What about Deep Purple, Steppenwolf, Yes, and Cream?
[quote]ZEB wrote:
I try to match the music of today with those groups and artists and they always fall short.[/quote]
Very well put. On the whole, there hasn’t been a truly outstanding band in 5 or 10 years. Here and there, maybe, but nobody’s come along and really blown me away (except Disturbed. I will be Down with the Sickness until the end of time.)
It’s like everything on the radio is a soft, fluffy, sugar-coated Xerox of whatever album was released one week prior. 30 years from now, who the hell is going to remember and talk about Ashley F’ing Parker F’ing Angel?!?! This is why I totally believe that my Ipod Nano was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received.
About the bands you mentioned, I dig most of them. Meaning I won’t turn them off if they pop on the radio when I’m station-flipping, and I made it a point to get some of them onto my Ipod (Styx, Chicago, and Kansas among others). But some of singers of that era, I never really “got into”, like Bob Dylan. Sorry folks, I just don’t get it. But Richie Havens? I could listen to him sing acoustic all day and night.
But for most of my pre-teen years, I was very much into oldies, like 50’s and 60’s rock and roll. Chuck Berry, Bobby Darin, Little Richard…that crowd. Good stuff. And when in doubt, pure early-80’s cheese will always cheer me up.
No, no. I think we’re now using the term “youthfully challenged”. 
I saw a couple of references to The Rasberries-
not just Eric Carmen ,- but John Waite and The Babys when they joined them.
I also really like Roxy Music, Traffic and Style Council
Love Marvin Gaye, Dobie Gray, Screaming Jay Hawkins…
oh yeah-Derek and the Dominos
I can listen to anything really and my list is endless-Jules
I was kind of dazing while reading this thread and I thought, how sad will it be that when I have grandchildren, they’ll be listening to some kind of music that I’ll think is crap, telling them about the good old days of System of A Down and Godsmack.
oh and also…Emo is for butt-fucking faggots, just my opinion.
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
What about Deep Purple, Steppenwolf, Yes, and Cream? [/quote]
Oh hell yes.
Anybody like Nada Surf? The song “blonde on blonde” is like an sweet love made to my ears. True metal heads and hard rockers beware, this band might not be for you
For soul lovers: MR fucking Al Green
For soul lover…Tower Of Power
I’m really on the cusp here (barely in my 20s) and my brother is 10 years older than me. So, I listened to a LOT of his music in the 80s … so of course, I thought it was cool. I also live in PA (aka all but Appalachia) and the rock stations play a ton of classic rock.
Of the bands you listed, the one I listen to on a regular basis is The Cars. And I really like them. I have a burned disc of Candy-O and The Cars. Great “driving on a sunny day” music.
I listened to a ton of Billy Joel with my girlfriend, now wife in college. In general, his music is a little too light for me unless I really want to chill.
Hotel California is one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar (recently).
I’m a tremendous fan of The Who … in particular Tommy. Been listening to the show on disc for a while and saw it recently – it was a great show.
Some of my favorite 60s, 70s, and 80s bands include the Doors, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden (still kickin’!), Sabbath, Judas Priest (pre Turbo Lover), and just about any pre-hair and non-hair metal (especially Motorhead, Manowar, Anthrax, etc.). There’s also a bunch of “esoteric” stuff that no one has ever heard of.
Of course, I’m forgetting other stuff … but, the short answer is that there is good music to be found in all eras.
Regards,
Mark
[quote]BIGRAGOO wrote:
What about Deep Purple, Steppenwolf, Yes, and Cream? [/quote]
Some of my favorites (well, I’ve listened to Yes … but I think you need to be stoned to comprehend it).
Magic Carpet Ride is so good.
Regards,
Mark
Hm… dammit, I need to stop biting on all these music threads. My first phase as a musician, and perhaps, along with classical piano, the one that made me realize that I want to be a musician, was classic rock. So… here’s a little history of that.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer - Perhaps my first “favorite” band. I loved these guys. As a pianist, Keith Emerson was my hero, and his solos bewildered me, especially Take a Pebble. I only had a greatest hits compilation, and Pictures at an Exhibition (which, despite what everyone says about it, I absolutely love, and it inspired me to pick up the original piano score).
As of now, I still love their ballads, but I do realize how pretentious they are. I’ve yet to pick up Brain Salad Surgery, but it’s on my list. My favorite songs are Take a Pebble, Trilogy, Still… You Turn Me On, From the Beginning, and Knife Edge.
King Crimson - From my bout with ELP, I got hugely into prog rock. As with the previous band, I grew out of it, as a lot of prog is too pretentious for me, but King Crimson’s first CD, In the Court of the Crimson King, remains an all-time favorite. I absolutely love these guys, and I really wish I would’ve been able to be at one of their legendary live shows. Fripp is a very intelligent guitarist.
