Harley-Davidson Road Songs

Harley-Davidson Road Songs

THE CW LIBRARY

Brian Catterson

SOMETIMES, A GUY’S JUST GOT TO GET AWAY AND LET the rhythm of the road clear the cobwebs from his cerebral cortex. Other times, you just want to blow your brains out with some high-decibel rock-and-roll!

For those latter occasions, there’s Harley-Davidson Road Songs, five anthologies comprising eight discs and 126 songs, all of which have at least a tenuous connection to motorcycling.

Road Songs Volume 1 and 2 are double discs featuring mostly classic-rock songs from the 1970s-’80s. Predictably, Vol 1 includes the ubiquitous biker classic, “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf, but there are plenty more rockers, as well as a Bob Seger ballad to stop your ears from bleeding.

One step up on the heaviness scale is Legendary Road Songs, a single, 19-song disc that takes listeners to the brink of the ’90s. Mostly hard rock (The Cult and Blue Oyster Cult on the same disc?

Rock on!), this compilation throws listeners a couple of curve balls with mellower tracks from the Allman Brothers and The Grateful Dead.

Perhaps those latter tunes would have better suited Southern Road Songs. This single, 17-song disc includes all the old familiar standards, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and The Outlaws’ “Ghost Riders in the Sky.” But there are a few surprises, too, such as the kick-ass “Train, Train” by Blackfoot.

The fifth and final offering is a 30-song, two-disc collec-

tion titled Country Road Songs. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to hear while I’m getting my mental juju back together is some liquored-up cowboy crying about his two-timing filly. I pushed the “eject” button before it spoiled my mood. -Brian Catterson

Harley-Davidson Road Songs, various artists, $17-21; The Right Stuff, Capital Records, Inc., 1750 Vine St. Hollywood, CA 90028; www.right-stuff.com/harley-davidson