For over a year, Hard Rock Music Time Machine has been a part of Hard Rock Daddy’s weekly Music Discovery Monday feature.
Originally intended to showcase songs that hard rock music fans may have missed at the time of release, as a standalone feature, Hard Rock Music Time Machine will expand its reach to include songs that are as much about nostalgia as they are about discovery.
Each Thursday, Hard Rock Music Time Machine will take a journey back in time to feature a variety of songs that date back as far as the ’70s. Of course, there will be plenty of music featured from the ’80s (the glory days of hard rock), hidden gems of the ’90s and hard rock/metal songs of the new millennium (as recent as a few years ago).
Whenever possible, we will be including interviews from featured artists discussing the inspiration and meaning behind their songs. With this new format, we will also be doing special themes at least once per month.
In addition to appearing on the embedded YouTube playlist below, all songs featured on Hard Rock Music Time Machine can be listened to individually by clicking on the hyper-linked song titles above each review.
ADAM WALDMAN – (Publisher, Hard Rock Daddy)
THE FIRM – “Satisfaction Guaranteed” (1985)
For premiere of Hard Rock Music Time Machine as its own entity, I thought that it made sense to have rock legends as the featured artist. Supergroups litter the hard rock genre today, but once upon a time, they were truly special. The pairing of legends Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers (two of the greatest at their craft) was unfortunately short-lived, but while it lasted, it was something to behold. The band’s two-album discography definitely leaves you wanting more, but this song (from their debut release) delivers on its title…“Satisfaction Guaranteed.” In fact, the same can be said about the entirety of both albums, and their live performance.
The regret of being too young to see Led Zeppelin in concert before John Bonham’s untimely passing was somewhat alleviated by experiencing the awe-inspiring performance of Page when I saw The Firm back in the mid-‘80s. Rodgers was expectedly brilliant, and the rhythm section of Tony Franklin (bass) and Chris Slade (drums) was one of the best that I’ve ever seen in concert.
COVERDALE / PAGE – “Shake My Tree” (1993)
Jimmy Page’s collaboration with Paul Rodgers isn’t his only memorable one outside of Led Zeppelin. Unlike The Firm, which was a short-lived supergroup, the pairing with David Coverdale was not billed as such, and ended up being a one-off project inspired by John Kalodner. Though the self-titled album and its singles were well-received, sluggish ticket sales caused an American tour to be scrapped in favor of a series of concerts in Japan. It is rumored that Page’s collaboration with Coverdale was done to irk Robert Plant because of his reluctance to reunite with his Led Zeppelin mate. When interviewed at the time, Plant referred to the project as the “David Cover Version.” Despite Plant’s perception of the project, the fact remains that “Shake My Tree” would have been a quality Zeppelin tune. While the vocals are reminiscent of Plant’s, there is enough of Coverdale’s signature sound to make this much more than a “cover version” of anything.
JON LOVELESS – HRD Music Scout
NINE LEFT DEAD – “Put Your Guns Down” (2011)
This Oklahoma band debuted with significant promise based on this track, but has been fairly quiet in the past couple of years. A recent social media posting suggested that new music might be forthcoming which, based on this older track, would be a most welcome (re)addition to the rock scene.
POMPEI NIGHTS – “Midnight Mistress” (2011)
Swedish band that has kind of dropped off the radar. Quality ‘80s-inspired sleaze rock that is worth revisiting, especially if you missed it the first time around.
ROB DELL’AQUILA – HRD Music Scout
ELEMENTS OF FRICTION – “Forever” (2001)
Robin McAuley (MSG, Grand Prix, Survivor) reminded the world why he is one of rock’s greatest vocalists with this soulful ballad in 2001. Here, he is accompanied by an all-star lineup on a far too short-lived project.
ROBIN MCAULEY – “When The Rain Came” (1999)
This powerful ballad comes from Robin McAuley’s solo album, Business As Usual. Packed with great songs, the album was unfortunately missed by many rock fans because it was only released in Japan.
CHRIS HERZEGOVITCH – HRD Music Scout
ELUVEITIE – “A Rose For Epona” (2012)
A killer rhythm supercharges this folk metal tune by Switzerland’s Eluveitie (prononced El-Vey-Ti), a band usually known for Pagan Metal. Chrigel Glanzmann’s enchanting vocals are beautiful cries of the forsaken in heavy, dark times.
MASTERPLAN – “Back For My Life” (2004)
The melodic power metal group Masterplan came to be in 2002 when guitarist Roland Grapow and drummer Uli Kusch were fired from Helloween. They had the tremendous vocals of Jorn Lande with them for the first few albums. This title track (from their 2004 release) showcases their heavy rhythms and catchy refrains.
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