SAMMY HAGAR & THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS BAND – The Residency (2025 Big Machine Rock)

Chickenfoot are back!  A rose by any other name, right?  Nothing wrong with it.  Nothing at all.  It would have been nice if there was some kind of official Van Halen tribute show, but since nobody else wanted to do it, it’s up to Sammy.  The songs deserve to be kept alive, both Sammy and Roth eras.  There are only three Roth songs here, but we didn’t expect more.  Recorded in Vegas during April and May 2025, the album was produced by Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Chris Lord-Alge.

The truth is that when Michael Anthony sings those backing vocals, things just sound a little Van Halen-y.  Joe Satriani is one of the only guys in the world I’d want to hear play Van Halen songs besides Eddie himself.  Sure, Joe doesn’t play the same.  Eddie was freewheeling and improvisational.  Joe is schooled and plays with forethought.  He is more than capable of pulling Eddie’s tricks and trademarks, but tends to stay away from slavish imitation.  He may do a pick scrape exactly where Eddie did it on “Top of the World”, but he doesn’t necessarily play all the hooks and fills exactly as Ed did.  He usually plays them close enough that the solos are true to the original while not being exact copies.  In other places, he goes off into jazzy territory that wouldn’t have been explored before.  That is really the way it should be when it comes to a tribute to the greatest guitar player who ever lived.  He wouldn’t want to hear Joe imitating him, either.

Kenny Aronoff is one of the best drummers suited around, always in demand.  It would have been nice if Jason Bonham was still around, but Kenny might be better suited to the Van Halen material (listen to him on “Summer Nights”).  Adding those necessary backing keyboards (and guitars and vocals) is Rai Thistlethwayte, from Australia’s Thirsty Merc.  Normally he’s a frontman and hitmaker unto himself, but this is a pretty tempting gig to take.

As for Sammy himself, Hagar is one of the most reliable figures in all of hard rock.  Barely aging as the decades pass, and always releasing new music and touring behind it, Sammy Hagar is rock and roll’s unsung stalwart.  He may often say too much, but on stage, he’s still in great shape.  Now, the songs are detuned a little bit to accommodate the aging human voice.  This is unavoidable.

The live album opens with the tribute to Eddie aptly called “Encore, Thank You, Goodnight”.  (The studio version is on a rare 7″ single that is very hard to find.)   Joe Satriani plays several licks that are in homage to Edward the Great.  Simple but poignant lyrics like “Since you’ve been gone, things don’t feel the same.”  It’s a decent enough song, but likely wouldn’t have attracted much attention if not for the words.  Decent song but only notable for its lyrics and intent.  It would not have been a standout on either of the two Chickenfoot albums.

It soon becomes evident that this album is as much a tribute to Sammy as to Eddie.  There are five Sammy solo hits included:  “One Way To Rock” (which admittedly Van Halen played live on the 5150 tour), “Eagles Fly” (unnecessary), “Mas Tequila!” (almost insulting considering that Eddie disapproved of Sammy promoting his tequila while on tour with Van Halen), “Heavy Metal” (which Van Halen never played live) and “I Can’t Drive 55”.  Contrast this with the two David Lee Roth era songs included:  “Panama”, and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” (which Sammy doesn’t even sing; Rai does!).  Not even “Jump”, which Van Halen released as a live single with Sammy singing.  Throw in Montrose’s “Rock Candy” and it’s clear this isn’t entirely about the mighty Van Halen.

The setlist includes a few delights.  “There’s Only One Way to Rock” gives Joe a chance to really stretch out.  “Humans Being” was neglected by Van Halen, but this band does a great live version of it.  The only shame is that due to the decades past, Sammy doesn’t sing it in that monotone rasp.  Joe though, wow, he really nails the Eddie vibe on the guitar solo!  This version of “Humans Being” really shows why Joe was the right guy for this gig.  Meanwhile, Michael’s bass reminds us of why he was so integral to the band’s sound.  It’s great to hear “5150” (though the title should be in quotes on the back cover).  “Rock Candy” and “Heavy Metal” are awesome, regardless of the shift in focus away from Eddie.  “Love Walks In” is an interesting way to close the album, but it does work.

We always like to complain about setlists for shows like this.  It would probably have been appropriate to drop “Eagles Fly” and “Mas Tequila!” in favour of other songs (definitely not “Little White Lie”).  Anything to represent the Balance album would be welcome.  Sammy even could have included something from I Never Said Goodbye, an album that Eddie played bass on and co-produced.  That said, the album remains a solid listen.

Some diehards (or those who claim to be) won’t give The Residency a chance, but any fan of these musicians will love to hear how they interpret the works of Van Halen.  Pretty satisfying.

4/5 stars