'The Long Road To Cabo' is a 2 DVD set that features, on disc one, a 90 minute behind the scenes documentary filmed on the 2002 ‘Sam and Dave’ tour. Bringing the two former Van Halen front men together for a tour was always going to be a risky undertaking, and history shows that this was in fact the case.

Taking a different slant on the live DVD, 'The Long Road To Cabo' leans more heavily towards the Spinal Tap-esque rockumentary of the trials and tribulations of a band on the road, interspersed with limited footage from the actual shows.

Highlights musically include the opening track 'Red' which is vintage Hagar at his redneck best, and really blasts out of the speakers in superb 5:1 surround sound. 'Eagles Fly' is another classic Hagar track that really benefits from the 5:1 treatment. Sammy is joined on stage at various points on the tour by his close friend from Van Halen, Michael Anthony and at times the live performances look as though it could be Van Halen on stage.

Other guests on the tour include an appearance by Ted Nugent in a duet with Sammy on The Troggs’ 'Wild Thing', and another piece of the VH jigsaw, Gary Cherone, joins him in New York to perform Zep’s 'Rock and Roll'. Unfortunately, the NY audience didn’t get to see all three VH front men in one night as David Lee Roth neglected to show up that night.

The back-stage footage varies from interesting insights into the workings of a rock and roll band on the road, to sometimes overly drawn out personal accounts and past remembrances. One of the best parts has to be when the Wabos are on the bus to a gig and Sammy sees a fan wearing a Marilyn Mansun T-shirt. He immediately decides that the guy must be going to see DLR, as none of his fans would ever wear something like that. Needless to say, the language used is a little more colourful.

Diamond Dave himself only makes a brief appearance in the footage, as I think it’s fair to say the two didn’t manage to cement their relationship as the tour progressed. The highlight of the film though is the band getting on their plane to the next city, and suddenly realising that they’ve left Michael Anthony in his hotel room. You couldn’t get a more Spinal Tap moment if you tried.

Disc one closes with Sammy making a statement, and clearly forgetting the old adage that you should 'never say never'. It goes along the lines of 'this bunch of guys are he best I’ve ever worked with, there is no way I’ll be the one to leave voluntarily and break the band up.' What was that Sammy?

Disc two of the set is packed with Sammy Hagar goodies and is what really makes this set worth having. Music videos, more insight on the film, trivia and biography / discography, not to mention the 'Sing with Sammy' karaoke with which you can amaze all your friends. Approximately 3 ½ hours of material is crammed on to this disc. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the live footage included in the film, but disc two makes up for it.

Band:

Sammy Hagar - Guitar and Lead Vocals Jesse Harms - Keyboards, percussion, and backing vocals Vic Johnson - Guitar and backing vocals Mona - Bass and backing vocals David Lauser - drums, percussion, and backing vocals

Setlist:

Red - Rainy Day Woman (rehearsal performance) - Shaka Doobie - Wild Thing (feat. Ted Nugent) - Runaround - Rock Candy - Best Of Both Worlds - Eagles Fly - When It’s Love - Pound Cake - Heavy Metal - Rock and Roll (feat. Gary Cherone) - Top of the World - The Real Deal

***

Review by Ian Pollard

***** Out of this world | **** Pretty damn fine |
*** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |
** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly