SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE – Lockdown 2020 (2021)

“When we’re on tour, these are the songs we’ve been jamming to backstage for years. Before we go on stage, we warm up for about an hour playing everything from James Brown and AC/DC to the Bee Gees, The Who and David Bowie… you name it. So until we can get back to our live shows, these Lockdown Sessions are a great way to keep the band close and our chops up” – said Sammy Hagar about the new, upcoming album “Lockdown 2020” from SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE.

Out Jan. 8, 2021, ”Lockdown 2020” was recorded remotely during the band’s “Lockdown Sessions,” which Hagar and the Circle launched in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine.
Drummer Jason Bonham urged the others to record a concert warmup jam, and they tracked their respective parts at home. The result was this project’s first original, “Funky Feng Shui.”

They recorded nine more tunes, all covers, over the next eight months. “When we first [started] doing these lockdown sessions, it was only meant to stay in touch with the fans until we could get back out on the road again,” Hagar said in a statement. “But as the weeks and months drew on, it also became a fun way to keep the band together, musically and creatively.”

Lockdown 2020 features updates of songs from Hagar and Anthony’s former band Van Halen, including “Right Now,” “Good Enough” and “Don’t Tell Me (What Love Can Do)”; as well as Hagar’s “Sympathy for the Human”; the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”; Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”; AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie”; Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” and Little Richard’s “Keep a-Knockin’.”

But the highlight for us is the version of Bowie’s classic “Heroes”: the band takes a straightforward approach where Bonham’s pounding drums anchors their update of the 1977 song, with Anthony’s rumbling bass and the atmospheric crunch of guitarist Vic Johnson supporting a Hagar vocal that ventures from a low croon on the first verse into a heavy roar.
Highly Recommended

01. Funky Feng Shui
02. Won’t Get Fooled Again (THE WHO)
03. Good Enough (VAN HALEN)
04. Three Little Birds (Bob Marley)
05. Whole Lotta Rosie (AC/DC)
06. For What It’s Worth (Buffalo Springfield)
07. Keep A-Knockin’ (Little Richard)
08. Right Now (VAN HALEN)
09. Don’t Tell Me What Love Can Do (VAN HALEN)
10. Sympathy For The Human (SAMMY HAGAR & THE WABOS)
11. Heroes (David BOWIE)

Sammy Hagar – Vocals / Guitars
Jason Bonham – Drums
Michael Anthony – Bass
Vic Johnson – Guitars

Pre Order;
www.amazon.co.uk/Lockdown-2020-Sammy-Hagar-Circle/dp/B08NS9J1N9