Bands at Their Best
Yesterday I posed a question on Twitter that had people hopping to respond, so I thought I'd share it here, too: Has any band had a more awesome period than The Rolling Stones from 1969-1972?
You can take it back to 1968 to include Sympathy for the Devil and Street Fighting Man, but those three years included Gimme Shelter, Let It Bleed, Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, You Can't Always Get What You Want... and that's just 2 out of the 3 albums released in that timeframe. The third, Exile on Main Street, is one of their best and most influential albums.
There was a flood of alternative suggestions for periods of the careers of U2, Metallica, Zeppelin, Creedence, The Talking Heads... and here are some rationales for them. what would you suggest?
- Comment (55)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (1)
Comments:
Feb '12
Re: Bands at Their Best
Yes,The Beatles from 66-69. On an unrelated note, how are those not-Romneys looking Ben?
May '10
Re: Bands at Their Best
The Benny Goodman Orchestra that played Carnegie Hall in 1938 jumped, man.
Edited on February 29, 2012 at 4:15pmMay '10
Re: Bands at Their Best
Oh. Are we going to be that site now? Did I miss the post on World of Warcraft cheats?
;-)
Aug '10
Re: Bands at Their Best
The Allman Brothers Band, 1969 - 1973: "Black Hearted Woman", "Revival", "Ain't Wastin' Time No More", "Melissa", "One Way Out", "Ramblin' Man", and "Jessica".
Addendum: "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed", "Whipping Post". And, of course, one of the best live albums of the rock era: At Fillmore East (1971).
Edited on February 29, 2012 at 4:28pmNov '10
Re: Bands at Their Best
I much preferred their earlier work; from Her Satanic Majesty's Request (1967) and on, it just gets more commercial.
Sep '10
Re: Bands at Their Best
Romney and the One Mitt Wonders... the Abba of politics.
Nov '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
EJHill: The Benny Goodman Orchestra that played Carnegie Hall in 1938 jumped, man. · 7 minutes ago
Edited 6 minutes ago
and Count Basie and Duke Ellington in any year, but I think we are on a different planet, and I know I am not bilingual.
Mar '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
Wow. I'm gonna show my age here . . .
I would say Bon Jovi 1986-1990. Slippery When Wet--21st bestselling album of all-time with (still popular) rock anthems: You Give Love a Bad Name, Wanted Dead or Alive, Livin' on a Prayer, Never Say Good-bye.
The follow-up: New Jersey--five top 10 singles, the only hard rock album to ever do that. Lay Your Hands on Me, Bad Medicine, Born to be My Baby, I'll be There for you. All of these songs still played on rock stations--terrestrial or orbital.
In addition, Jon Bon Jovi got a bit part in Young Guns II which came out in 1990. And like the Stones, Bon Jovi is still getting it done to this day.
Another group I'd put up there is Def Leppard's successive albums of Pyromania and Hysteria--1983 to 1987. We all know the chart topping tunes. Good luck trying to find a bad song on either of those albums. Bon Jovi essentially took over for Def Lep's spot at the top of rock in 1987. And Def Lep is still getting it done today as well.
Apr '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
The Ramones, first four albums.
The Who, 1967 to 1973.
Mar '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
STYX: Equinox, Crystal Ball, Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight, Cornerstone, Paradise Theater-- 1975-1981
Here's a list of songs: Suite Madame Blue, Born for Adventure, Midnight Ride, Crystal Ball, Grand Illusion, Come Sail Away, Fooling Yourself, Miss America, Blue Collar Man, Renegade, Queen of Spades, Boat on the River, Borrowed Time, Eddie, Rockin' the Paradise, Lonely People, Half Penny-Two Penny, Snowblind, Best of Times
Sep '10
Re: Bands at Their Best
The Who 1969 to 1973 Tommy, Who's Next, and Quadraphenia
Beatles 66-69 is also better than Stones
While I like the Stones too, ultimately they were an excellent Brit Invasion blues band with good songs but not especially innovative. The Who brought Rock and Roll to a whole new level and were more creative and a better live band.
The Beatles outclassed the Stones - but that doesn't mean the Stones weren't great themselves.
