if your wanting to hear some juicy details about the VH boys.You can find more of my Book, DVD, TV and Movie reviews at my Forum (Penny Can) at... http://pennycan.createaforum.com/inde... Feel free to stop by and contribute your 2 cents.

This was a pretty good read. I've been a Sammy fan since Standing Hampton came out. I saw him on a midwest tour when I was in 8th Grade and he put on an amazing show. The only person I've seen put on as energetic a show was Lenny Kravitz when he opened for the Cult at Hampton Coliseum.This book managed to capture his energy. It's not always a coherent account, but it flows well. I read it in one sitting and it was like spending a night sitting there listening to him tell the story of his life.If it was anybody but Sammy, it might come across as a little bitchy and gossipy. His reputation as a straight shooter lends a credibility to the narrative that appealed to me. He manages to avoid sounding bitter about situations where he was treated poorly. His attitude is amazing. He wanted to be a rock star and he made it happen. I like the guy even more after reading Red.The two high points of the book for me personally were when he mentioned jamming with Lemmy from Motorhead and Lemmy wanted to play "Rock Candy" with him. Pretty freaking cool! The other was when he described meeting his second wife. This was cool to me because I was at that Van Halen show at Hampton Coliseum when she came to see him. Alice in Chains opened and they were pretty good, but no one can match Sammy's energy on stage.There are two reasons I couldn't give it 5 stars. It's very conversational in tone, like it was a transcription of a conversation. It rambles a bit, which both adds to the feeling that he's telling the story, and detracts from the narrative flow. The other reason is that it just wasn't as good as Alice Cooper: Golf Monster which I did give 5 stars.If you like Sammy or are curious about the Van Halen/Hagar split you should read this book.

I was in High School when 1984 came out and when the Roth/Hagar switch took place. While I loved early Van Halen, and had all their albums (well, cassettes in my day), I really liked the Hagar version more. The album 5150 was phenomenal, way beyond anything that had come before. So I really wanted to read this book as soon as I heard about it; to get the inside scoop on what took place within the band over the years, and to see if Sammy really was that nice of a guy.Typically in a memoir I judge whether someone is a nice person based on how much they portray themselves as being totally awesome. If they do not admit some faults, come across as very self depreciating, avoid attacking others out of hand, and just give a balanced retelling of their experiences. If they do any of the above I generally write them off as an asshat.Reading about Sammy’s story you come away realizing he is far from perfect, but sincerely a good guy who really cares about the people in his life, and about his passions like his music and tequila. You rejoice in his successes, such as his Cabo Wabo Cantina, and the incredible achievement of his Cabo Wabo tequila (which, spoiler, he sold 80 million dollars).With financial security came some freedoms, such as playing music he wanted to play with people he wants to play with, and several insights. The one I thought about the most was his observation that as a busty person he always had a hard time just relaxing. He always found himself crawling the walls looking for anything to do. Without any pressures he learned how to find new levels of relaxation; deeper levels.That makes me think of any endeavor in life. Whatever you achieve or learn initially is nowhere near what we can accomplish if we just stick with it. Push for new levels. That can be scholarly work, self reflection, or regular job, or just plain relaxation. You must work at anything if you really want to master it. Much like Malcolm Gladwell points out, 10,000 hours is the currency of the greatest. Typically I think we spend a few hundred for some knock-off and convince ourselves it is just as good.Of course the elephant in the room is Van Halen. Whether you chose to believe Sammy’s quite reasonable account of what took place, I think we can all agree about two things. First Eddie is a great guitarist. Second Eddie has an ongoing terrible substance abuse problem that has hampered not only his career, but his whole life. To paraphrase Kathi Griffin (speaking about Whitney Houston), I look at Eddie and still hope the genius within can come back to us.In the end you learn that Sammy is a great guy who is doing all he can to live a happy life, be a good friend, and just make some great music.

Have just started, and already I fear this will send me on another rock star memoir bender. Please pray for me!UPDATEI have seen Sammy Hagar up close and I probably liked him better from a little further back.He definitely has admirable qualities. It's hard not to like a guy from a poor, abusive home who makes something of himself against all odds. He is, in my opinion, a total over-achiever. Not really a freakish talent or an especially magnetic performer, and yet, 40 years later he's still here - and thriving, apparently.The stuff about the Van Halen brothers is why I wanted to read this book, and it's fascinating, but also sort of disappointing. Still love the band, kind of wish I didn't know so much about them. It's not romantic. The Van Halens basically seem like single-minded, alcoholic work-aholics. They care about each other, but if Sammy is to be believed, they are not particularly deep people, nor are they especially likable.Sammy probably spends too much time in the end explaining the opening of bars and restaurants, talking of his love for the second wife, and detailing his tours with his back-up band, that he "pays like a big-time band" even when he's touring with Chickenfoot or doing a Van Halen reunion. And it's basically answering a question that no one is asking. (Which means the final 40 or 50 pages is a slog.)"Red" is worth a look if you're curious about Van Halen, Montrose, or the guy who wrote "I Can't Drive 55." In the end, though, it's like learning all there is to know about a cheeseburger. Tasty, but not terrifically complex.

