Legendary Harley-Davidson Road Songs

(The Right Stuff/Capitol)
by Yahoo Hefflon

Theme restaurants and classic rock comps, eh? While I doubt biker culture is concerned with being perceived as dated (classic, legendary, right?), this kinda thing gets a loud snicker of derision as I block sight of my vinyl collection with odd K-tel records and Freedom Rock bargain bin finds from when I smoked dope and went shopping. Purists/losers can argue ’til they’re blue in the face about what shoulda been here or is inappropriate – get over it, they didn’t ask you. While it seems strange to not have “Born to Be Wild” on here, it’s on too many soundtracks, and those Steppenwolf guys are kinda dicks anyway. And while duck-walking around the room (rednecks can’t dance: I always picture the diner scene early in Natural Born Killers), I wished “Low Rider” was on here, but that’s Mexican and salt of the earth bikers can tell such things. Shit, I grew up in CT and thought Cheech & Chong were a fine representation of Mexican culture, so what do I know?

A few “later-day” rockers (Poison and Billy Idol, the latter butchering The Doors’ “L.A. Woman”) touch the ’90s, but most everything else dates to the mid-’70s. But seeing as classic rock stations still (probably) play this stuff (there are A LOT of rednecks in this country), even hip kids will get it if they take a road trip, smoke a bit, and get caught in the middle of nowhere with nothing but country stores and hicks caught in the time warp. Me? Shit, I’m glad I didn’t have to buy this to get a couple tunes I’ll blast when feeling ornery. I hope they make a series outta this and I get them all – I gots a big bottle of Jack and I’ll arm-wrestle anyone who wants to have a go. Rockin’ like it’s 1975: Whitesnake, The Cult, Black Sabbath, George Thorogood, ZZ Top, Steve Miller Band, Bob Segar, Heart, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band, Deep Purple, Blue Öyster Cult, Thin Lizzy, and Scorpions.