I Never Said Goodbye

I Never Said Goodbye
Studio album by Sammy Hagar
Released June 23, 1987
Recorded 1987
Studio A&M Studios and One on One Recording Studios, Los Angeles,
The Record Plant, Sausalito, California
Genre Hard rock
Length 45:33
Label Geffen
Producer Sammy Hagar, Edward Van Halen, David Thoener
Sammy Hagar chronology
5150
(1986)
(Van Halen)51501986		 I Never Said Goodbye
(1987)		 OU812
(1988)
(Van Halen)OU8121988
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Kerrang![2]

I Never Said Goodbye is the ninth solo album by Sammy Hagar. It is his only solo album released while he was a member of Van Halen. The album was recorded in ten days as a contractual obligation to Geffen Records as a condition of his leaving the label to join Van Halen and their record label, Warner Bros. Records (Geffen's distributor at the time, and also Hagar's home when he was part of Montrose).

The album was originally titled Sammy Hagar, and included an untitled cover. The album was renamed I Never Said Goodbye, the name being chosen as part of an MTV promotional contest. Some pressings retain the title Sammy Hagar, not to be confused with the 1977 album Sammy Hagar.

It features Eddie Van Halen on bass guitar, who said in an interview that he also played a very brief part on guitar uncredited.

The songs "Give to Live" and "Eagles Fly" were also performed live by Van Halen together with Hagar. "Give to Live" also topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1987, a first for Hagar as a solo artist. The former song was included on the album Live: Right Here, Right Now, the latter on the optional bonus disk as well as on the "Jump" single.

"Boys' Night Out" was performed live on the American TV show Late Night with David Letterman.

Song information

  • "Returning Home" was intended to be a sequel to "Silver Lights" from Hagar's first album Nine on a Ten Scale. Whereas "Silver Lights" was a story about aliens taking humans from Earth, "Returning Home" tells the story of the humans' return trip. Hagar said that it could also apply to a tale that his future self might tell a child at that time.[3]
  • "Standin' at the Same Old Crossroads" was released in an extended version on the "Give to Live" single.
  • "Privacy" was inspired by several run-ins that Hagar had with the California Highway Patrol while driving in his car with black-tinted windows. While a court challenge would always rule in Hagar's favor, the law could not prevent the police from repeatedly pulling him over and giving him tickets.[3]
  • "Eagles Fly" was demoed with three other songs as a follow up to Hagar's VOA album before joining Van Halen. When they had almost finished recording 5150 and "Dreams" had not yet been written, 5150's producer, Mick Jones, suggested that the band needed another song. Hagar presented "Eagles Fly" to the band acoustically, which was rejected as being too folksy. The band later joined Hagar performing the song live on their 1995 Balance tour. The song's lyrics deal with the level of human consciousness immediately after birth, where they are aware of all that is and all that was.[3]

Track listing

All songs by Sammy Hagar, except "Back into You" by Hagar and Jesse Harms.

Side one

  1. "When the Hammer Falls" – 4:09
  2. "Hands and Knees" – 4:52
  3. "Give to Live" – 4:23
  4. "Boys' Night Out" – 3:19
  5. "Returning Home" – 6:17

Side two

  1. "Standin' at the Same Old Crossroads" – 1:46
  2. "Privacy" – 5:23
  3. "Back into You" – 5:15
  4. "Eagles Fly" – 5:00
  5. "What They Gonna Say Now" – 5:09

Personnel

Additional musicians

  • Albhy Galuten – additional keyboards and percussion
  • Omar Hakim – drum overdubs on tracks "Hands and Knees" & "Back into You"

Production

Singles

  • "Give to Live" b/w "When the Hammer Falls" b/w "Standin' at the Same Old Crossroads" (Extended Version) – US (Geffen 0-20712)
  • "Give to Live" b/w "When the Hammer Falls" b/w "Standin' at the Same Old Crossroads" (Extended Version) – UK (Geffen GEF 23T 920 712-0)
  • "Give to Live" b/w "When the Hammer Falls" – US (Geffen 7-28314-A)
  • "Give to Live" b/w "When the Hammer Falls" – US (Geffen GEF 23)
  • "Give to Live" – US (Geffen PRO-CD-2750)
  • "Give to Live" b/w "When the Hammer Falls" – Canada (Geffen 92 83147)
  • "Give to Live" b/w "When the Hammer Falls" – Germany (Geffen 928 314-7)
  • "Give to Live" b/w "When the Hammer Falls" – Japan (Geffen P-2279)
  • "Eagles Fly" b/w "Hands and Knees" – US (Geffen 28185-7)
  • "Eagles Fly" b/w "Hands and Knees" – Japan (Geffen P-2323)
  • "Eagles Fly" b/w "Eagles Fly" edit – US (Geffen PRO-A-2854)
  • "Eagles Fly" b/w "Eagles Fly" – US (Geffen 7-28185-A)

Release history

  • Geffen Records (US LP) : GHS 24144
  • Geffen Records (US CD) : GEFD-24144
  • Geffen Records (Germany LP) : 924 144-1
  • Geffen Records (Germany CD) : 924 144-2
  • Geffen Records (Canada LP) : XGHS 24144
  • Geffen Records (Japan LP) : P-13530

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sammy Hagar I Never Said Goodbye review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  2. ↑ Johnson, Howard (25 June 1987). "Sammy Hagar 'Sammy Hagar'". Kerrang!. 149. London, UK: Spotlight Publications. p. 18.
  3. 1 2 3 Hagar, Sammy, Returns Home, 1987. (Geffen PRO CD-2832)
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