After a decent solo career, Sammy Hagar was the man who stepped into the shoes of David Lee Roth, who had left the band Van Halen at a time when the band seemed to be at the height of its popularity. At the time, it was pretty much split as to whether the move would work, but all fans were holding their breath waiting to see the end result. It ended up taking Van Halen to new heights with a different, less showy feel to the band that was more about the great music they were putting out. Behind the scenes, though, it was a different story as Hagar illuminates here.Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock is in some ways a typical rocker’s story. He grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in quite a dysfunctional family and found solace in music. There’s plenty of drugs, sex, and rock & roll as Sammy doesn’t try to hide from his past and some of the things he’s done that he might not be so proud of. I liked the very frank, honest, and unapologetic style of the book.To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...

I give this one a 5 because I couldn't put it down. I didn't know anything about Sammy Hagar except he replaced David Lee Roth, in Van Halen. He had a bad childhood, with an alcoholic and abusive parent, started petty crimes, and did drugs, and somehow found a mentor, who got him interested in the guitar, and he gave up the drugs, and turned to music, and never looked back, so to speak. If you love Van Halen, this is not the book for you, because Sammy doesn't mince words about the two brothers. I really enjoyed all the behind-the-scenes stories about the world of touring, etc.

Except for his last minute comments on Napster, of which a thing was honestly inevitable, it was actually pretty interesting. I didn't realize how drama ridden Van Halen was and more surprised to hear that David Lee Roth did not have that great of a singing voice, which means that they had to alter his voice in the studio. Would i read it again? I already knew Sammy was a pretty chill guy but this tells you why. I'm not a great fan even after this but I'd still read it again but after that, I'll have to see.

I just bought and devoured Sammy’s autobiography, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock. It only took three evenings for me to finish that book. I grew up with the listening to man, so I was keenly interested in everything from his stint with Montrose, Van Halen, Chickenfoot and all of the solo work that he has done. I have seen him perform in the Fresno, California area four times: the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge tour with Van Halen, the Balance tour with Van Halen, the Marching to Mars solo tour and last year at the Big Fresno Fair. I didn’t see him there, but I have had the pleasure of visiting the Cabo Wabo Cantina down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I have nearly every album/CD of his, and where I don’t, I have all of the best cuts from iTunes.The book was an extremely fascinating read and went very quickly. I suppose many books are really simply recordings that are later transcribed and this was no exception. The writer that he worked with seemed to simply write what Sammy said and cleaned up very little, if anything. Having heard many interviews and attended many of his shows, I am extremely familiar with Sammy’s conversational style, so it did not take long to put myself in the room with the man as he recounted his life’s story.The book begins with a foreword from Michael Anthony, the long-time, but now former base player for Van Halen who became fast friends with Sammy. In it, he details how he met the brothers and then eventually Sammy, and how it all fell apart. “He is the most upbeat, positive guy in the world. He loves life. He only happens to be a singer and play music, too. And another thing-he’s no bullshitter. If Sammy says it happened, it did.” I knew before beginning the book that it was something that was only going to tick off Eddie Van Halen further, but after reading what Anthony had to say, my appetite for the book was whetted.It is hard for me to believe that Sammy does anything but tell the honest and bitter truth, whether it be the amount of partying, his life with his first wife that was so difficult for everyone, the dirty details on all of his philandering, to the relationships with all of the rock royalty that he came across over his long and continuing career. When I read those words, it seemed to me to be one of the most genuine things that I have ever encountered; he sugar-coated nothing. When he was an absolute idiot, he told us so. He details his bad decisions and seemed to give all credit where it was due.What I really loved about the book was the behind the scene moments, such as when he bumps into famous rockers like Van Morrison, Sly Stone, Miles Davis, Stephen Stills and a couple of the members of The Grateful Dead are fairly hilarious. Other things that I ate up were the moments of inspiration when a creative spark brought a song out of nowhere. “One night, on the drive home,” Sammy said. “I was listening to this tape where Eddie had written the music and noodled the verses on guitar. He was trying to show me the phrasing of the verses, but he couldn’t, because he couldn’t play the rhythm of the thing, and I started singing it in the car. We didn’t have a chorus, and I just busted out with it, “Best of Both Worlds”. It hit me hard, right when I was pulling in the garage. Bang. The chorus hit.” I would have loved to have seen more of that, but overall, Sammy does a great job of going through all of the highlights of his career.I loved the book; however, I cannot recommend it for everyone. It is definitely not for anyone under age because it was definitely uncensored. In fact, I wish it had been a bit censored. I could have done without all of the sordid rock star/groupie details! I couldn’t have also done without the rock star language, but I suppose it is what it is. If you are anything like me, and love Sammy’s music, whether it be in a band or as a solo artist, grab a copy of this book, pour yourself a Waborita and sit back and relax. You won’t be getting up for a while.Unless it’s to pour yourself another drink.

I read Sammy Hagar's auto-biography, "Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock". I never thought I would enjoy an auto-biography, until I found one written by a rock star. Sammy's life was like a movie, involving a guy who grew up rough and made it big-time after going through so many obstacles. I believe Mr. Hagar wrote this book to let people know that he worked for what he has. He was definitely not born into money or fame. He did that himself. There is also a constant theme in this book. Throughout his life, Sammy encountered many situations where most people would just give up on their dream and try for something new. He never gave up on his dream of being a rocker. This story has a lot of dialogue between Sammy and the people that were around him. It is interesting because you know what the person is thinking and then what they actually say. The Red Rocker wrote this book in 1st person obviously. He also wrote about the mistakes he made, not just the good things. He made a book that was truthful and that made it interesting. I like this style of writing. I think he's proud of his life through and through. I really enjoyed reading this book and whether you are a fan or not, I would recommend it!