This guy is a real pioneer of 70's hard rock. He doesn't quite get the credit he deserves, but all the players knew about him...

Montroses' first album is a stone cold classic.

I remember when Sammy was in the band before he went solo. Montrose is a champ!

I love how you can't stop smiling at his playing. Every time I watch this I have a huge grin on my face.

i saw ronnie at a VERY fancy club, one of those really expensive jazz clubs opening for frank marino wierd place to see crazy rock guitarists on stage,frank marino mentioned that "the mens room in this joint is nicer than my house" but it was cool to have nice drinks and fancy food,table service at a rock concert candles on the tables, big comfy chairs, WHITE TABLE CLOTHS i bought one of these big fancy drinks in a giant goblet with friuts,10 kinds of booze and decorations sticking out of it, montrose threw a pick out to the crowd and landed in my 50 dollar drink i drank it anyway hey 50 bucks is 50 bucks

It's great how you admire Ronnie Montrose, I do too, one of the best ever, he could play all the styles, hard rock, blues, jazz, fusion, spanish etc with a feeling and technique you don' t see very often. It's so sad he is no longer with us. Beautiful video and tribute to Ronnie Montrose.

In my teen's and twenty's, back in the age of cassette tapes, I wore out several copies of the Montrose album. He was one of my OG guitar heroes. We also wore out copies of Gamma1 and Gamma2. I think the Gamma albums were out of print, even then, but if you can find them; they rock! I had the great privilege to see the reunited Montrose in Reno, NV shortly before he left us. It was a Sammy Hagar show, and after Sammy played his full show Ronnie and the Montrose guys came out for a third set and played the whole Montrose album. That was one of those bucket list things that I thought would never happen, but it did. Thanks for bringing up a great memory.

A truly underrated genius. So glad I was able to listen to Ronnie and the band back in the early 70's. RIP.

Very cool instrumental version of "Town Without Pity" another great analysis on an deserving guitar! (RIP) Ronald Douglas Montrose (11/29/1947 ~ 03/03/2012) Thanks Fil.

Thanks, Fil! Proof one need not leave one’s instrument in flames from end-to-end shredding to provide a superlative performance! ROCK!

Ronnie is one of those guys that just makes it look easier than it is.

he's all touch, tone and taste, always focusing on melody and tone took him further than many of his contemporaries. i personally believe that many speed and sweeping techniques ruined a part of rock and pop music in general, making a competition of playing instead of what is more emotionally experienced.

A guitarist friend took me to see Ronnie around the time of his "The Speed of Sound" LP in late'88. I was absolutely floored and honestly thought he was NOT the same Montrose who did "Rock Candy" and "Bad Motor Scooter". Really incredibly expressive live.

Montrose has superb tempo control of his vibrato which is the key to a good one. It's neither lazy nor nervous or out of sorts. The tempo of his vibrato is just about perfect each time he uses it & that brings out his tone. Enjoyed your commentary again, Fil. This channel is both fun & educational.

I like his guitar too,it’s shining like a beautiful sunset every time the light hits it.

British Guitarist , thanks for the analyzation on Ronnies' , "Town Without Pity". . This live virsion has so much nuance in his vibrato as you noted. His stretches reached whole steps above the scales normally rest. Dynamics are also unbelievable. We do beleave Ronnie is still creating music where he is at now ! ! Thank you for your post on RONNIE MONTROSE , and we appriciate you very much !!!!!!!

That little feedback Ronnie gets at the end is sweet

The first concert I ever went to was Kiss, with Montrose as the opening act. LA forum 1977. I believe Sammy Hagar was in his band as well. I was 12 years old with my parents lol. I will never forget that night.

Can you imagine just how this would have been back in the 70's!!

Legend.

FANTASTIC! Ronnie Montrose has always been a fabulous guitar player great up load Fil!

I started listening the band "Montrose" in 1974. Got to see them in '76, Ronnie was (IMO) the best rock guitarist of the 70's. It's great to see a younger generation of guitarists appreciating his talent! Thanks for your review!

He’s great , so smooth

This music is so smooth and relaxing.

My favorite guitarist, his phrasing, tone and melody were amazing, ronnie gave a few of his guitar pics, they are very, very light. And thank u for posting!

