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over-rated and under-rated bands: one man's insober list


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I know nothing of Gov't Mule, so I can't speak to them. Allman Bros. are phenomenal. One of the best concerts I've ever been to. They did a one-hour, purely acoustic, tribute to Robert Johnson. One of the finest concert moments of all my experiences.

 

Speaking of Jethro Tull, I never saw them. But I remember when they were playing in town, Anderson actually asked the local classic rock station to announce to their listeners that the band would prefer if people did not sing along to the songs. I found that to be pretty douche-ish, personally.

 

Well let me tell you this about Gov't Mule. The founding member of Gov't Mule is Warren Haynes who has played with the Allman Bros on and off since the late 80's. Gov't Mule typically does a first set of covers during their Halloween shows. Dark Side of the Moon, Houses of the Holy and Who's next which I saw at the Fox in Oakland. Incredible show. Here's Warrend with The ABB doing one of the best reditions of Blue Sky.

 

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Here's an interesting one.

 

Underrated - Jefferson Airplane

Overrated - Jefferson Starship.

Underrated - Jefferson Airplane

Overrated - Jefferson Starship.

Should Have All Existing Recordings Burned - Starship

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It's interesting that no clearly "pop" names appear as either over or under rated.

 

Here is one for thought:

 

Over-rated: Michael Jackson

Under-rated: Garth Brooks

 

Noodle that one....

I would swap them, personally. Michael Jackson was genuinely gifted. Garth Brooks, not so much.

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I would swap them, personally. Michael Jackson was genuinely gifted. Garth Brooks, not so much.

 

Interesting thought. I stacked the way that I did simply because the general disdain for Brooks obfuscates the fact that he. Changed country music in away nobody else did. Perhaps he is guilty of turning into bad pop music but he did change it.

 

I tend to agree that Jackson had talent but he also was keenly interested in driving his popularity and celebrity vs. putting out outstanding music.

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I mean, I kinda like them. I respect them. But their songs just aren't really that great. And I'm not a fan of that space where punk overlaps with ska and reggae.

 

really think you've got to give London Calling a good listen. it's one of the most complete albums front to back. they were the conscience of the second British invasion, and led by Joe Strummer, who presence and influence can't be under-rated before the Clash, during the Clash and following. He was a unique, noble and rock and roll soul. In fact, one of the few true important moments in recent Grammy history came immediately after Strummer died some 7-8 years ago. that's when Springsteen, Grohl and a whole host of true rock and rollers took the stage to bang out an electric version of "London Calling."

what was sad about the moment is that it took the Grammy folk this long to pay any sort of real tribute to Strummer and The Clash.

 

but then, the Grammy's did award its first heavy metal award to, the one and only, Jethro Tull ("Crest of a Wave" beat out Metallica's "And Justice for All).

a year later, in accepting the second award, someone from Metallica thanked Tull for not putting out another record that year. it was a tongue-in-cheek comment. it echoed the true respect artists in the 1970s heaped on Stevie Wonder for dominating the Grammies, and seriously thanking Wonder for not putting out an album

 

jw

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really think you've got to give London Calling a good listen. it's one of the most complete albums front to back. they were the conscience of the second British invasion, and led by Joe Strummer, who presence and influence can't be under-rated before the Clash, during the Clash and following. He was a unique, noble and rock and roll soul. In fact, one of the few true important moments in recent Grammy history came immediately after Strummer died some 7-8 years ago. that's when Springsteen, Grohl and a whole host of true rock and rollers took the stage to bang out an electric version of "London Calling."

what was sad about the moment is that it took the Grammy folk this long to pay any sort of real tribute to Strummer and The Clash.

 

but then, the Grammy's did award its first heavy metal award to, the one and only, Jethro Tull ("Crest of a Wave" beat out Metallica's "And Justice for All).

a year later, in accepting the second award, someone from Metallica thanked Tull for not putting out another record that year. it was a tongue-in-cheek comment. it echoed the true respect artists in the 1970s heaped on Stevie Wonder for dominating the Grammies, and seriously thanking Wonder for not putting out an album

 

jw

 

Completely agree on the Clash. In the era when most bands still put out an album a year (as opposed to two studio albums, a live album and a greatest hits album), I would actually put the Clash up there with the Beatles in terms of evolving so much in such a short period of time. For me, Stones, Beatles, good Who, Faces, Clash and Replacements are about as good as modern rock-n'roll ever got. The Clash were a bit more political in nature, so I suppose, I can understand why some might not appreciate them as much...but my god they kicked ass....loved the records, and their live shows were some of my favorite shows ever...remember going to see them a number of times on their 1982 tour, in Buffalo, and a couple of times in Canada...they opened for the Who on some dates....groovy times! Glad to see Mick Jones still popping up from time to time...very under-appreciated (a term I prefer, after this thread, to "underrated") guitar player...

Edited by Buftex
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I love Train in Vain and London Calling, but what got into them when they put out that schlock like Rock the Casbah and Should I Stay or Should I Go?

 

I don't know...I actually like both of those songs... they were their sort of big "pop" hits. and, predictably, made many at the time dub them as "sell outs"...but they age pretty well... they always did cool little rockers (normally Mick Jones songs) like "1-2 Crush On You", "Train In Vain" and "Should I Stay..." so it fits pretty well for me with the rest of their stuff. As far as Casbah goes, it just incorporated a lot of world music elements that weren't very mainstream at the time, and offered some commentary (for lack of a better word) on the Middle East...being a white suburban teen at the time, I didn't know wtf they were singing about (maybe I still don't), but the song is just a nice burst of energy..and it gave Strummer a chance to flex his sort of preacher style of singing...I think it is a great single...heard it for the first time in probably a few years, just recently...it still sounds fresh. I can't think of a band from that era that used musical friction to their advantage, any better...

 

Speaking of the Clash, was listening to a local conservative talk-show in the car the other day...they were using "Guns Of Brixton" as their bumper music...timeless lyrics, it seems...

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What's with conservatives using these ultra angry liberals songs as their bumpers ala Limbaugh using The Pretenders?!?

 

This particular guys' main reason for being on the air is the gun issue it seems...I think he is drawn in by the lyrics...seems to draw in on this whole fantasy about the current administration going house to house to take your guns:

 

"When they kick in your front door, how you gonna go?

With your hands on your head, or on the trigger of your gun?

When the law break in, how you gonna go?

shot down on the pavement, or waiting on death row?

You can crush us, you can bruise us...but you'll have to answer to, the guns of Brixton"

Edited by Buftex
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Ah, that makes sense................And, I know Chrissy Hynde put away her radical liberal beliefs in exchange for a nice paycheck!

 

total sellout. for somone who was the voice of the Pretenders, she never really seemed capable of following the dirty job through. rather than re-invigorating the band after Honeywell-Scott and Farndon died, she took over and generated a bunch of soft-pop baloney. very nearly put them on the over-rated list, but my conscience wouldn't allow it. the first album was and still remains a rock and roll classic.

 

as for Rock the Casbah, it's among my least favorite Clash songs. good points made by Buftex regarding the Middle Eastern sound. correct me if I'm wrong but Strummer was the son of a diplomat and was either born and/or spent a lot of his younger years in Morocco. ... i could be wrong.

 

as for anyone wanting a little more on Strummer, check out the re-released compilation of songs of Strummer's pre-Clash band, "The Elgin 101ers." it's chalk full of good rock and roll songs, including the extremely good "Keys To Your Heart," versions 1 and 2. what rock and roll is all about.

 

jw

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Overrated #1. That boy band from England. Yellow Submarine? Yeah, brilliant....

 

It's interesting that no clearly "pop" names appear as either over or under rated.

 

Here is one for thought:

 

Over-rated: Michael Jackson

Under-rated: Garth Brooks

 

Noodle that one....

 

Michael Jackson overrated? holy ****.

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and now, for No. 7s on the list:

 

over-rated No. 7: The Doors

aside from a few classics, "Roadhouse Blues," perhaps the opening yelp on "Touch Me," and the near-forgotten but good "Peace Frog," there's very little here that stands up to the test of time. even "Touch Me" stumbles as an over-produced sugary mound of stringy dreck in some places. same with the pseudo-psychedelia of "Light My Fire." a minute-long organ solo -- even if you want to call it a solo -- is quite lamentable and banal.

 

what truly stands out is their many cloyingly unlistenable misses: "The Crystal Ship." "Love Street" "End of the Night." "The Spy." ... need i go on?

 

though Morrison had a presence and was capable of "pi**ing off" and "pi**ing on" people, i'm not entirely sure whether he was more style over substance, more poser without a picture frame.

why Oliver Stone elected to pay homage to Jim, and why Jim's gravesite has turned into a shrine, i'm not sure. the Doors' legend seems more to do with Morrison's antics and less with their sound. and i hate to be bringing this all up at a time so soon after Ray Manzerek died.

 

for a band that doesn't have an entirely large library, there's far too many duds for my liking to live up to what, in my opinion, appears to be generational hype.

 

 

Under-rated No. 7: T-Rex

curiously, coming out the same time as The Doors, and featuring a bluesy, glam-rock edge, T-Rex and Marc Bolan wound up being far more focused, far grittier and far more influential. one listen to any one of their songs can appreciate the drive behind anything from Bowie, the New York Dolls and Ramones. even The Smiths, a band i don't much like, consider Bolan an influence. part Box Tops part Johnny Thunders, part i don't know -- Cream? -- Bolan wrote distinctive songs many of which still stand up today. too bad Robert Palmer seemed to be the only one who really noticed.

 

for shame, rock and roll hall of fame. do a search of T-Rex on the hall's website and here's one link that comes up: "One Hit Wonders and the Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll." under the list, there's one T-Rex song (Bang a Gong, of course). guess, the folks in Cleveland were too busy trying to find more than two Doors songs to fit in their catalogue. ugh.

 

jw

Edited by john wawrow
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