Posted on: July 29, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Sammy Hagar and the Wabo’s – Livin’ It Up! / 2007 Image / 112 Minutes / http://www.sammyhagar.com /

Sammy Hagar has been rocking for well over thirty years. Along the way, ey has created a high-end line of Tequila and has fronted acts like Van Halen and Montrose. This is admittedly the downside of eir career, and it would not be surprising for Hagar to start removing eirself from the public eye. However, there are some things that would preclude eir going to the glue factory, especially after releasing eir latest DVD, “Livin’ It Up!”. This DVD covers Hagar and eir band during a stop on their 2006 tour, specifically at their St. Louis stop. Individuals will be pleased with the vibrant footage, solid recording of the music, and song selection by Hagar and the band themselves.

What is most interesting for me, as a casual fan, is the fact that the track list played during this show represents what could be the greatest hits of Hagar’s entire career, rather than throwing together some older songs with the latest batch of drek whipped up for salivating fans. For casual fans like myself, there are renditions present of “There’s Only One Way To Rock”, “I Can’t Drive 55”, “Right Now”, and “Finish What You Started”. The version of these and the score of other songs played during the shows do not vary much from how they were recorded originally, which may be a minor fault on Hagar’s part.

However, one has to see both sides of this debate: fans would be angry if Hagar and the Wabo’s tinkered with “Right Now”, as they wanted to hear the song that fueled the massive Crystal Pepsi ad campaign of the early nineties. There is not much in the way of extras present on this DVD. In fact, the extras that are of any notes would have to be the interviews conducted with each member of the band. All together, these only total 35 minutes. Added to these interviews are a few music videos (“Sam I Am” and “Tropic of Capricorn”) and a tour of Cabo San Lucas. Still, for individuals that want to see a Hagar show but missed eir the last time around, “Livin’ It Up!” may just be a must-buy. Even though the special features are a little bit on the light side, the hard-rocking sound of Hagar et al has a high replay value and sounds clear as day, even considering that this was a live show. Pick it up.

Rating: 6.0/10

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