Song
When You Came Into My Life
Artist
Hardline
Hardline backstory
Famed for 1992’s much-loved AOR drop Double Eclipse, LA’s Hardline very quickly became a band out of time.
The Johnny Gioeli-fronted supergroup was on a collision course with grunge from the day they burst onto the soft rock scene.
And a record that would surely have topped the global charts a decade earlier was always destined to be remembered as a cult classic, rather than a commercial hit.
Double Eclipse’s debut single nudged the lower end of the Billboard Mainstream Rock Top 40 while its follow-up — a cover of Streetheart’s Hot Cherie — fared little better.
And by the end of the year hotly-tipped Hardline had split.
AOR royalty Neal Schon and Deen Castronovo had come and gone and Gioeli and brother Joey were forced to wait a decade to release sophomore album II.
New long player Shout Is the band’s eighth studio effort with Johhny Gioeli the only surviving member of the early 90s line-up.
But a singer born to hit the high notes has always been the ace in the Hardline pack and continues to keep AOR alive — almost 35 years on from the dreamy Double Eclipse.
Bolstered by melodic rock gun for hire Alessandro Del Vechio, Gioeli has never sounded better and Shout is a true statement of future intent.
In frontman Johhny Gioeli’s own words
“A friend from Norway played me When You Came Into My Life — I‘d never heard it before.
“But it‘s a real smash hit, which we‘ve recorded in typical Hardline style out of respect for the Scorpions.
“The video is a tribute to the loss of personal animals and to neglected and abused dogs, as well as the loss of a loved one.
“Alessandro and I are great dog lovers. For a number of years now, I‘ve flown dogs from animal shelters as a pilot, saving them from being put down because nobody wants them.
“On tour, we will hand out glow sticks for a small donation, which people can hold up while we play the song and think of someone they have lost and who was particularly important to them.”
The verdict on When You Came Into My Life
Hardline has always been a vehicle for one of the most endearing — and enduring — voices in melodic rock.
And in an era when so many of his peers have lost their edge, the ageless Johnny Gioeli continues to reign supreme as the prince of AOR.
Given the wealth of classy original material at the heart of Shout it’s something of a surprise that Hardline has homed in a cover so close to the new record’s release date.
But Scorpions deep cut When You Came Into My Life offers Gioeli a golden opportunity to put those fabled pipes to best use.
Paired with Del Vecchio’s trademark keys and some edgy axework, courtesy of Luca Princiotta, the main man’s voice evokes fond memories of Hardline’s Double Eclipse heyday.
When the LA band came into our lives in the spring of ’92 the melodic rock world suddenly became a much better place… albeit far too fleetingly.
And this classy cover is a joyous reminder of the Gioeli brothers’ glory days.
What’s next for Hardline
UK fans looking out for rearranged dates remain disappointed.
But a full-scale European headline tour kicks off in Germany on April 17.
That’s the same day Shout gets its global release via esteemed rock and metal powerhouse Steamhammer.