Jethro Tull - Finishing off my quick prog phase (I know, without even getting to Yes!) was Jethro Tull, a band who now I really can’t stand much, save for their rockers, but that I used to love. As of now, Ian Anderson’s flute-playing in a classic rock setting just aggravates me, although I do aprpeciate him and his music. I still love Aqualung (song and album), Thick as a Brick (40 minute song, anyone?), and most of all, Bouree, the most badass song they’ve ever written.
Pink Floyd - My next favorite band was Pink Floyd. To this day, they’re one of my absolute favorites. DSotM was my first full-length favorite EP, and I have it all pretty much memorized. I love it so much, I even learned the whole thing on piano. 
I have all the Floyd albums, my favorites are (no surprises here), The Wall, although it took me a while to put everything in its right place and pick up on all the small operatic nuances, DSotM, a top-ten album for me, and Animals.
The Who - Tommy was my first introduction to harder rock, and it led the way to my love of concept albums. The Who rocked hard, and if I hadn’t found Led Zeppelin (who, in my opinion, rock harder, ballad more graciously, and were more intelligent) I probably would’ve become a huge fanboy. I love all of Tommy, and all of Who’s Next, although there’s a soft spot for My Generation and their first, youthful, rebellious CD.
Led Zeppelin - My all-time favorite classic rock band (tied with the Beatles). As with Floyd, I have all their albums, my favorites being Houses of the Holy and III, although I have a soft spot for II, being my first Zeppelin album. I think these guys were each respectively the best in their field (save for John Paul Jones, but he was amazing in his own right), I think Page is second only to Hendrix, and the two are so different they can’t even be really compared, and I think that they had no weak albums, save their last two, and no truly bad songs.
Their worst off their legendary first six was probably Four Sticks, and even that’s a pretty nice one. I gets a bit tiring with all the blues, but hey, you gotta pay your dues. Going to California and the Rain Song are their most beautiful ballads, and Rock and Roll and The Ocean are my favorite rockers.
Bob Dylan - I took a quick foray into folk music, which sparked my interest for country, for softer rock, and ultimately lead to different kinds of music, such as funk, soul, indie, etc., don’t ask me how. Blood on the Tracks is one of my top-ten albums, each song on it perfect, each song on it very memorable. Dylan has so many perfect albums, and so many amazing songs, it’s really quite mind-boggling. By the time I’m out of college I want to own as much of his discography as possible.
The Beatles - If perfection were achievable, if we were to admit that idealistic perfection is impossible, and bring it down to an earthy level, The Beatles would be perfect. I don’t even know what more I can say about them. They were amazing. I owe my love of pop music to them. Sgt. Pepper’s is a top-ten for me, and even today it sounds inspirational, innovative, and fresh. God bless these guys.
Eric Clapton and his bands - THis is a personal thing, but I dislike Clapton. I won’t get into a discussion as to why, because it might take me some time. Suffice to say, Cream was great, some weak songs in their short career, but some very memorable songs. White Room made me pick up guitar, and infatuated me with solos (and oddly enough, Clapton’s later work made me grow tired of them, and move towards weirder, non-minor pentatonic stuff).
I don’t like Blind Faith, and I kinda like Derek & the Dominoes, and most of Clapton’s solo stuff I plain dislike. BUT, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers with Clapton was amazing. It’s the way electric blues should be done.
Jimi Hendrix - If there ever were such a thing as “the best guitarist,” Hendrix would get it. I think his CDs are a bit long, and have a bit of filler on them, but I like them nonetheless. It’s just that I rarely get a huge urge to listen to them. I like Electric Ladyland’s psychotic haze though, and Axis’s ballads are quite great, Castles Made of Sand and Little Wing. Hendrix’s first CD has some very great rockers, some very good slower songs, but it’s a bit too long. Still a great work.
The Doors - I used to love the Doors. I still like them now, and I really love Bobby Krieger’s playing, and a lot of Manzarek’s stuff. But Morrison kind of pisses me off now, and more and more I’m getting tired of their songs. It’s one of those things I can’t explain, I listen to say, the album Strange Days, and I say, damn, these are some nice riffs, but I just don’t like the songs all too much.
That said, when The Doors DID work well, it was amazing. Strange Days (the song), Riders on the Storm, The End, Love Me Two Times, Alabama (The Whiskey Song), Break On Through, all amazing. And again, that Krieger could sure play a nice guitar. He is one of the people who inspired me to look outside of the minor pentatonic.
Jefferson Airplane - I only have SUrrealistic Pillow, and I really like it, especially its two singles (White Rabbit and Somebody to Love). I like the rest of the songs too, some more than others, but as with a lot of summer of love, psycho-hippie songs, it gets a bit dull.
Frank Zappa - I LOVE THEM. Zappa got me into the weirder side of music, into Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits, Mr. Bungle. We’re Only In It for the Money is just mind-blowing. How the fuck did they make an album just as catchy as the Beatles, but ten times weirder? Every melody sticks out.
Tom Waits - Rain Dogs… oh my. It gets a bit tripe, but wow, you got to hand it to Mr. Waits. When Singapore starts playing, you’re transported to the Caribbean better than if you were watching a movie about it. It’s rare that an album would be able to evoke such a powerful image. Walking Spanish is a classic for me.
