The opening cut, "Little White Lie," is a provocative and eclectic mix of tones and talent.

   The producer, Mike Clink, blends Hagar's '70s guitar thunder with acoustic, rootsy fingerings of slide guitar and dobro as performed by blues stylist Roy Rogers (no, not Dale Evans' husband.)

   Mickey Hart of Grateful Dead fame handles percussive duties and toward the end Huey Lewis slashes across the top of the mix with a well placed raunchy harmonica drone.

   "Salvation on Sand Hill" is a screaming southern blues rocker.

   Damon Johnson of the band Brother Cane establishes its theme and general energy by churning out the anchoring guitar lick.

   Solid though predictable dramatic pacing occurs again through the use of juxtaposing the tonal differences of electric and acoustic guitars.

   "Who Has the Right" should have been followed by the parenthetical statement: not the writers of this piece of garbage. Penned by the Red Rocker and former Starship wunderkind Craig Chaquico, it is an overly long and trite rock anthem that fails to raise the grand emotions it seeks to stir.

   "Who Has the Right" sounds as if Hagar had Van Halen in mind when he wrote it and they rejected it.

   If that is so, then good job, Eddie.

   Clink makes another fine choice for guest musician with bass funkster Bootsy Collins for "Would You Do It For Free."

   The song tries (but not very hard) to mine the funk riches of Bootsy's vast experience with the bands Parliament/Funkadelic.

   Unfortunately, Bootsy is held back by an unimaginative rhythm section. A bassist of Collins' caliber should have the listener chicken' neckin' and lock steppin' within a few bars.

   Instead, the song leaves him wondering why he bothered to show up for the recording.

   Forgotten '70s hard rock guitar icon Ronnie Montrose adds his presence to the super-talented staff Hagar and Clink employ with his appearance on "Leaving the Warmth of the Womb."

   Though Montrose's style is dated, he is still a consummate professional who delivers powerful guitar chops that demand the listener to crank it up.

   "Kamma" is another forgettable would-be rock anthem that sounds as if Van Halen had the wisdom to leave it alone.

   It is too long to say so little.

   Opening with a John Lee Hooker inspired acoustic groove, "On the Other Hand" blasts off at the proper moment as if all three members of ZZ Top kicked it.

   Hart again provides the percussive figures.

   The tune ends with an all out in-yo'-face electric slide jam that evokes aural memories of Lonesome Dave Pelham and the band Foghat.

   Question: why is this one so short?

   "Both Sides Now," not to be confused with Joni Mitchell's "Clouds," is held together by an engaging, twangy rhythm guitar lick that is reminiscent of the Byrds.

   A pleasantly droning bass line mixed with a bit of piano flesh out a song that is not a great tune but is pleasant enough.

   "The Yogi's So High (I'm Stoned) is yet another reason to justify Hagar's dismissal from Van Halen.

   The pauses continuously inserted between the lyrics of "Amnesty Is Granted" probably aim to create a feeling of heartfelt sincerity.

   Though Hagar strives to convey emotions of nobility achieved through suffering, those cliched and obnoxiously repetitive pauses unfortunately do little but irritate the listener."Marching to Mars," the last and title cut is head and shoulders above the good songs.

   And "Who Has the Right," "Kamma," and "Amnesty is Granted" cannot reach the artistic ground on which it stands.

   Compared with those simperings, it sounds as if it should have been on another album.

   This noticeable difference is due to a higher standard of production values that co-producer Mickey Hart brings.

   The album "Marching to Mars" is a compilation of the best and the worst of contemporary pop-rock. Because Mickey Hart co-produced only one song, it makes one wonder what he could have done with the rest of the material.

   Throughout the CD, the lyrics sound as if Hagar's primary concern was finding a rhyme at the end of every line rather than making a statement.

Rating: **1/2