Rock Hard

Unlike the blues adoring classic rock icons they emulate, most hard rock artists grew up adoring classic rock and made it their mission to not only rock harder than their classic rock predecessors but also pack bigger stadiums. Perhaps it’s all the leather and nasty guitar licks but to me hard rock music has always felt a little dangerous. When I was a child, the sight of Joan Jett sneering in her leather jump suit scared me and The Game album cover made me think Queen were members of a pissed off biker gang who wanted to beat me up and steal my video game money.

For better or worse, the dumb fun and emotional simplicity of hard rock definitely influenced my earliest teenage songwriting efforts and no matter how old I get there will always be a dozen or so hard rock anthems that I just can’t quit. They may not be the smartest or most poetic songs in the rock canon but hard rock tunes get fists pumping, girls screaming, and lighters blazing all around the world. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Guns N' Roses (this poster hung on my bedroom wall circa 1987)

01. Thin Lizzy – “Dedication” (1991)

02. Guns N’ Roses – “Don’t Cry (Original)” (1991)

03. Guns N’ Roses – “Paradise City” (1987)

04. Queen – “Fat Bottomed Girls” (1978)

05. Queen – “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” (1979)

06. Guns N’ Roses – “Sweet Child o’ Mine” (1987)

07. The Runaways – “I Love Playin’ with Fire” (1977)

08. Alice Cooper – “Caught in a Dream” (1971)

09. Thin Lizzy – “Cowboy Song” (1976)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...

Recommended Links:

Guns N’ Roses – “Don’t Cry”

Guns N’ Roses – “Paradise City”