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.

Marching to Mars
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 20, 1997
Recorded1996–1997
GenreHard rock
Length50:58
LabelMCA
ProducerMike Clink
Sammy Hagar chronology
Balance
(1995)
Marching to Mars
(1997)
Red Voodoo
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Review

Song information

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  • 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.[1]
  • "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".[2]
  • "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..."[3]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little White Lie"Sammy Hagar2:54
2."Salvation on Sand Hill"Hagar, Damon Johnson5:01
3."Who Has the Right?"Craig Chaquico, Hagar, Jesse Harms5:20
4."Would You Do It for Free?"Hagar, Harms4:30
5."Leaving the Warmth of the Womb"Hagar5:06
6."Kama" (featuring Matt Sorum)Hagar, Harms5:20
7."On the Other Hand"Hagar2:42
8."Both Sides Now"Hagar, Harms4:27
9."The Yogi's So High (I'm Stoned)"Hagar6:02
10."Amnesty Is Granted"Hagar4:23
11."Marching to Mars"Hagar, Mickey Hart5:09
Japanese release bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Ether"Hagar, Harms1:09
13."Wash Me Down Again"Hagar, Harms6:05

Singles

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  • "Little White Lie" US (Track Factory TRK5P-3964)
  • "Little White Lie" b/w "Rock Candy" Japan (MCA Victor MVCE-9002)
  • "Little White Lie" b/w "Rock Candy" b/w "Ether" Europe (Track Factory TRD 49036)
  • "Both Sides Now" (Radio Edit) b/w "Both Sides Now" (Album version) US (Track Factory TRK5P-90091)
  • "Both Sides Now" (Radio Edit) US (GKS Entertainment 8125)
  • "Marching To Mars" (Radio Edit) b/w "Marching To Mars" (Album version) US (Track Factory TRK5P-4011)
  • "On The Other Hand" b/w "Right Now" (live) US (Track Factory TRK5P-4158)
  • "Kama" (Radio Edit) b/w "Kama" (Album version) Asia (MCA TRK5P-4095)

Personnel

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All tracks were produced by Mike Clink, except for the title track, which was co-produced by Clink and Mickey Hart.

Charts

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Chart (1997) Peak
position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[4] 68
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[5] 25
US Billboard 200[6] 18

Releases

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  • MCA Victor (Japan) : MVCE 240 10
  • Track Factory (Europe) : TRD 11627
  • Track Factory/MCA Records (Canada) : TRKSD 11627

References

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  1. ^ MTV News Staff (May 30, 1997). "Sammy Hagar Discusses New Album". Viacom International Inc. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023.
  2. ^ "Sammy Hagar – Little White Lie". Discogs. 1997.
  3. ^ "HM – Internet Exclusives". Hmmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  4. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3222". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  5. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  6. ^ "Sammy Hagar Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
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