Hard Rock Music Time Machine – 6/8/17

Each Thursday, Hard Rock Music Time Machine takes a journey back in time to feature a variety of songs that date back as far as the ’70s.

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)

POISON – “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” (1988)

When looking over the extensive list of bands that have been featured on Hard Rock Music Time Machine since 2013, I realized that Poison has never been featured.  I’m not sure how one of the biggest bands of the hair metal era managed to slip through the cracks, but it certainly wasn’t intentional.  (Note: Brett Michaels has been featured with his solo work, and Rikki Rocket was too with Devil City Angels).

With an extensive catalog to choose from, and a number of personal favorites, picking one song wasn’t easy.  Although Poison’s fun, party songs always take me back in time to a happy time in life, I chose “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” because it is one of the band’s most poignant lyrics.  Back in the ‘80s, I looked at this as a poetic love song.  Coming from a different perspective in life nearly three decades later, the concept of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” takes on an entirely different meaning.  It’s as true in life as it is in love.  And this is, quite simply, one of the best power ballads of all-time.
 

 
WARRANT – “I Saw Red” (1990)    

Unlike Poison, Warrant has been featured a number of times on Hard Rock Music Time Machine, but never by me.  In fact, up until a few weeks ago on Music Discovery Monday (where I featured new music from the band), I had never featured them before.  In some ways, it was an oversight like Poison, but in other ways, it meant admitting that I was wrong about the band.

As a fan of hair metal, there was absolutely no reason for me not to be a Warrant fan.  Their songs are catchy, and very much representative of a moment in time.  For some reason, their music just never clicked with me during their heyday.  However, in recent years, I have grown to appreciate much of what the band has to offer.

If I’m being honest, and with all due respect to the departed Jani Lane, I like the sound of the band better with their current singer, Robert Mason.  That being said, I have always like the storyline that Lane created with “I Saw Red.”  Well, the story about betrayal is not really one to like, but I like the way that lyrics paint a mental picture that plays like a movie in your head.  There’s beauty in the poetry of the lyrics that feels uplifting in the midst of an infuriating situation.
 

 

 

 ANDY CHEUNG – HRD Music Scout

BREAKDOWN – “Sick People” (1987)

One of the heaviest songs that I have always jammed to is 1987’s “Sick People,” by New York Hardcore giants, Breakdown.  Hailing from Yonkers, the band made it all the way to Europe to tour.  Incorporating a little more of a metal sound (but keeping the New York hardcore vibe), Breakdown tore through the scene alongside other bands such as Warzone, Gorilla Biscuits, Sheer Terror, and Youth of Today.  This band’s heaviness and drum sound was what got me into drumming.  Sadly, there is no future reunion on the horizon.

 

KILLING TIME – “Brightside” (1989)

Another one of my favorite New York Hardcore giants was Killing Time (originally named Raw Deal).  The NYHC scene was very close-knit back in the late ‘80s.  Bands would collaborate and work with other musicians from other bands.  This band was formed from previous members of Breakdown (see above).  The vocalist came from another hardcore band (Token Entry) and the guitar player was from Sick of It All.  The sheer heaviness and aggression of this tune made me an instant fan.
 

 

 

ROB DELL’AQUILA – HRD Music Scout

DEEP PURPLE – “Wasted Sunsets” (1987)

Deep Purple has been producing great music for so many decades now (with their newest album just released) that it’s easy to overlook certain eras. That, however, would be a mistake with ‘80s Deep Purple.  The band wrote some of their best material as Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Glover returned from Rainbow, Ian Gillan returned from Black Sabbath, Jon Lord returned from Whitesnake, and Ian Paice returned from Gary Moore. With the Mark II lineup reunited, they put out Perfect Strangers, which would become their first album to go platinum since Machine Head.  It included this powerful, but lesser known, track.

 

DEEP PURPLE – “Bad Attitude” (1987)

Deep Purple followed up Perfect Strangers a few years later with the less successful The House of Blue Light.  Relations between the band members had become strained, and they may have tried too hard to update their sound to be more contemporary.  Still, this album opener rocks hard while staying true to their classic sound.