Slipkid42 wrote:Also much as some of us on here don't want to admit it; groups like Green Day & Aerosmith have shown staying power.
I have no problem saying that Aerosmith has staying power but at what price? I really don't care for most anything they've done since Night In the Ruts. The latest report I've read of their current sessions with Jack Douglas sound good but who knows what the finished album will actually sound like.
As for Green Day, they've never really registered on my musical radar in any fashion.
1 - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band 2 - Allman Brothers Band 3 - Beach Boys 4 - Creedence Clearwater Revival 5 - Lynyrd Skynyrd 6 - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers 7 - Grateful Dead 8 - Nirvana 9 - Velvet Underground 10 - The Replacements 11 - The Ramones 12 - Pearl Jam 13 - Jimi Hendrix Experience 14 - Little Feat 15 - Drive-by Truckers 16 - The Byrds 17 - The Talking Heads 18 - R.E.M. 19 - Buddy Holly & the Crickets 20 - Big Star 21 - Aerosmith 22 - ZZ Top 23 - The Doors 24 - Santana 25 - Mothers of Invention
next 4 in:
Sly & the Family Stone Wilco Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band Blue Oyster Cult
Last edited by Slipkid42 on Mon Jul 11, 2011 5:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
A thousand clusterfucks will not kill my tiny light
As good a list as any, Slip (both original and revised). Not mine, but certainly as good as whatever i'd come up w/. The really glaring omissions to me are Talking Heads and James Brown & bands (unless you consider him a solo act, as i assume you did w/ Elvis, smitty notwithstanding, lol). Less definitively, if you're really going by influence I'd think the NY Dolls would have to be in there somewhere.
Not sure what I'd do about The Funk Brothers. "More #1 singles than the beatles and beach boys combined" if i remember the blurb correctly, but it seems funny both to include 'em and to leave 'em out.
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
I would include Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in my list. They had as many hit albums as CCR and were at the top of their game for almost a decade. They were also a great live band.
I have nowhere else to go. There is no demand in the priesthood for elderly drug addicts
Slipkid42 wrote:Also much as some of us on here don't want to admit it; groups like Green Day & Aerosmith have shown staying power.
I have no problem saying that Aerosmith has staying power but at what price? I really don't care for most anything they've done since Night In the Ruts. The latest report I've read of their current sessions with Jack Douglas sound good but who knows what the finished album will actually sound like.
As for Green Day, they've never really registered on my musical radar in any fashion.
KG - While I'll admit that Aerosmith deteriorated beyond recognition; they were pretty damn good for a pretty long time. They belong in the Top 20. Green Day is prolly a lot better than you're thinking (but I guess you have to like that sort of thing to begin with). They have taken 2 chords to new heights. The fact that they've cranked it out for 15 years or more (and even have some catchy ballads) puts them in the Top 40 at least. My 2 favorite by them are When I Come Around & Holiday.
bubba - The Funk Brothers certainly belong (ahead of the Beach Boys); but I don't feel they're an official band. Did totally forget The Talking Heads (I'd have to put them ahead of R.E.M.). James Brown don't count (like Elvis & Scotty & Bill [still tryin' to pretend I know who Scotty & Bill are]). The New York Dolls are interesting because you'd have to decide whether their influence is more of a factor than the Doors or Santana's contributions (and whatever influence they had). I'd have to put them around #30 (though that may be selling them short).
A thousand clusterfucks will not kill my tiny light
Scotty Moore (geetar) and Bill Black (bass) - elvis's band and innovators in their own right (espy scotty).
Agree re JB and i guess the funk brothers ultimately don't make it 'cause as far as i know they never released an album under their own name (at least not until the dvd). This does leave the list w/out representation from either Motown or Memphis and only DBT representing for Muscle Shoals which seems pretty damn weird to me, but obviously it'd be different w/ solo artists included (e.g. stevie wonder, marvin gaye, al green, otis redding, etc).
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
Rev - Bob Seger is certainly a hard knockin' veteran. I can't put him ahead of anyone on my list, though.
The whole 'band' thing makes it weird. America gets trounced vs. England in a 'rock band' contest. It evens up a bit if you toss in individuals (I think).
A thousand clusterfucks will not kill my tiny light
Slipkid42 wrote:KG - While I'll admit that Aerosmith deteriorated beyond recognition; they were pretty damn good for a pretty long time. They belong in the Top 20.
I've mentioned this countless times here but I never saw them in concert until the Get A Grip tour in the early to mid 90s. At that point, I'd lost all interest in their studio material but they were still a kick ass live band. Either way, I'm sure they'd be rather prominent on any list I compiled of my favorite American rock n' roll bands based just on their early output alone.
Slipkid42 wrote:Green Day is prolly a lot better than you're thinking (but I guess you have to like that sort of thing to begin with).
I remember when they were new and being touted as the band that would help replace Nirvana in the hearts and minds of a lot of the American populace but they never registered that highly with me. I also recall how they were referred to as a "punk" band when most anyone I knew at the time wouldn't consider them that at all. Yeah, they've had great chart success and have had their share of catchy songs but they aren't a band I've ever related to. I even caught their set during Woodstock '94 but that really doesn't change my opinion of them at all, Green Day have just never been my cup of tea.
Slipkid42 wrote:Fair enough about GD, KG. They are not remotely punk to me, either.
dime - where should uncle tupelo rank?
in my worldview. in no particular order. w/o much thought. sure i left some deserving types out.
ccr tupelo zz top skynyrd petty (always a band dude in my mind) allman bros dbt replacements ramones rem byrds (the parsons kind) meters pixies
i am fairly sure sonic youth is deserving, but cannot state with any certitude.
ny and the band are canadian.
i don't think the uk has dominated rock music.....americans like their name first on the marquee. so many of the all time greats are US, born and bred, solo acts.
james brown bob ray charles willie nelson johnny cash hank williams buddy holly boss jimi howling wolf muddy waters stevie wonder waylon jennings kris kristofferson tvz chuck berry guy clark prince etc.
Slipkid42 wrote:Fair enough about GD, KG. They are not remotely punk to me, either.
dime - where should uncle tupelo rank?
in my worldview. in no particular order. w/o much thought. sure i left some deserving types out.
ccr tupelo zz top skynyrd petty (always a band dude in my mind) allman bros dbt replacements ramones rem byrds (the parsons kind) meters pixies
i am fairly sure sonic youth is deserving, but cannot state with any certitude.
ny and the band are canadian.
i don't think the uk has dominated rock music.....americans like their name first on the marquee. so many of the all time greats are US, born and bred, solo acts.
james brown bob ray charles willie nelson johnny cash hank williams buddy holly boss jimi howling wolf muddy waters stevie wonder waylon jennings kris kristofferson tvz chuck berry guy clark prince etc.
Dude.... Where the fuck is the Volt?
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
- DPM
Elvis, Scotty Moore & Bill Black (The Blue Moon Boys) were indeed a killer band (if you don't believe me, listen to Elvis's pre-1958 recordings) until Col. Tom Parker came along and fucked that up... their influence cements their place on this list, but they didn't last long enough to take the top spot. Pearl Jam, Nirvana & Foo Fighters are all 'great' bands but not sure how to judge them beside the Heartbreakers, ESB, the MG's, etc. Other bands that belong on the list are J. Geils Band, Wilco, the White Stripes, New York Dolls, and X.
Swampers deserve to be on the list too, Smitty. It does seem silly to make any list that doesn't include them or the Funk Brothers or Elvis or on & on & on. I guess the point was to see where The Replacements would be on that list. As usual, we were easily distracted. If we're callin' Bruce a band, might as well let 'em all in. By any criteria, the Replacements would hold their own.
A thousand clusterfucks will not kill my tiny light
Slipkid42 wrote:Swampers deserve to be on the list too, Smitty. It does seem silly to make any list that doesn't include them or the Funk Brothers or Elvis or on & on & on. I guess the point was to see where The Replacements would be on that list. As usual, we were easily distracted. If we're callin' Bruce a band, might as well let 'em all in. By any criteria, the Replacements would hold their own.
When I initially listed the "contenders", I was thinking more in the terms of "backing band" quality as much as anything else, but I realize I muddied that up due to the inclusion of the Replacements, who for all their ragged glory & importance, they don't possess the musicianship of say an E Street or the Heartbreakers, much less the MG's. I don't think we're calling Bruce a band any more than we're calling Tom Petty a band; but it'd be crazy to discuss American R n R bands w/o mentioning the Heartbreakers & E Street.
I think you do have to consider Petty & the Heartbreakers as a whole band. Even Petty's solo albums were essentially Heartbreaker's albums that were listed as solo albums. Those guys were all over those albums, especially Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench.
I think we're doing a pretty good job of working out the reality of how "people" tend to see these things. Elvis is known as a solo artist. Bruce goes w/ the E Street Band; Prince doesn't really go w/ the Revolution. James Brown's backing bands were fabulous; I'm pretty sure that even some of the albums are listed as "JB & Band" but still, we tend to see him as a solo artist. Jimi Hendrix is perhaps the ultimate soloist yet somehow he always is connected w/ the Experience, even though the other members were far inferior musicians. While the MG's did make music in their own name and even had hits, their larger claim to fame is surely as the Stax house band. While I absolutely agree, and have already said, that keeping the Swampers, MG's and Funk Brothers off the list leaves a big hole, it does seem like the right decision in terms of what i assume one wants to know when asking "who are the greatest American bands?" Of course they could be included and deserve to be as a matter of talent and influence, i just think most people would answer w/out them (or maybe it's more accurate to say that people tend to categorize them differently).
Now whether the band v. solo artist distinction makes any real difference in the first place i don't know, i just know that people have been making this distinction in this kind of convo at least since i was in HS and i assume even before (don't even say it, Clams).
