Time & Perspective Quote by Ronnie Montrose

There is a whole career argument compressed into Montrose's calm phrasing: creative freedom is real, but it comes with a bill. By saying "it was obvious to everyone concerned", he frames the problem as collective, almost bureaucratic. Not a romantic lone-artist-versus-suits melodrama, but a sober meeting-room consensus where the math has already been done. That little bit of distance also protects him: he owns the choice ("good for me creatively") while letting "everyone concerned" absorb the blame for the commercial verdict.

The quote lands because it captures a specific late-70s/80s rock reality: guitar-driven experimentation could still happen, but it increasingly had to justify itself inside an industry that was professionalizing fast. Bill Graham management carries its own cultural signal - powerhouse, big rooms, big expectations. Under that banner, "commercially successful" isn't just about ego or chart position; it’s tour support, radio, marketing leverage, the machinery that keeps a band solvent and visible.

Montrose isn't trashing the record. He calls it "good", then draws a hard line between artistic satisfaction and market viability, as if they’re two separate currencies. The subtext is resignation without self-pity: he knows the album’s virtues and also knows why those virtues won't translate into sales. It's the adult version of rock authenticity - not pure rebellion, but an artist acknowledging the trade-offs and still choosing the work that feeds the part of him that matters.