If you were a hard rock fan in the 1970's, you knew and cherished the first MONTROSE album with a dynamic new singer named Sammy Hager! Ronnie Montrose is a very over looked player, but he was an excellent guitarist, who never really caught on commercially. I got to see him in the late 80's in a small club near Chicago in his instrumental years, the man could play!

Ronnie along with Robin Trower, Rick Derringer, Gary Moore, Scott Ghoram, Brian Robertson, Rik Emmitt, Dave Meneketti and Ted Nugent were / are the masters of tone and vibrato in the hard rock world in my opinion. Can never get enough of these tone monsters !

Ronnie played with Edgar Winter and White Trash , notably on their huge instrumental hit “Frankenstein “... he went solo and in 1973 released what most HM/HR fans think is the greatest, or one of the greatest , debut LPs ever --MONTROSE-....Make it Last, Bad Motor Scooter, Rock Candy, Space Station no.5, etc-just a legendary release..I was lucky enough to get in high school in 1974....”Town Without Pity “ is off OPEN FIRE, an instrumental LP release in 1978... also a nice song on it “My Little Mystery “.

As long as electric guitars exist, Ronnie Montrose's legend will keep growing. He mirrored that first album; ahead of his time and hugely influential with very little flash. Wrote the guitar part for and played on Van Morrison's "Wild Night." The fills alone in "Rock Candy" are enough to form a career. Well spoken, sensitive guy who could play circles around a lot of better-known, 'million notes a minute' types.

I had the original Montrose album. Ronnie, Bill Church, Denny Carmassi, and Sammy. ONE of the few albums that every tune was as good as the one before. I also had both Gamma albums. R.I.P Ronnie

A truly melodic player!!

Nicely done Fil, thank you. I remember when I first heard the first Montrose album, how could you not be hooked!! I bought every recording after that first one and the thing I noticed was how he matured as a musician. You listen to early music and it's great, hard driving rock, raw and intense. As he grew you started to great Ronnie come through. I knew how to listen to music and feel what was coming through at an early age. My parents loved the singers but also jazz...Miles, Coltrane and the like. Ronnie was stood tall amongst the rest in showing you what he felt through his guitar.

Fantastic analyzation of the pioneer Ronnie Montrose . Thanks for doing a show on Ronnie . ***** Rating.

Fantastic guitar player. He tells us a very tasty story with his fingers and soul. Thanx Phil!

Awesome feel to his playing! Really melodic and brilliant dynamics! Love how he feels every note he plays! Beautiful guitarist! Smokin Fil! Cheers Mario!😁👌👌👌

Why isn’t there 2.8 million views on this amazing performance.

Spot on commentary! To feel the emotions coming thru his guitar is wicked!

Again Fil takes him to bits and builds a nice picture. Wel done Fil! 16/16

Most know of the MONTROSE 1973 debut AKA The Great Eight. If you want to go into Ronnie's deeper more progressive instrumental jazz-rock fusion music, start with 1978's OPEN FIRE then 1988's SPEED OF SOUND. After that you'll have to fill in the catalog slowly but surely with his other 15-20 records.

one guitarist all should have his full catalog of music.. another great review Fil.

"Open Fire" was his most interesting LP IMO. Opens with an orchestral piece. Make an instrumental Jazz/ Rock album that pretty much begs to be compared with Jeff Beck's "Blow by Blow. " Pretty radical move for a guy trying to climb the Rock charts at the time.

Montrose I is one of the great, pure guitar driven R n R records ever made. Young Sammy Hagar, Denny Carmassi killing the drums and Bill Church's driving bass producing Rock perfection. If personified California rockers in the mid-70s. Still high in my power rotation. Damn life was good. Rock!

How did I miss this one? Ronnie was my inspiration to learn guitar. I covered TWP at a talent festival, broadcasted on the radio in the 80s, in San Jose CA. Unbeknownst to me, Ronnie was sitting with Lamont and Tenelli in the "booth", smiling. 👍 He signed my Kramer Focus V guitar right after. Still have it! That was a good day!

