Marching to Mars

Marching to Mars
Studio album by Sammy Hagar
Released	May 20, 1997
Recorded	1996–1997
Genre	Hard rock
Length	50:58
Label	MCA
Producer	Mike Clink
Sammy Hagar chronology
Balance (1995) Marching to Mars (1997) Red Voodoo (1999)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B– [2]

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. ^[3]
• "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". ^[4]
• "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..." ^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Little White Lie"	Sammy Hagar	2:54
2.	"Salvation on Sand Hill"	Hagar, Damon Johnson	5:01
3.	"Who Has the Right?"	Craig Chaquico, Hagar, Jesse Harms	5:20
4.	"Would You Do It for Free?"	Hagar, Harms	4:30
5.	"Leaving the Warmth of the Womb"	Hagar	5:06
6.	"Kama" (featuring Matt Sorum)	Hagar, Harms	5:20
7.	"On the Other Hand"	Hagar	2:42
8.	"Both Sides Now"	Hagar, Harms	4:27
9.	"The Yogi's So High (I'm Stoned)"	Hagar	6:02
10.	"Amnesty Is Granted"	Hagar	4:23
11.	"Marching to Mars"	Hagar, Mickey Hart	5:09

Japanese release bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Ether"	Hagar, Harms	1:09
13.	"Wash Me Down Again"	Hagar, Harms	6:05

Singles

• "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

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

Little White Lie Lead vocals and guitar – Sammy Hagar Drums – Denny Carmassi Bass guitar – Jonathan Pierce Guitar – Slash Slide guitar and dobro – Roy Rogers Harmonica – Huey Lewis Percussion – Luis Conte, Mickey Hart, Giovanni Hidalgo 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? Lead/background vocals and guitar – Sammy Hagar Drums – Denny Carmassi Bass guitar – Bootsy Collins Keyboards and background vocals – Jesse Harms 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 (I'm Stoned) 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

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [6]	68
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [7]	25
US Billboard 200 [8]	18

Releases

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

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Marching to Mars - Sammy Hagar". AllMusic . Retrieved 13 April 2025.
2. "Sammy Hagar - Marching to Mars". AOTY . Retrieved 13 April 2025.
3. MTV News Staff (May 30, 1997). "Sammy Hagar Discusses New Album". Viacom International Inc. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023.
4. "Sammy Hagar – Little White Lie". Discogs . 1997.
5. "HM – Internet Exclusives". Hmmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-14. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
6. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3222". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
7. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
8. "Sammy Hagar Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 30, 2023.

External links

• Lyrics from Sammy's official site