Feb '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
Although not ordinarily considered a band in the same sense as the Stones or the Beatles, the work of Bob Dylan and "The Band" between 1965-1968 surely ranks among the best ensemble work in American popular music. The group that later became "The Band" served as Dylan's musical back-up in Bringing it All Back Home and participated in the recordings of Highway 61 Revisted, Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding (my personal favorite), and The Basement Tapes.
Mar '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
Kevin Walker: The Allman Brothers Band, 1969 - 1973: "Black Hearted Woman", "Revival", "Ain't Wastin' Time No More", "Melissa", "One Way Out", "Ramblin' Man", and "Jessica".
Addendum: "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed", "Whipping Post". And, of course, one of the best live albums of the rock era: At Fillmore East(1971). · 17 minutes ago
Edited 12 minutes ago
One day when I was a kid (14?) I was walking home from a friend's house and found a nearly new copy of Filmore in its dust jacket but without the album cover. I knew of the Allman Brothers, but never paid much attention to them up to that time. When I got home I put it on and spent the rest of the night playing Whipping Post over, and over, and over...
Feb '12
Re: Bands at Their Best
Led Zeppelin from 70-75 was pretty outstanding as well. Of course they stole most of their greatest hits from other artists and never gave them credit.
[Comment edited for Code of Conduct Violation]
Edited on February 29, 2012 at 6:35pmMar '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
Kevin Walker: The Allman Brothers Band, 1969 - 1973: "Black Hearted Woman", "Revival", "Ain't Wastin' Time No More", "Melissa", "One Way Out", "Ramblin' Man", and "Jessica".
Addendum: "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed", "Whipping Post". And, of course, one of the best live albums of the rock era: At Fillmore East(1971). · 32 minutes ago
Edited 27 minutes ago
I recently purchased a record player and last week I picked up At Fillmore East on vinyl. Man, if that ain't about the greatest thing ever. And everyone talks about all those poor souls dead at 27 - Morrison, Hendrix, Joplin, et al. Duane was 24...TWENTY-FOUR!
May '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
Kevin Walker: The Allman Brothers Band, 1969 - 1973: "Black Hearted Woman", "Revival", "Ain't Wastin' Time No More", "Melissa", "One Way Out", "Ramblin' Man", and "Jessica".
Addendum: "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed", "Whipping Post". And, of course, one of the best live albums of the rock era: At Fillmore East(1971). · 1 hour ago
Edited 56 minutes ago
Amen to the "Live at Fillmore East"! One of the albums I still play regularly. The guitar improvisations are awesome.
Mar '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
AC/DC - 1978-1980. Powerage, Highway to Hell, Back in Black. Their two best Bon Scott-era albums, then he dies and is replaced with Brian Johnson and they release the 3rd best-selling album of all time. Not a bad song in the bunch, from "Rock and Roll Damnation" and "Sin City" to all of Highway to Hell right through "Have a Drink On Me". All fantastic.
Govicide - I respect the attempt, but...seriously?
Dec '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
I'll go way out there and suggest Primus, 1991-93. Les Claypool's riffs, arguably one of the greatest bassists, render the electric guitar virtually obsolete on Sailing the Seas of Cheese and Pork Soda, but Larry LaLonde finds a way to be creatively chaotic regardless.
I realize most here probably won't like (or even know) Primus, but there is it.
Apr '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
I like Rush 1978-1982, but I will also second AC/DC and I want to give a a particular nod to Queen.
Mar '11
Re: Bands at Their Best
Bourbonsoaked: Yes, seriously. Don't think that I'm a Bon Jovi fan because I named them. However, I will admit to being a huge Def Lep fan.
But, by any objective standard Bon Jovi was huge at that time. Sales, sold-out concerts, memorabilia, MTV, etc. They were everywhere. Was it cheesy? Somewhat . . . but that's not part of the question. I suppose I could have said Guns N' Roses who came out around the same time but that Lies album was a step backwards . . . my opinion.
AC/DC--huge fan--is an excellent selection as well, especially considering they changed singers. And obviously Back in Black is in top ten selling albums of all time. But, I still think my Bon Jovi choice is appropriate given the standards provided by the original post.
I mean, for my money, I'll take Queensryche's string of albums Rage for Order, Operation: Mindcrime, and Empire as some of the strongest albums in a row by any band anywhere.