Rest In Peace Ronnie Montrose! A great guy and excellent player who suffered from clinical depression. This is weird because before this was posted I quoted the name of this song “A Town Without Pity” in reference to where we live while speaking to a city official who I sensed wasn’t original to this area like myself. A place that is cloudy most of the time and a lot of sad people. Good, salt of the earth people in many cases but a lot of sensitivity and provincial attitudes. Riff from “Wild Night” by Van Morrison is his... both the rhythm chords and the single note riffs are his. I was going to listen to the original theme song but this is way less depressing to me. Sad story about US Military guys who raped a local German woman in occupied West Germany after WW II. Without getting into too much detail, we also had an incident similar to that in the film here. Very different in its dynamics... But the same heartlessness. The composer of this song’s music, Dimitri Tiomkin, is well known to us film buffs for his excellent scores. Up there with Bernard Herrmann and John Williams.

So glad to see you covering Ronnie Montrose! He is definitely one of my all-time favorites. Growing up in the Bay Area, both the early Montrose albums with Hagar and the Gamma albums were huge with me and my friends. Still love it all and was devastated when Ronnie passed. Had just seen him about six months before that and he was playing great and seemed very happy. And, as you mention, Montrose was such an influential player. So many great hard rock guitarists will credit Montrose as one of their big influences, yet a lot of people don't know who Montrose is. If you don't know, do yourself a favor and listen to the first Montrose album (absolute classic) and the Gamma albums. Such great stuff. Ronnie really should be in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. Sadly, those idiots probably don't even know who he is. Also, there is a live Gamma show here on KZfaq that really shows Ronnie at his prime. He really rocks it in that show and the sound quality is very good. Ronnie could shred with the best of them. Check it out. Thanks, Fil!

Alright, with a little more research, That's Ronnie Montrose on Van Morrison ' s "Tupelo Honey" and "Wild Nights?" My God two of my favorite songs!♡ Now I really understand!

I liked this. I kept thinking this sounded like an old film noir soundtrack that was juiced up. Then I looked up the song and found the movie. LOL!!!

Love it, talk about playing with feeling! Cool stuff!

Brings back memories of all the seventies guitarists exploding the art form, and his album "Open Fire" is easily a top ten guitar showcase album. Ronnie could mop the floor with a number of guitar heroes who got more attention. Really an important and expressive player.

Rock Candy by Montrose was a such a great song for its time and it still holds up today, at least to moi. Thanks WoP for the reactions. Keep rockin like Dokken. David, All The Way From Memphis.

Saw Ronnie twice, once with Sammy then this instrumental your. Vastly underrated! One of the greatest rock debut albums EVER

Great to see artists that just immerses themselves in the music, I love his melodic and smooth approach - great player and what a tragic end to his life

How did I miss this one? Ronnie was my inspiration to learn guitar. I covered TWP at a talent festival, broadcasted on the radio in the 80s, in San Jose CA. Unbeknownst to me, Ronnie was sitting with Lamont and Tenelli in the "booth", smiling. 👍 Kinda like you are! He signed my Kramer Focus V guitar right after. Still have it! That was a good day! Oh and pushing 60, my arthritis was fucking up my playing ability and stamina. On a ketogenic diet for almost a year now, my arthritis is completely gone! I can again, shred for hours...and at my senior high school weight no less! My clothes don't fit anymore but WTF! I'll take feeling 30 again, over looking slovenly on the farm. Had Ronnie been on a ketogenic diet? He probably would still be alive. Carbs feed cancer! ✌out

Montrose and Gamma are 2 reasons I started playing. An absolute turning point in my life onto the career in music path was Gamma supporting Rainbow, Dec 1979. Blackmore and Montrose sharing the same stage. Absolute FIRE. You dont see gigs like that anymore...2 bands that were dangerous live. Life changing. ps--I found the ticket stub for that gig at my parents house recently...Gamma+Rainbow -- $4.50 ....unbelievable.

I'll never forget a concert Feb 18th 1976, "Montrose" with Sammy Hagar on vocals, warmed up for Queen (A Night at the Opera tour). Of course Queen was unbelievable, but I'll never forget Sammy screaming out Rock Candy , and Ronnie ripping those solos. Unforgettable night (at the opera!) RIP Ronnie

That is so wonderful to hear and experience when someone can actually make their guitar emote, just a shitload of fun when he and the band would take it down low and slow! I've shared many times that I am not a musician but just a fan of any genre of music when it is played at such a level is this, by the way the Rhythm Section was smokin, keyboard on the money!!!!

