Hardline is one of those bands that showed up out of nowhere with a smash-success debut album, then immediately vanished. Double Eclipse is fun, even if a little commercial and a lot cheesy. Hardline never headlined their own tour to support it, but a few of the songs were featured in movies and TV shows and got a lot of radio play.
A lot of the album’s brief success can be attributed to Neal Schon, who helped form the band during Journey’s hiatus in the 90’s. Hardline sounds nothing like Journey, but Schon’s lead guitar and songwriting skills brought enough artistic value to make this label-organized cash-grab something worth listening to. Takin’ Me Down and Rhythm From a Red Car are super fun hard rock hits.
Hardline toured until 1995. Schon left to reform Journey, and the bassist and drummer tagged along. The singer has been keeping Hardline alive intermittently since then. They release a new album every decade or so and scoop up big names to tour with them. Sometimes, old rock stars like Geezer Butler join up for a spell.
Today, Hardline is a merry-go-round that superstars can jump on and tour with if they need a few bucks. Maybe that’s what it’s always been. Double Eclipse is still worth a repeat listen every once in a while. I wonder if Neal Schon even remembers doing it. ■
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