Sammy Hagar Retracts Zeppelin Comment

"Chickenfoot could rival Led Zeppelin." It was a quote that made its way across the Internet within hours, and the man who said it, Sammy Hagar, blames it all on tequila.

"I got fucking ripped and I said something stupid," Hagar admits, laughing, recalling the press day he did in Toronto this past spring to launch his premium Cabo Wabo Tequila in Canada (a product he just sold an 80 percent interest in for the tidy sum of $80 million).

Throughout the day, journalists and Hagar were imbibing, and the singer reveals that the combination of alcohol and his unbridled love for his new supergroup led to an unfortunate slip of the tongue. "I told Joe (Satriani), 'I'm so enthusiastic about this band, I might've said something. But I was buzzed up. What are you gonna do?"

Hagar made a similar statement in the October issue of Guitar World, though we can't say for sure whether he was indulging on that occasion as well: "When people hear the music, it's Led Zeppelin. I know that's a bold statement, but it's as good as that."

In other Hagar news, the Red Rocker will release a new album on Loud & Proud Records on November 18th. Cosmic Universal Fashion marks the first official release for Loud & Proud, a Roadrunner Records imprint focusing on established artists. The title track and first single, “Cosmic Universal Fashion,” was written as an online collaboration between Hagar and a young Iraqi rock and roller by the name of Steven Lost. Released via Sammy’s website redrocker.com and already a YouTube sensation, the video was produced in the same spirit as the classic Van Halen video for “Right Now, ” and strikes a timely chord with November’s upcoming Presidential election.

“We are light years ahead of where we thought we’d be in 1992, yet there will always be issues that continue to need our attention,” said Hagar. “With the upcoming election, global and national issues are at the forefront of everyone’s minds. ‘Cosmic Universal Fashion’ is not about supporting left or right, blue or red, but rather an attempt to appeal to people on a personal level to get involved.”

The track listing for Cosmic Universal Fashion is as follows:

• 1. Cosmic Universal Fashion
• 2. Psycho Vertigo
• 3. Peephole
• 4. LOUD
• 5. Fight For Your Right To Party
• 6. Switch On The Light
• 7. When The Sun Don’t Shine
• 8. 24365
• 9. I’m On A Roll
• 10. Dreams/Cabo

To hear clips of an interview with Hagar recently conducted by MusicRadar.com, click here.