Montrose – I Got The Fire – Complete Recordings 1973-1976, 6CD Box Set 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’.

Track Listing:

DISC ONE

Montrose (1973)
1 Rock The Nation
2 Bad Motor Scooter
3 Space Station #5
4 I Don’t Want It
5 Good Rockin’ Tonight
6 Rock Candy
7 One Thing On My Mind
8 Make It Last
Bonus Tracks
9 Rock The Nation (mono)
10 Rock The Nation (stereo)
11 Space Station #5 (mono edit)
12 Space Station #5 (stereo edit)

DISC TWO

Demos (1973)
1 One Thing On My Mind (Demo)
2 Shoot Us Down (Demo)
3 Rock Candy (Demo)
4 Good Rockin’ Tonight (Demo)
5 I Don’t Want It (Demo)
6 Make It Last (Demo)
Live KSAN Radio Session. Record Plant, Sausalito, CA, USA 21st April 1973
7 Intro
8 Good Rockin’ Tonight
9 Rock Candy
10 Bad Motor Scooter
11 Shoot Us Down
12 One Thing On My Mind
13 Rock The Nation
14 Make It Last
15 You’re Out Of Time
16 Roll Over Beethoven
17 I Don’t Want It

DISC THREE

Paper Money (1974)
1 Underground
2 Connection
3 The Dreamer
4 Starliner
5 I Got The Fire
6 Spaceage Sacrifice
7 We’re Going Home
8 Paper Money Bonus Tracks
9 Paper Money (stereo edit)
10 Paper Money (mono edit)
11 Connection (mono edit)

DISC FOUR

Live KSAN Radio Session, Record Plant, Sausalito, CA, USA 26th December 1974
1 Intro
2 I Got The Fire
3 Rock Candy
4 Bad Motor Scooter
5 Spaceage Sacrifice
6 One And A Half
7 Roll Over Beethoven
8 Trouble
9 Space Station #5

DISC FIVE

Warner Bros. Presents Montrose! (1975)
1 Matriarch
2 All I Need
3 Twenty Flight Rock
4 Whaler
5 Dancin’ Feet
6 O Lucky Man
7 One And A Half
8 Clown Woman
9 Black Train
Bonus Track
10 Matriarch (mono edit)

DISC SIX

Jump On It (1976)
1 Let’s Go
2 What Are You Waiting For?
3 Tuft-Sedge
4 Music Man
5 Jump On It
6 Rich Man
7 Crazy For You
8 Merry Go-Round
Bonus Tracks
9 Music Man (stereo edit)
10 Music Man (mono edit)
11 Let’s Go (stereo edit)
12 Let’s Go (mono edit)