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
beantownbubba wrote: Jimi Hendrix is perhaps the ultimate soloist yet somehow he always is connected w/ the Experience, even though the other members were far inferior musicians.
I think that's being a bit harsh, pretty much everyone on the planet is inferior to Jimi Hendrix. I always saw it as the fact that they were hired to give Jimi the space to play/experiment in.
Also I don't think anyone has mentioned Funkadelic/Parliament yet.
"Guitars talk. If you really want to write a song, ask a guitar." Neil Young
beantownbubba wrote:I think we're doing a pretty good job of working out the reality of how "people" tend to see these things. Elvis is known as a solo artist. Bruce goes w/ the E Street Band; Prince doesn't really go w/ the Revolution. James Brown's backing bands were fabulous; I'm pretty sure that even some of the albums are listed as "JB & Band" but still, we tend to see him as a solo artist. Jimi Hendrix is perhaps the ultimate soloist yet somehow he always is connected w/ the Experience, even though the other members were far inferior musicians. While the MG's did make music in their own name and even had hits, their larger claim to fame is surely as the Stax house band. While I absolutely agree, and have already said, that keeping the Swampers, MG's and Funk Brothers off the list leaves a big hole, it does seem like the right decision in terms of what i assume one wants to know when asking "who are the greatest American bands?" Of course they could be included and deserve to be as a matter of talent and influence, i just think most people would answer w/out them (or maybe it's more accurate to say that people tend to categorize them differently).
Now whether the band v. solo artist distinction makes any real difference in the first place i don't know, i just know that people have been making this distinction in this kind of convo at least since i was in HS and i assume even before (don't even say it, Clams).
Bubba, I didn't know there was such a thing as music when you were in... Oh sorry!
Good calls on Hot Tuna & Parliment/Funkadelics. Still couldn't squeeze them into the Top 25 (IMO). You know it's so much trouble w/the distinctions of whether it was a band or not, that any legitimate Top 25 list should include all comers. My list would look very different then. Also, dime's commentary about the U.S. music vs. UK music got me thinking. I think that 4 0f the Top 5 rock bands are English (Beatles, Stones, Who & Zep). I think the other Top 5 band is Canadian (NY & Crazy Horse [like the Jimi Hendrix Experience is American). If you factor in all rock artists (as far as contributions & influence), then the Who & Zeppelin slide down the list somewhat. Top 10 (something like this):
Beatles Bob Dylan Stones Neil Young (and Crazy Horse) Elvis The Who Bruce Springsteen (and E Street Band) Led Zeppelin The Funk Brothers (where they'd be if they were really real) Chuck Berry (or Ray Charles or James Brown)
The U.S. has as many great rock acts in the Top 10 as England (1 more in fact). For every Pink Floyd or Kinks, there are 2-3 great solo American acts. The U.S. is 2nd to nobody when it comes to R & R. The more interesting aspect of dime's post was just how many great acts the U.S. has when it comes to other genres (country & blues). These cousins of R & R have little competition from any other corner of the world (although the Brits did give the blues a new twist). Since the blues overall influence on R & R is substantial (to say the least); then acts like Robert Johnson & Howlin' Wolf & Muddy Waters prolly deserve inclusion also. Since Hank Williams influence on the Sun boys (who would greatly influence all later rock) is undeniable; then Hank prolly deserves inclusion also. Since the lines are so fuzzy, any list should prolly just be Top 25 Greatest Musical Acts. At this point The Replacements would be lucky to crack the Top 100 (but that would still be pretty select company.
A thousand clusterfucks will not kill my tiny light
There are five bands I personally take seriously as The Great American Rock Band:
The Beach Boys The Band (I know, I know) Talking Heads REM Husker Du
If I had to pick one, it'd be Talking Heads. Perfect records, brilliant live shows, sufficiently long career, and varied body of work. So what if David Byrne is from Scotland? That balances out Levon Helm being from Arkansas.
We'll see about DBT. They're still in there punching.
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be
beantownbubba wrote: Jimi Hendrix is perhaps the ultimate soloist yet somehow he always is connected w/ the Experience, even though the other members were far inferior musicians.
I think that's being a bit harsh, pretty much everyone on the planet is inferior to Jimi Hendrix. I always saw it as the fact that they were hired to give Jimi the space to play/experiment in.
Mitch Mitchell was one of the best drummers ever.
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be
beantownbubba wrote: Jimi Hendrix is perhaps the ultimate soloist yet somehow he always is connected w/ the Experience, even though the other members were far inferior musicians.
I think that's being a bit harsh, pretty much everyone on the planet is inferior to Jimi Hendrix. I always saw it as the fact that they were hired to give Jimi the space to play/experiment in.
Mitch Mitchell was one of the best drummers ever.
Can't prove you wrong. Let's just say i strongly disagree (which doesn't mean i think he was horrible, just ordinary).
What used to be is gone and what ought to be ought not to be so hard