My first ever electric guitar jam was with a mic crammed into a acoustic guitar and I had on the Montrose LP

So cool! You know Montrose. I'm old...

I wore the grooves out of my copy of Montrose's debut album, then completely forgot about the band. I never saw them live, so this video is a first. Fascinating analysis, Fil, but your trained ear picks up so many nuances that, for me, are lost in the audio-video murk of this and so many other cellphone (?) recordings posted to KZfaq.

David Gilmour is one of many players who make your point Fil. Ronnie does a great job considering every obstacle in his way. Vibrato and bending notes is what makes the player come through. Pure personality. Thanks for this video. Sorry to hear about Ronnie's arthritis at the time. It must have been very hard to play and enjoy it. Any videos on the great John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra on the horizon (circa 1972)? Love your channel....Paul

I had an album in the 60s by Gene Pitney with this song on it. I've never heard it like this before though! This was great. Thank you again Fil.

Another great video. 🤘

ronnie had a bad motor scooter

I really liked montrose back in the day. Back in 19XX (something or other) I saw them with Wishbone Ash. Great concert. I think. I remember some moments of clarity - and those were good!

Awesome buddy....another great one

You are right

I saw Montrose and Allan Holdsworth play a double bill in 1988 on a tour sponsored by Pearce Amps which they were both using at the time. Hardly anyone at the show which was a real shame. Both were great. Ronnie was using a Strat style guitar at that time. Btw, Vinnie Colaiuta was playing with Holdsworth the night I saw him . Some great musicianship that night!

Great analysis, as always and on a great subject. I've always thought of Ronnie as an attack guitarist. He's never been content to be defensive and hold the line, he always played like he had one more hill to take. I remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard the opening riff to Rock The Nation, just like when JFK was shot. It was a defining moment, of sorts. That song was the anthem for many in my generation. Freebird was cool but some of us needed to rock a li'l harder.

Vibrato at the top of a bend......you’re bang on in my opinion Fil.....so, so difficult to get the guitar singing at first, I know it took me years of conscious effort and even now when it goes wrong I get really despondent. Ronnie has a lovely vibrato, I think he was right to really focus on it, his individuality and sheer elegance with such a difficult technique really shines. Great review, thank you.

Great if heart breaking installment. He sounded Awesome here! Had known about Ronnie with Van Morrison and Edgar Winter but that Montrose album RULED!! Saw him at Winterland with Sammy and Bob James (WB Presents), Gamma at the Cow Palace then in '84, a Montrose band that played ALL of this, Keystone PaloAlto. 'Met' him out in the parking lot after the show. he was waiting for his limo and accosted by a girl with us. Just a hug. Me and my band mate shook his hand and let him go. Grateful for the chance to cover Voyager last time i played out. end of 3 set 'encore' but still the highlight of a band setting for me. RIP, Ronnie :(

Seen Montrose in the early 70's in Flint Michigan. Ronnie could play a guitar for sure

Ronnie said that at one time he never used vibrato until one day someone criticized him for not using vibrato. He changed after that.

RIP Ronnie

Loved Montrose. "Get on Your Bad Motor Scooter and Ride" - awesome song. Saw Sammy Hagar perform live here in Oklahoma a few years back...he played several Montrose songs. Get this, John Bonham's (Led Zeppelin) son was on drums...they also did some Zeppelin songs. Sammy Hagar - the red rocker!

I saw Montrose at MSG in '74.They opened for The Who. Paper Money!!

The guitar bit at around the 8 minute mark of Fil's video reminds me of Framed by Alex Harvey.

"If you can get the guitar to sing"..... you nailed what it takes to play well, for me anyway, thanks !

