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Sammy Hagar and his current band The Circle released their first studio album, Space Between, today.

The Circle, which also features ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson, began as a live outfit that showcased songs by Sammy’s various projects and by Led Zeppelin, but Hagar tells ABC Radio that jamming with the guys inspired him to write original material.

As he amassed songs, Hagar says a concept album took shape about people’s perception of money.

“There’s a lot of people that hate rich people,” The Red Rocker maintains. “I’m thinking, ‘Well, why would someone be mad at me ’cause I’m rich? I work my a** off, you know?’ And then I started thinking about [charitable] guys like Warren Buffett [and] Bill Gates…There’s people who probably hate them and say, ‘Yeah, that rich so-and-so.’…That’s wrong.”

He adds, “Everyone thinks money is the root of all evil, and it’s not. With money you can feed poor people, you can heal [the sick], you can build a hospital, you can build a school, you can educate people. You can stop a war with enough money.”

As the material for Space Between came together, Hagar created a story to illustrate that theme.

The album, Sammy notes, is about a guy who “gets rich and powerful…and it goes to his head.” He then loses a bunch of money in Las Vegas and withdraws from the system, angering his wife, who divorces him. He begins to live a carefree life without money or responsibilities. Meanwhile, his children end up as “trust fund babies,” doing drugs and behaving badly.

Eventually, as Hagar explains, the man has an “epiphany” and realizes “his problem was greed,” and that “without greed, money’s beautiful.”

Here’s the Space Between track list:

“Devil Came to Philly”
“Full Circle Jam (Chump Change)”
“Can’t Hang”
“Wide Open Space”
“Free Man”
“Bottom Line”
“No Worries”
“Trust Fund Baby”
“Affirmation”
“Hey Hey (Without Greed)”

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