POISON Frontman Teams Up With TIME LIFE To Create Look At 'Hard & Heavy'

Time Life continues their series of acclaimed music compilations with "Hard & Heavy", the most complete collection of hard rocking, head banging hits of the '70s and '80s ever assembled.

"Hard & Heavy" will be promoted on television with a half-hour program hosted by Bret Michaels, lead singer for iconic hard rock band POISON and star of VH1's "Rock of Love" hit reality show. The collection also includes an exclusive DVD of Michaels performing acoustic versions of two of POISON's biggest hits plus two of Bret Michaels' original songs.

"Hard & Heavy" features a virtual "who’s who" of hard rock artists:

BAD COMPANY
PAT BENATAR
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT
BOSTON
CHEAP TRICK
CINDERELLA
ALICE COOPER
DAMN YANKEES
DEEP PURPLE
EUROPE
EXTREME
FOREIGNER
SAMMY HAGAR
HEART
HONEYMOON SUITE
BILLY IDOL
KISS
LOVERBOY
MEAT LOAF
MEGADETH
NELSON
NIGHT RANGER
POISON
JUDAS PRIEST
QUIET RIOT
RUSH
STYX
SKID ROW
.38 SPECIAL
GEORGE THOROGOOD
TWISTED SISTER
WHITESNAKE

…and many more.

The collection features 152 hard-rocking hits on nine CDs plus a 2-CD set of power ballads by artists including POISON, WHITESNAKE, CHEAP TRICK, HEART, KISS, WARRANT, KANSAS, SCORPIONS, ALICE COOPER and many more. Fans who buy the CD collection online or via telephone will receive two bonus DVDs: "Hard & Heavy: Confidential" an exclusive four-song acoustic performance by Bret Michaels and "History of Rock 'n Roll", three hours of performance clips and interviews with classic rock legends. Plus, the collection comes in a special metal collector's box, a mini "heavy metal road case" that captures the feel and power of the music.

Michaels recorded four songs on acoustic guitar especially for the "Hard and Heavy: Confidential" DVD, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn", "Something To Believe In", "Driven" and "All I Ever Needed". The DVD is exclusively available as part of the collection.

Michaels joined forces with Time Life to create an essential look at the hard-rocking hits of the '70s and '80s including many high-profile and must-have artists and songs that rarely appear in multi-artist collections. Filmed in the warehouse district of downtown Los Angeles with two hot rockin' co-hosts, the program features over 80 performance clips of music and artists from the '70s and '80s. Michaels talks about how this music affected him growing up, introduces some of his favorite songs and artists, and even talks about writing the classic rock ballad, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn".

"This is the music that I love, live and breathe every day," says Michaels, "'Hard & Heavy' is, hands down, the hardest-rockin' collection I've ever heard. Time Life has put together something that I've always dreamed of. Killer guitar riffs, emotional power ballads and high octane metal."

Time Life's executive producers, Vinny Vero and Mitch Peyser, the creative forces behind the collection, set out to license pivotal hard rock songs to create a complete collection. Said Vero, "Bret wanted to make sure what we were saying in the show was something he felt and believed. He was very involved in the scripting of the show and wanted to feel good about what he was saying." "It's definitely the hardest-rockin' collection we've ever created," said Peyser.

The 30-minute presentation will begin airing nationwide the first week of July.

"Hard & Heavy" is available online at TimeLife.com or by calling 1-800-846-3543.