In this day and age you’d expect artists to make a real effort in producing a real good album. Because today anything we want to get, we can download from the internet. If your album sucks we really ain’t gonna buy the real copy. And that means you don’t get money. Ex-Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar definitely isn’t bothered about that. Cosmic Universal Fashion's hobbyistic character sounds like a couple of guys having a party. Wow, that is some way to describe new music from one of the world’s most beloved vocalist. But the truth is, this disk isn’t exactly a must have release, not even for fans.

 

It starts off with a nice up tempo rock track. There's no accounting for taste, but dude, this track really isn’t a great song. Yes, the man still has a great voice, but his attempt to sound modern by adding dance elements really doesn’t send shivers down my spine. 
 

The other thing you notice is the demo sound of the album, which is pretty annoying. The accompanying information explains that it isn’t the final mix, but I see no need to release this first. Does he expect that when the real mix comes out he gets another review? That I would even bother to listen? Cause really the album, as I mentioned before, sounds like a hobby project. And even the bad sound doesn’t hide the fact that most songs are far from interesting.  ‘Loud’ sounds a bit like Motörhead at the beginning, then it starts to sound like a leftover from the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge sessions. It beats me why such a dire rendition of the Beasty Boys ‘Fight For Your Right To Party’ landed on this record. The original is far superior. I don’t think that the final mix will be much of an improvement.

 

As a big Van Halen fan, especially when Sammy Hagar was their frontman, I found it really hard to pass such hard judgment about this album. But I can’t hide the sad fact that I consider Cosmic Universal Fashion far from being cosmic and definitely not a part of the universal fashion. Even the real good rocker ‘24365’ can’t save the album. Couldn’t he make peace with Eddie and Alex and produce new albums with Van Halen? And more specifically, tour Europe again with them? After all, it doesn’t sound like Hagar regrets the time he has been in Van Halen since the closing live track 'Dreams' is just glimpse of what once was.