Marching to Mars


Marching to Mars is the tenth studio album by American rock singer Sammy Hagar, and his first post-Van Halen solo album. It features various musicians on different songs. It was released on May 20, 1997, by MCA Records. "Little White Lie" was a major mainstream rock hit, topping the mainstream rock tracks chart for five weeks.

Song information

  • Hagar had the idea for "Little White Lie" while still a member of Van Halen. The song was originally intended to be about racism, until Hagar saw Eddie and Alex Van Halen talking trash about him on MTV. At which point, Hagar rewrote the song to be about his former bandmates.
  • "Leaving the Warmth of the Womb" amounted to a Montrose reunion. The sessions also had a rerecording of the Montrose classic, "Rock Candy", which can be found on the CD single release of "Little White Lie".
  • "Kama" is described by Hagar as the Sanskrit translation of "love". It was written for his daughter, whom he had given the word as a name.
  • Written while Hagar was still in Van Halen, "Amnesty Is Granted" was previously recorded by Meat Loaf for his album Welcome to the Neighborhood. Hagar played guitar and sang backing vocals on that version. According to Hagar's autobiography, he wrote the song about being able to be with his newfound love away from his ex-wife Betsy.
  • "Salvation on Sand Hill" is co-written by Brother Cane's vocalist/lyricist/guitarist Damon Johnson who says, "...Sammy was inspired to write those lyrics after I showed him a book I had been reading: Salvation on Sand Mountain, which is about the worship rituals of some churches in Northeast Alabama..."

    Track listing

Singles

  • "Little White Lie" US
  • "Little White Lie" b/w "Rock Candy" Japan
  • "Little White Lie" b/w "Rock Candy" b/w "Ether" Europe
  • "Both Sides Now" b/w "Both Sides Now" US
  • "Both Sides Now" US
  • "Marching To Mars" b/w "Marching To Mars" US
  • "On The Other Hand" b/w "Right Now" US
  • "Kama" b/w "Kama" Asia

    Personnel

All tracks were produced by Mike Clink, except for the title track, which was co-produced by Clink and Mickey Hart.
Little White Lie
Salvation On Sand Hill
  • Lead vocals and guitar – Sammy Hagar
  • Drums – Denny Carmassi
  • Bass guitar – Jonathan Pierce
  • Rhythm and solo guitar – Damon Johnson
  • Keyboards – Jesse Harms
Who Has The Right?
  • Lead/background vocals and guitar – Sammy Hagar
  • Drums – Denny Carmassi
  • Bass guitar – Jonathan Pierce
  • Keyboards – Jesse Harms
  • Background vocals – Eric Martin, Mickey Thomas
Would You Do It For Free?
Leaving The Warmth of the Womb
  • The original lineup of Montrose
  • Lead vocals and guitar – Sammy Hagar
  • Drums – Denny Carmassi
  • Bass, vocals – Bill Church
  • Acoustic, rhythm and solo guitar – Ronnie Montrose
Kama
  • Lead/background vocals and guitar solo – Sammy Hagar
  • Drums – Matt Sorum
  • Bass guitar – Jonathan Pierce
  • Guitars – Mike Landau
  • Keyboards and background vocals – Jesse Harms
  • Background vocals – Aaron Hagar, Mickey Thomas
On The Other Hand
  • Lead/background vocals and acoustic/electric guitar – Sammy Hagar
  • Drums – Denny Carmassi
  • Bass guitar – Jonathan Pierce
  • Acoustic and slide guitar – Damon Johnson
  • Percussion – Mickey Hart, Giovanni Hidalgo
Both Sides Now
  • Lead vocals and guitar – Sammy Hagar
  • Drums – Denny Carmassi
  • Bass guitar – Jonathan Pierce
  • Keyboards and background vocals – Jesse Harms
  • Percussion – Luis Conte, Mickey Hart, Giovanni Hidalgo
The Yogi's So High
  • Lead vocals and guitar – Sammy Hagar
  • Drums – Denny Carmassi
  • Bass guitar – Jonathan Pierce
  • Keyboards and background vocals – Jesse Harms
Amnesty Is Granted
  • Lead vocals and guitar – Sammy Hagar
  • Drums – Denny Carmassi
  • Bass guitar – Jonathan Pierce
  • Keyboards – Jesse Harms
Marching To Mars
  • Lead vocals, bass guitar and guitar – Sammy Hagar
  • Drums – Denny Carmassi
  • Sequencing and percussion – Mickey Hart
  • Percussion – Giovanni Hidalgo
  • Background vocals – Arnie's Army, Derrick Hawkins, Harley Di Nardo, Dave Cartategui, Kari Hagar

    Charts

Releases

  • MCA Victor : MVCE 240 10
  • Track Factory : TRD 11627
  • Track Factory/MCA Records : TRKSD 11627