The late afternoon sun is bathing the room in a warm glow that's an even match for Hagar's sunny disposition. The singer, 50, is garbed in a black Cabo Wabo Cantina T-shirt (the Cabo San Lucas club he bought in 1991) and screaming scarlet jeans that are a reminder of his legacy as the red rocker who first made a name for himself with the raucous declaration "I Can't Drive 55."

"I would like to enlighten people," he says, enthusiastically explaining the spiritual impetus behind Mars. "You know, I see couples fighting about the stupidest things and sometimes I could just walk in and say, 'Hey, wait a minute! Hold it. Do you realize how petty you're [being]? You just have to rise above everything.' Enlightenment is the best word. Move towards light, and I would like to move everybody towards light. I don't want to talk about negative, dark things. The only thing I've got against stuff like Marilyn Manson is, as much as I think that they're a [great] rock 'n' roll band and they make unbelievable videos and unbelievable images, I don't like dragging kids, young kids especially, through the darkness because I believe in positive. Either you're gonna do work for the dark side or for the light side -- yin and yang, black or white. I'm an up guy. I'm into positive powers."

With a little help from friends old and new, Hagar made sure that Marching To Mars resonates with positive vibes and rays of enlightenment. Roy Rogers' twangy slide guitar sharpens the vibrant bluesy edge of "On the Other Hand" and "Little White Lie," Bootsy Collins injects a life-affirming Sly Stone-style groove into "Would You Do It For Free," and the lush electronica-influenced title track is co-written by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. Even the sweeping ballads aspire to more than just last-dance sentiments and a swaying butane salute. "Who Has the Right?" questions the ethics and morals of taking a life, whether through euthanasia, self-defense, abortion, murder or capital punishment; "Amnesty Is Granted" delves into the nature of forgiveness with a subtle country tinge and touch of bitter-sweetness that's reminiscent of John Hiatt's pensive moods. All in all it's nothing if not cathartic, though Hagar maintains Mars is not the result of pent-up feelings and creative impulses from his 11- year tenure with Van Halen. Leaving Van Halen simply allowed him to explore new avenues and take the music as far as possible.

"I took each song and tried to make it the best of its potential instead of just saying 'Hey this is rock,' like in Van Halen's case. 'Hey we're a rock 'n' roll band and so everything is full-out on ten'--even a ballad, " Hagar says cautiously. The singer is generous about his former bandmates, but the sting of events of last fall hasn't entirely faded. "Alex and Ed are open-minded musicians--and it's hard to say this about a guy like Eddie Van Halen, one of the greatest guitar players who ever lived, and I'll be the first man to say it--but he's really limited to a style and they're locked into it, so even if you write a ballad like 'When It's Love,' or 'Love Walks In,' they'll still play it the same way. It's a beautiful thing to have that much style, but it's also limiting. It didn't really limit me because I wasn't writing the music. Ed would write a piece of music. I'd listen to it and come up with a melody and then we would arrange it. We'd put it together and I would write lyrics to my melodies and that was a fine job. I was happy doing it. If I was in the band now I'd still be doin' that. But when they brought Roth back into the picture," he pauses, then chuckles, "obviously I didn't go along with that too well.

			"Little White Lie"
			"Marching To Mars"
			"Who Has The Right?"

"At first [after leaving Van Halen], I was shocked and I was saying, 'What the fuck am I gonna do?' And after about two weeks I realized I had these wings. You know? To write this kind of song if I want, or to write with that guy if I want, or to use that guy to play drums. I saw the freedom of it and I got totally excited. I put my head down and rolled my sleeves up and went to work."

And the work certainly paid off. Hagar praises Peter Gabriel, Sting and Eric Clapton as artists who embody the singing, writing and playing skills he most admires, and there's definitely something of their holistic approach to making music at work in Mars. The synergy that Hagar's cast of players generate is anchored to songwriting that's equally strong, and clinching it all are some of Hagar's best vocals to date.

"The reason my voice is sounding more passionate is because I'm singing directly from the heart," Hagar says. "I didn't have to make anything up on this record. In Van Halen there were moments, like in 'Right Now' and some of the ballads -- I put my heart and soul into those records. Those lyrics when I sang 'em, I gave myself goosebumps. They meant something to me. But then there was 'Aftershock.' I'm not makin' fun of it, but as much as I like it, it's a party tune. The lyrics didn't mean all that much to me. It wasn't coming straight from my heart, it was coming from my head. This record is all heart. Like, 'Who Has the Right?' My God, how can you not sing that with passion? When I sing 'Kama,' the song about my baby, I cry. I did it in Cabo. I cried twice on stage. I'm goin', 'Shit! How am I gonna do this in concert? This is tough.' It's so touching to me, and so close to my heart -- and that makes you a better singer. And so I've learned. I know my direction."