Paper Money (Deluxe)

アメリカン・ハードロックの神髄を体現していたロック・ギタリスト、ロニー・モントローズ率いるモントローズ。サミー・ヘイガーやアラン・フィッツジェラルド、デニー・マッカーシなど後にソロ・アーティストとして、そしてヴァン・ヘイレン、ナイト・レンジャーやハートなどのメンバーとしてアメリカン・ハード・ロック・シーンを支えていくメンバーを擁した彼らの初期2作が、新リマスター音源にスタジオ・ライヴなどの未発表音源を加えた2枚組デラックス・エディションとして発売!これがアメリカン・ハード・ロックのパイオニアの音だ!

By the time they entered the studio to begin working on their second album, 1974's Paper Money, the wheels were already starting to come off the supercharged Montrose wagon. Though they involved virtually the same cast of characters responsible for the band's groundbreaking Montrose LP (including producer Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee), the sessions for Paper Money were often marred by the fast-deteriorating relationship between guitar hero Ronnie Montrose and his very talented lead singer, Sammy Hagar. The resulting creative tug of war made for a schizophrenic, unfocused set, where powerful rockers like the title track, the heavy riffing "I Got the Fire" and the ripping instrumental "Starliner" stand out from the poppier surrounding material, most of which falls significantly short of matching the first album's incredible energy. "Spaceage Sacrifice" is little more than a poor cousin to the debut's barnburning monster single, "Space Station No. 5," and "We're Going Home" was lyrically sappy enough that Hagar reportedly refused to sing it, allowing Ronnie do the honors. In short, it didn't take a psychic to read the signs here: Hagar would soon say his official "adios" and Montrose would never be the same again. [The 2017 reissue of the album boasts remastered sound and a new essay, while adding a second disc made up of a live show recorded in late 1974 at the Record Plant for KSAN. The session was put on tape a year after their previous debut performance for the station, and featured rollicking takes on tracks from both their albums, an acoustic guitar workout for Montrose ("One and a Half,") and an epic version of "Space Station #5.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia|