I Never Said Goodbye is the ninth studio album by Sammy Hagar, released on June 23, 1987 by Geffen Records. It was his first solo album since 1984's VOA and was released while he was a member of Van Halen. The album was recorded in ten days as a contractual obligation to Geffen Records as a condition of his leaving the label to join Van Halen and their record label, Warner Bros. Records. The album spent 23 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and became his highest charting solo album reaching #14 on the chart on August 15, 1987. The album was originally titled Sammy Hagar, and included an untitled cover. The album was renamed I Never Said Goodbye, the name being chosen as part of an MTV promotional contest. Some pressings retain the title Sammy Hagar, not to be confused with the 1977 album Sammy Hagar. It features Eddie Van Halen on bass guitar, who said in an interview that he also played a very brief part on guitar uncredited. The songs "Give to Live" and "Eagles Fly" were also performed live by Van Halen together with Hagar. "Give to Live" also topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1987, a first for Hagar as a solo artist. The former song was included on the album , the latter on the optional bonus disk as well as on the "Jump" single. "Boys' Night Out" was performed live on the AmericanTV showLate Night with David Letterman.
Song information
"Returning Home" was intended to be a sequel to "Silver Lights" from Hagar's first album Nine on a Ten Scale. Whereas "Silver Lights" was a story about aliens taking humans from Earth, "Returning Home" tells the story of the humans' return trip. Hagar said that it could also apply to a tale that his future self might tell a child at that time.
"Standin' at the Same Old Crossroads" was released in an extended version on the "Give to Live" single.
"Privacy" was inspired by several run-ins that Hagar had with the California Highway Patrol while driving in his car with black-tinted windows. While a court challenge would always rule in Hagar's favor, the law could not prevent the police from repeatedly pulling him over and giving him tickets.
"Eagles Fly" was demoed with three other songs as a follow up to Hagar's VOA album before joining Van Halen. When they had almost finished recording 5150 and "Dreams" had not yet been written, 5150s producer, Mick Jones, suggested that the band needed another song. Hagar presented "Eagles Fly" to the band acoustically, which was rejected as being too folksy. The band later joined Hagar performing the song live on their 1995 Balance tour. The song's lyrics deal with the level of consciousness immediately after birth, where humans are aware of all that is and all that was.
Track listing
All songs by Sammy Hagar, except "Back into You" by Hagar and Jesse Harms. Side one
