Sammy Hagar - Marching To Mars (1997)

Evidently, being kicked out of Van Halen revitalized Sammy Hagar, since Marching to Mars is among his best solo albums. A lean, tough collection of by-the-books hard-rockers, Marching to Mars stands out because of its immediate sound and Hagar's sense of purpose. He's out to prove himself, to illustrate that he wasn't just Van Halen's mouthpiece or a blowhard. Subtlety still remains a weak point with Hagar, but he's rarely sounded quite as convincing as he does here, tearing through a set of surprisingly well-written songs with such guest artists as Huey Lewis, Slash, Mickey Hart, and Bootsy Collins. There's still a handful of weak moments, but the record is one of his strongest, and with bluesy cuts like "Little White Lie," it's also one of his more ambitious.