Good rock-n-roll
This is good, hard hitting rock-n-roll. I believe the best recording of the classic whiter shade of pale. If you like Sammy on vocals, this is a must have for you :)

Van Halen & Journey in one mold!
This one of Neal Schon's band since Journey & Bad English. The songs are crisp and rich. It's like listening to a VH CD with a cleaner guitar riffs as the usual trade mark of Neal Schon. Sammy's voice still brings out the Van Halen touch on every track of this CD. I wonder why this group only did 1 CD. What Neal's Hardline band did not achieve was achieved by this group. This CD deserves a 4 out of 5!

A few incredible songs worth the price of the album
I bought this on vinyl when it hit record stores in 1984. I was already a fan of Neal Schon's guitar work, and the album looked intriguing. I wasn't disappointed. A few of the songs are generic attempts at hard rock radio hits, but the incredible cover of Whiter Shade of Pale (I don't like the original too much, but this is fantastic), and the amazing Valley of the Kings/Giza (hard progressive rock with searing guitar work) are worth the price of the entire album. 'Animation' is also really interesting; almost experimental, but fun to listen to. These four guys are a tight group, and are obviously very talented performers (no overdubbing, etc). The recording is so good that often you forget it's live. It also makes you wonder why it wasn't released as a studio album, given how much creative force went into these songs.

Superior to ANY Hagar solo or Journey album, but that's just me.
I find some of these reviews amusing, especially the ones that say "side one only" and "2nd rate Hagar album". Personally I find this masterpiece of AOR to be superior to ANY Sammy Hagar album and ANY Journey album. But, before people scream, I'll qualify that by saying that Montrose was a BAND not a Sammy album and I won't even mention the disgrace that was "Van Hagar". And, for the record, if someone made me choose between this and Montrose, I'd have a DARN hard time but admit I would probably end up leaning towards the Montrose.

Also, for the record, the Steve Perry era Journey wasn't really rock, it was pop!! (i.e. popular radio rock). Though the great pre-Perry album "Next" comes close to HSAS and is my favorite Journey album (I pretty much stopped listening to them after Gregg Rolie left the band). To me the Neal Schon albums that come closest to this aren't even Journey albums, they are the 2 he did with Jan Hammer. To those who are curious BOTH of the Schon/Hammer albums are available on a single, low-priced CD called "No more lies". I highly recommend them to anyone who likes Neal's playing.

As for the "side one only" reviews - funny - "My Home Town" is one of my favorite songs on the CD and I always thought "Top of the rock" and "Missing You" were obvious attempts to make sure the promoters had something to play on the radio (though I DO like them)!! Personally, I like "He will understand" and "Hot and Dirty" better than either one! And this has the BEST version of "Whiter Shade of Pale" I have ever heard, though I did tire of it pretty quickly!! But I reckon that's what makes us great, the variety of opinions!

But you'll get no argument out of me about the magnificence of "Animation, Valley of the Kings and Giza", which we all know are really one long song, divided into 3 "movements", meant to be listened to together.

Bottom line, if you like either Hagar (including Montrose) and/or Journey you MUST get this CD!!! You WON'T be disappointed!!

Also - I remember seeing the San Fran taping of this on MTV back when it was new but never even saw a VHS of it, much less a DVD. Another example of what all is out there but unreleased!!

Great Cult Album!
I was there! When a bunch of buddies decide to get together for some fun and support a cause, they click. Don't listen for orchestral precision, just close your eyes and imagine Sammy, Neal and the gang having fun. What a great album. Still think their version of Whiter Shade of Pale was great. Worth every penny.