Hard Rock Music Time Machine – 11/23/17

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)

RAINBOW – “L.A. Connection” (1978)

As a diehard Rainbow fan, it’s difficult to choose a favorite album, but there is something about 1978’s Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll that has always resonated most with me.  From top to bottom, the album is has a magical quality.  It’s not about singles though.  Aside from the title track, none of the songs ever seemed to get much radio airplay.

Ronnie James Dio is always (deservedly) mentioned as one of the greatest singers in rock and metal history.  However, he is still underrated as a lyricist.  Sure, he has his share of mystical lyrics that read like a fantasy novel, but he also had a way of writing lyrics that make you feel.  Perhaps his greatest opening lyric came from “L.A. Connection”…

“Carry home my broken bones and lay me down to rest.”

It’s not just the words that he said, but the impassioned delivery that he used to bring them to life.  Simply brilliant.

I chose “L.A. Connection” to be the featured song this week because of the connection that I made with old friends in L.A. in a place that has a profound appreciation for Rainbow.
 

 
THE KINKS – “Celluloid Heroes” (1972)

Despite best laid plans, my trip to L.A. did not include visiting the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  However, in some ways, I feel like I have already visited it numerous times through the years by listening to one of my favorite Kinks’ songs – “Celluloid Heroes.”

To be frank, the song stirs emotions, and invokes such a strong mental picture, that it’s hard to believe that reality would live up to my image of it.  It’s kind of like how people tend to favor books over movies telling the same story because movies fail to live up to the imagery in their mind’s eye.

What’s interesting is that the song is focused on the stars of yesteryear.  I’ve never seen any movies by most of those mentioned.  I just know their names from history.

In my youth, it was just a song that moved me in ways that I couldn’t explain.  As I listened to the song again this past week while visiting Los Angeles, the lyrics that are more of a life lesson than an ode to stars of the past really hit home with me…

“And those who are successful, be always on your guard.  Success walks hand in hand with failure along Hollywood Blvd…I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show.  Because celluloid heroes feel any pain, and celluloid heroes never really die…”
 

 

 

KEVIN GRAYSON – HRD Music Scout

LILLIAN AXE – “Dream Of A Lifetime” (1988)

Thinking back to my teenage years is what I catch myself doing when I listen to Lillian Axe.  I have so many memories that come back to me when I hear their music.  Back in the ‘80s, they had the look, they had the sound, and they delivered on stage.  They used to play a local bar called the Crazy Horse in Biloxi MS, but I was too young to get in and I hated it!  They finally ended up playing an event in Biloxi that I was able to go see, and it was definitely worth the wait.  The band had some early success, but not the kind that they should have (in my opinion).  Maybe they didn’t get the proper push, or maybe it’s just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Debuting in the late ‘80s (just before the end of hair metal’s popularity) didn’t give them much time to make their mark.  Still, they are going strong all these years later, with nine studio albums under their belt.  I still feel that their self-titled debut album is their best.  I had to buy that cassette three times because I literally played it so much.
 

 
TNT – “Seven Seas” (1984)

“Seven seas” off of TNT’s excellent Knights Of The New Thunder album, tells an interesting story, and shows off the extreme musical talent of the band members.  TNT is a band that I used to bring up every time that someone said check out this drummer in this band, or check out this guitar player in this band, because TNT was extreme in every sense of the word.  Every member was the best of the best.  They were a supergroup from the start…

Tony Harnell’s soaring vocals hitting notes as high as anyone…Morty Black’s banging bass lines…Diesel Dahl’s precision drumming with timing and speed…and, of course, Ronnie Le Tekro is one of the fastest guitarists in the world.  Despite their talent, the band is surprisingly underrated by many.