Hardline Made Some Good Tunes

I'm driving along, swerving orange barrels and trying to avoid stupid drivers when Hardline comes on my satellite radio. Yes, "Hot Cherie!" This made me smile. Hardline is a great band - and completely underrated. Perhaps most important, guitarist Neal Schon was an original member of Hardline, heavily contributing to the band's sound. It's no wonder Hardline is compared to Journey - Schon's playing is pretty recognizable.

Hardline hasn't released many albums, but the band did manage a new effort earlier this year. I haven't heard it and there are not many reviews online. The new album is called Leaving the End Open and is available via Frontiers. If you've heard it, leave your opinions in the comments.

Like many late bloomers to the glam scene, Hardline has changed members a bunch of times. I've never seen the band live - but I bet a lot of you have at one time or another.

Here's "Hot Cherie."

Comments

[nirVrana]

Hardline's Double Eclipse is one of my all-time favorite albums. Front-to-back solid glamtastic songs. Saw them once live in Norfolk - simply amazing. Was a shame, I think they broke up while attempting to make album #2. Waaay better than that lame effort with John Waite, Bad English.
Never heard 2nd or 3rd album - can't be as good without anyone but the singer in the band, but would not mind hearing it.
OK, they have a myspace page - absolutely HATE the myspace layout and graphics - can't read a thing. Dude can still sing, but otherwise, I think I will go grab Double Eclipse and enjoy that.

[kari]

I heard Hot Cherie on KNAC.com 'back in the day' yesterady and I hadn't heard this song in quite a while. Good Tune!

[Kenny Ozz]

The first album is great, The 2nd album was a huge turd. So im betting the 3rd one aint great either.

[MK]

This record rocks. Listen to Takin Me Down on 11....Doesn't get much better than that. The brothers are the only original members left. Schon took Dean (drummer) with him to the Journey camp and the bass player does session work. I don't agree that this sounds much like Journey though...harder edged and their isn't any keyboards in the for front.

[George]

I am a huge Hardline fan. I think that with double eclipse they created the epitomy of "good times 90s Hard Rock" with tons of musicianship. But anythhing else they released is sub par. Too bad because with Neal Schon it seems that they lost the spark they Gioelli brothers had from their Brunette days. (There is a 17 track Brunette demo full of Hard Rocking soul).

[George]

I meant without Neal Schon in their ranks after the first album

[Metalboy!]

Neil Schon!

I guess he's highly regarded and he sure does have the chops (no matter all of his Cheese Metal charades). When you boil it all down, the guy can really crank it when he let's himself loose. After all, Frank Zappa and Carlos Santana let him on stage with them (and he did stints in their bands long enough to make it onto a couple of album covers).

Personally, I like the first Hard Line album, "Double Eclipse" the best of all of his stuff (crappy album cover, tho, with the cheesy stretched out typography of the non-logo by someone who fell in love with Quark back then). In fact, I like it better than even, dare I say, Journey (Well, except for something so cheesy it's actually great, "Don't Stop Believin'", natch!).

[glamrockerarchie]

the first 2 cds kick some major ass even without schon on the second one, his playin in hardline is nothin compare to journey it totally blows journey out of the water and i like journey too, but this new cd leaves a lot to be desired sounds like an AOR band now