I saw him at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana Ca. Still have the entire set recorded on Cassette tape ;)

Haven’t heard this in so long this is a song from the “open fire” solo album from 1978 it was all instrumental I knew him before from songs like “rock candy” just kind of fun loud songs. Open fire however was a PERFECT album. I think I was a senior in high school then and I wore my vinyl copy out and had to go buy another one. Every song on it was a great song but they were all different and unique from each other. He did two other instrumental album’s later they were also very good. He reunited with Montros and Sammy Hagar on vocals for tours often on and play with the band called gamma. Unfortunately in 2012 after suffering from prostate cancer and after a drinking doubt he got depressed and shot himself. I hope your fans will go in by open fire as an introduction to this fine player and maybe buy some more things in his catalog to help support his family. Someone below said touch tone and taste . That was Ronnie. But I don’t care what kind of picky use he could play really fast whenever he wanted to. To me he just always sounded great Thanks for putting this one up it was a good choice

Ronnie’s first solo album is really great. Regarding Montrose opening for KISS, it didn’t happen at the Forum in 1977. Cheap Trick opened that show. KISS played the Forum in February 1976 and it’s possible Montrose opened that show but Hagar had left the band by that time. Nerd here. Sorry

Great reaction. You break it down and make your analysis interesting to even non-guitarists like myself. I would LOVE to see you react to Luna "Sideshow By The Seashore". There is a wonderful live version they did at KEXP.

First, of many...love Ronnie:)

Dude!! The first Montrose with Sammy Hagar on vocals is FANTASTIC!! All killer no filler. Space Station #5!! It smokes!!! If you don't know it youtube it!!! Red by Sammy Hagar a later solo song is great!!

Another amazing guitarist - Tommy T. Baron from the band Coroner. I saw them many years ago and he is amazing!

I used to listen to the album version of this all the time. It is on Open Fire (/78), with him and a big band. Some of my favourite expressive playing. The title song was good also, and I guess the drummer Tony Williams liked it too, because he had Montrose play "Open Fire" on his Joy Of Flying album the next year. Speaking of electric guitar and big bands, Mike Bloomfield played solos on a few songs on the Woody Herman album Brand New. (Audio only on KZfaq). Also on KZfaq, another performance which segues into "Dazed And Confused" in the middle (like Unknown Hinson) is "Joe Bonamassa Official - Just Got Paid - Tour de Force - Live at the Royal Albert Hall".

Another great one Fil I'm 55 I remember him in the 70s.

One of the greats!!

Here again after the arthritis bit. That i didn't know of but knew he was a prostate cancer survivor.

Dude is a raunchy version of B.B King. Whewwwwww! 😀🤘

Yes

Ronnie was an innovator. Much of his career was in the analog world and not the digital. Several techniques Eddy Van Halen used were taught to him by Sammy via Ronnie. The variable speed drill housing against the guitar strings first used on Bad Motor Scooter comes to mind. Best regards.

Fil, Great analysis and great Live Sream last night (Tues/Wed am). Fil I've just watched a video of a guitarist and master of the Telecaster, of an artist called Roy Buchanan and I'm in a state of shock. I thought I knew them all....Hendrix, Clapton, Page etc. I'd barely heard of Roy Buchanan, a man with quite a life story. But his 1976 video of 'Roy's Bluz' is a masterpiece and a piece of Rock history. I'd put it up there with Led Zep's 'Stairway' and Lynard Skynyrd's Freebird Live at Knebworth. In his barnstorming telecaster guitar solo he even has the audacity to drink from a cup of water while still playing with one hand to the delight of the audience. Apparently he was offered to replace Brian Jones from The Rolling Stones but didn't want the fame. So would you consider doing a video analysis of this epic piece of Rock history. It'll sure put a few expressions on your face if you do it live first time. The video is up on zztop003 (youtube channel) titled 'Roy's Bluz' by Roy Buchanan (Live 1976). Don't think I'll sleep much tonight as I'm gonna listen to it another few times. OH good on ya Maidenhead! I was brought up near you just outside a Village called Burnham. Cheers, Dee.

Nice guitar .... damn I gotta start practicing

🤘🤘🤘great video🤘🤘🤘 🎸🎼🎼👍🤘 great solo 🤘

Wow

The Montrose album is in the top 10 of all time period

Ronnie is very skillful and soulful. He's a genuine pro. I am a massive Sammy fan as well!

Damn I need to practice

RONNIE MONTROSE