Santana - I love Abraxas, and I love Santana, although straddling the line between hard rock and latin jazz can be tricky. On one hand, I love their solos, and I love the short melodies. On the other, sometimes I just want them to stop jamming and lay down a thought-out track, great lyrics and all.
Rolling Stones - Somehow, I never really looked into them. I’m so embarassed to even say it. I’m buying Exile on Main Street and Sticky Fingers soon. I have Goat’s Head Soup (meh) and Black and Blue (slightly better meh), and I know most of their hits (which are good).
Now of course, it doesn’t stop there. That’s just the classic rock stuff. I could go and on about music simply for 20-30 years ago, but that’s just too much. I’m as much into indie, pop, jazz, metal, funk, soul, and hip-hop now as I was in classic rock back then. So as far as just bands from a while ago go, we could go back to Jimmie Rodgers, to Chuck Berry, to Charlie Parker. The list just goes on.
[quote]danmaftei wrote:
Jethro Tull [/quote]
You know what pisses me off? That people thing Jethro tull is a person, not a band.
Whose jethro tull?
I’m 27.
Love old music, in the following descending order of idolatry:
Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Beatles, The Who, Clapton, Dylan, Janis Joplin, Cash,
Jefferson whatever, Hendrix, Marley, Springsteen, Queen, Black Sabbath.
Hate KISS, and I’ve seen them in concert (I was abducted against my will). Don’t care much for Aerosmith or ACDC, but I don’t hate 'em.
[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
danmaftei wrote:
Jethro Tull
You know what pisses me off? That people thing Jethro tull is a person, not a band.
Whose jethro tull?[/quote]
Same thing happens with Skynyrd.
“Wait, which one is Lynyrd?”
GOOD
Journey, Styx, Boston, Cars, Billy J, some of The Boss and some EJ and some Chicago
BAD
eagles (OVER RATED)
Kansas, Santana
who the… are the rest? They must be way old.
So you realize, so that there’s NO CONFUSION, 20 years ago (the 80s) was dominated by bands like Guns N Roses, Quiet Riot, Poison, Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Sammy Hagar, the Scorpions, Whitesnake, Billy Idol, and Motley Crue.
Yes… 80’s ROCK it was before my time, AND it’s still freakin awesome!
Cream is a great band.My first songs I played on bass.
[quote]CU AeroStallion wrote:
GOOD
Journey, Styx, Boston, Cars, Billy J, some of The Boss and some EJ and some Chicago
BAD
eagles (OVER RATED)
Kansas, Santana
who the… are the rest? They must be way old.
So you realize, so that there’s NO CONFUSION, 20 years ago (the 80s) was dominated by bands like Guns N Roses, Quiet Riot, Poison, Bon Jovi, Twisted Sister, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Sammy Hagar, the Scorpions, Whitesnake, Billy Idol, and Motley Crue.
Yes… 80’s ROCK it was before my time, AND it’s still freakin awesome![/quote]
Zeb stopped listening to new music 20 years ago, so he really means the 60’s.
80’s glam bands = pure brillance. Throw in Ratt, Cinderella and Dokken and you’ve got a pretty good list.
Im 19 so I have been influenced by the various styles of music. I have grown to be very diverse, in that I listen to rock, rap and country. I haven’t gotten into many of the bands mentioned except for Boston, Styx and The Eagles. But I do like the Who. Good stuff. Im more into the 80s though(Metallica, ACDC, Guns N Roses etc.)considering my older siblings grew up in that era, which influenced me quite a bit…
[quote]pushharder wrote:
BIGRAGOO wrote:
What about Deep Purple, Steppenwolf, Yes, and Cream?
Deep Purple’s “Perfect Stranger” is in my top five of all time. “Smoke on the Water” and “My Woman From Tokyo” - top ten.
Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” and “Born to Be Wild” in my top ten.
Red Rider’s “Lunatic Fringe” in my top five. (Am I right that I’m the first to mention Red Rider on this thread?)
Boston’s “Foreplay/Long Time” - top five. “Peace of Mind” - top 10.
Metallica’s “Don’t Tread on Me” top 10.
(I know. I know. Slipped way out of the 60’s and 70’s here but since their first album was in '83 they qualify as an older band.) Tell me if you couldn’t hunt Al Qeada scum in an Apache over Afghanistan while listening to this tune?[/quote]
Red Ryder - Human race was good as well. Older Bowie…his instrumental album …Low.
Hendrix of course.
Deep Purple
Genesis
The Who
Kinks
CCR
Some Van Halen
The Stones
Led Zepp
Black Sabbath
Neil Young (some stuff)
Shit there were so many my head is spinning.
Of course there were a lot of garbage bands and then there were good bands that turned into garbage bands…just like today.
Have any of you guys noticed how many remakes of old music are instant hits today when these no talents knock them off?
It says a lot for the old bands. The Who Behind Blue Eyes has recently played ad naseum by Limp Bis I believe etc. etc.