Get ready to Rock Hard
After leading Survivor to the top of the charts in the mid-’80s with hits like “I Can’t Hold Back,” “High on You,” “The Search Is Over,” “Burning Heart” and “Is This Love” and being acclaimed by Casey Kasem as “The Voice,” powerhouse vocalist Jimi Jamison cut his debut solo album for Scotti Bros. Records as the decade drew to a close.
Recorded with producer/engineer Jim Gaines (Santana, Huey Lewis & The News, Stevie Ray Vaughan) and producer/songwriter Kenny Mims (Kenny Rogers) in Jimi's beloved hometown of Memphis TN, Jamison’s solo album perfectly encapsulated his musical history to that point, with gritty Southern rockers in the mold of his ’70s band Target, blazing metal redolent of his early ’80s one-shot Cobra, and epic AOR destined to thrill his Survivor audience.
Ready for release by late 1989, Jimi Jamison’s solo album Rock Hard went unreleased at the time, and close to two years would elapse before a notably retooled album, When Love Comes Down, was issued by Scotti Bros. as Jimi Jamison’s solo debut.
Jimi Jamison’s Rock Hard album has never been heard…until now!
Although several of its tracks have been heavily traded through the years as poor-quality bootlegs, and others carried over to When Love Comes Down or were re-recorded for subsequent Jamison solo albums, the existence of the complete Rock Hard album has never even been rumored.
Iconoclassic Records’ Jeremy Holiday explains its path to release in 2022 as Jimi Jamison’s first posthumous album.
“Back in 2008, I was working for Sony’s catalog division, Legacy Recordings, during the day, and helping my friend Jimi Jamison develop his solo ‘comeback’ album Crossroads Moment in my personal time. My two worlds collided when I discovered the masters for Jimi Jamison’s first solo album within Sony’s vault while doing tape research for a Survivor compilation. This wasn’t Jimi’s official 1991 solo debut, When Love Comes Down as the world knew it, but an earlier, grittier, harder rocking configuration that was completed in 1989. It was an incredible find!
“Jimi and I discussed releasing the album, but at that time (2008-2014) he was in the process of reestablishing his solo career with new recordings, including Crossroads Moment, the Kimball-Jamison collaboration with former Toto vocalist and Jimi’s longtime friend Bobby Kimball, and Never Too Late, all on Frontiers Records, as well as performing live with Survivor. Releasing an archival solo album at that moment would have caused confusion.
“After Jimi’s tragic and unexpected passing in 2014, it took a few years before I could listen to his music again. It just hurt too much. But as the years passed, I grew concerned that he was becoming a bit forgotten by the music world at large. After approaching his family, we decided that now was the time to finally release Rock Hard. What was originally meant to be Jimi Jamison’s solo debut now becomes his solo reintroduction."
Through interviews with 12 participants in the original album, including musicians, songwriters, producers, and Scotti Bros. label personnel, the 6000-word liner notes essay (housed in a 20-page booklet designed by John Sellards) fully reveals the untold story and tangled history of Jimi Jamison’s initial solo stab.
Rock Hard has been digitally remastered from the original master tapes by Patrick W. Engel. The CD release also includes a bonus track of Jamison’s highly sought-after solo recording of Survivor’s “Ever Since the World Began” from the Sylvester Stallone film Lock Up, recorded during the album sessions and originally released as a rare single.
Jimi Jamison Rock Hard will be released August 12, 2022. The date is significant as it follows the dedication and unveiling of "Jimi Jamison Street" in Memphis, TN by exactly five months, as well as being the month of Jamison's birth. Rock Hard will be released by Iconoclassic Records and is now available for pre-order.