Montrose is the debut album by the band Montrose in 1973. After having done sessions work for various musicians including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock and Edgar Winter, this was Ronnie Montrose's first record leading his own band. It featured then little known Sammy Hagar (then known as Sam Hagar) on vocals. Two people who would later figure prominently in Van Halen's early history are present; producer Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee. While considered a classic by many hard rock fans, tracks from the album have received scant airplay on the radio with "Bad Motor Scooter" being the only possible exception. Ironically, it was possibly the first American hard rock/heavy metal album, save for Aerosmith's Debut. It has been said that Warner Bros. Records did not know how to market Montrose, the band or album and the band eventually went under as a result. But the album has undergone a renaissance since then, eventually going platinum. Van Halen (which Hagar would eventually join) had used this album as a blueprint for their own debut and some of the similarities in sound are striking. Eddie Van Halen himself considered Ronnie Montrose to be an influence. There are at least two, slightly different, versions of the album cover. Also, the tracks are in a different order on different copies, again with at least two versions.
