I Never Said Goodbye
Studio album by
Sammy Hagar
ReleasedJune 23, 1987
Recorded1987
StudioA&M Studios and One on One Recording Studios, Los Angeles,
The Record Plant, Sausalito, California
GenreGlam metal[1]
Length45:33
LabelGeffen
ProducerSammy Hagar, Edward Van Halen, David Thoener
Sammy Hagar chronology
5150
(1986)		 I Never Said Goodbye
(1987)		 OU812
(1988)
Singles from I Never Said Goodbye
  1. "Give to Live"
    Released: June 1987 (US)[2]
  2. "Eagles Fly"
    Released: October 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Kerrang![4]

I Never Said Goodbye is the ninth studio album by American rock musician Sammy Hagar, released on June 23, 1987, by Geffen Records. It was his first solo album since 1984's VOA, released while he was a member of Van Halen. The album was recorded in ten days under a contractual obligation to Geffen Records as a condition of his leaving the company to join Van Halen and their record label, Warner Bros. Records (Geffen's distributor at the time and also Hagar's label when he was with Montrose). The album spent 23 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and became his highest charting solo album, peaking at number 14 on August 15, 1987.

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 also plays during a brief section of the guitar solo on "Eagles Fly".[5]

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, the first time 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.[6]
  • "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.[6]
  • "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 1993 and 1995 tours. The song's lyrics deal with the level of consciousness immediately after birth, where humans are aware of all that is and all that was.[6]

Legacy

In 2012, for the album's 25th anniversary, radio show "In The Studio", interviewed Sammy.[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sammy Hagar, except where stated

Side one
No.TitleLength
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
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Standin' at the Same Old Crossroads" 1:46
7."Privacy" 5:23
8."Back into You"Hagar, Jesse Harms5:15
9."Eagles Fly" 5:00
10."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

Charts

Chart (1987) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[8] 48
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 56
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 37
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 86
US Billboard 200[12] 14

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[13] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Popoff, Martin (2014). The big book of hair metal : the illustrated oral history of heavy metal's debauched decade. Minneapolis, MN. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-7603-4546-7. OCLC 858901054.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 354. ISBN 9780862415419.
  3. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Sammy Hagar I Never Said Goodbye review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  4. ↑ Johnson, Howard (25 June 1987). "Sammy Hagar 'Sammy Hagar'". Kerrang!. Vol. 149. London, UK: Spotlight Publications. p. 18.
  5. ↑ Scapelliti, Christopher (June 26, 2015). "Sammy Hagar Finally Reveals Eddie Van Halen's Guitar Part on His 1987 Solo LP". Guitar Player. Archived from the original on November 5, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Hagar, Sammy, Returns Home, 1987. (Geffen PRO CD-2832)
  7. ↑ Blabbermouth (2012-07-04). "SAMMY HAGAR To Celebrate Two Solo Album Anniversaries On 'In The Studio'". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0871". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sammy Hagar – Sammy Hagar" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Sammy Hagar – Sammy Hagar". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Sammy Hagar Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  13. ↑ "American album certifications – Sammy Hagar – Sammy Hagar". Recording Industry Association of America.
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