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


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"Octopus' Garden" fit in perfectly in the Abbey Road album (possibly my favorite Beatles album). Yes, Ringo's tunes were largely fluff, but they were fun tunes and still had good music and good harmonies backing him up. As far as "Yellow Submarine" goes, is it a masterpiece? No. But I can't agree that it sucks.

 

Re: Metallica - I was totally serious. Lars Ulrich is the only member of the band with superior talent. The others are a dime/dozen.

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So Led Zep made someone's overrated list ? That's something. I gotta disagree w ya there.

 

Overrated U2, Dave Matthews,

 

Underrated NOFX,

Agree with both of these. Every time Matthews comes on I kind of tune out. Pardon the pun.

Edited by Dante
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Agree with both of these. Every time Matthews comes on I kind of tune out. Pardon the pun.

Led Zep overrated is a joke. It can't be a true sentiment.

 

Dave Matthews is horrible. Let me say .. he does have talent. But so do a bunch of local musicians in ALL of our towns. He's nothing special and how he continues to get 20K+ people to see him on any given night boggles me mind.

 

U2 ... hmmm ... Boy, October, War, Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree were all truly classic, unique and great albums. After that, they did what most bands with their kind of longevity did ... they changed. Not necessarily evolved or grew ... but they definitely changed. I think their first five albums keep them off of any overrated list.

 

I will add one to my underrated list:

 

The Police

 

No band has ever matched their sound. Many have tried. Hell, Bruno Mars even gave it a shot and Sting showed the world who was boss at (I think) the American Music Awards.

 

They recorded five studio albums from 1978-1983. That's five years. And they left a mark on music history. That is impressive. Every single album was great. Even Synchronicity (their sell-out/swan song album). It had cheese (Wrapped Around Your Finger and Every Breath You Take - by far the worst Police song EVER) but it had pure Police (Tea in the Sahara and Murder By Numbers to name a couple off the top of my head). And the first two were one style; their third was a complete separation; the fourth another separation; then their last, which was pretty much a potpourri of styles. They evolved. They didn't just change.

 

I think the Police are one of the greatest bands in the history of music.

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As wrong as they may be, you are entitled to your opinions.

 

See this is exactly what I'm talking about. How on earth could one's personal opinions on something as subjective as music be wrong?? :wallbash:

 

How does that even need to be stated? I thought it was completely obvious.

 

Nothing is completely obvious here. If anyone should know that it would be you.

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See this is exactly what I'm talking about. How on earth could one's personal opinions on something as subjective as music be wrong?? :wallbash:

It was tongue-in-cheek. But if there was ever an opinion that I would consider wrong, it might be someone calling the Beatles overrated.

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See this is exactly what I'm talking about. How on earth could one's personal opinions on something as subjective as music be wrong?? :wallbash:

 

 

 

Nothing is completely obvious here. If anyone should know that it would be you.

I think there is a big difference between music that you enjoy listening to and music that is technically superior. I used to have this argument with my brother and the Beatles. No way I'm ever going to say they were overrated but I just don't want to listen to them any more(used to a lot as a kid). Doesn't mean I think they suck. Just means they don't do it for me emotionally I guess.

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It's inevitable that performers change over time. Those that don't become stale and don't last long (only to regroup later to play the same stuff for a new generation). For some, the change is is not good - they "jump the shark" and the new stuff is not nearly as good as the early. I put Elvis Costello in this boat - never got back to the brilliance of My Aim Is True & This Year's Model. U2 was in it but has come back lately. Other bands, like the Beatles, the change is more of a continual improvement.

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So all you have against Tull is the fact that they featured the flute ? I am a fan of Tull and can attest that the flute supports their music rather than acts as the central piece.

And of all the bands, you chose Tull to be over-rated ? Pray explain your reasons beyond the flute aspect.

 

IMHO, Tull was a very versatile band that evolved over the years. From their early blues based music (This Was, Stand Up) to prog rock (Thick as a Brick, Aqualung) to folksy rock (Heavy Horses, Songs from the Wood), they kept delivering different music very very well.

 

My only complaint against the band is that they should have stopped cutting new albums in the 80s and stopped touring in the 90s.

 

I refuse to debate music because that is up to the listener as to thier preferences.

 

But I agree with you about Tull. I love Jethro Tull, but saw them live in 1997 opeing for Gov't Mule and they were quite a disappointment. The bad was good, I thought maybe Ian had an off night. Then I saw some special on Audience Network or the like. Good God, but Anderson is awful these days. He doesn't even sing anymore, just kind of a whining squeal. No inflection or fire at all anymore. Contrast that with the footage from the 60's and 70's, you'd never believe they were the same person. Such a same...

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i still think Miss Gradenko is one of my favorite Police songs...something about the syncopation and the tempo of it, then all of a sudden the vocal harmonies...god i love that song

 

and the only reason i can even stomach bruno mars and gotye's 'somebody i used to know' is the 'sting sound', otherwise that would go in the pile with the other crap like led zepplin.....huh? what???? :devil: (not a led zepplin fan at all, but goodness gracious i would never call them overrated)

 

Led Zep overrated is a joke. It can't be a true sentiment.

 

Dave Matthews is horrible. Let me say .. he does have talent. But so do a bunch of local musicians in ALL of our towns. He's nothing special and how he continues to get 20K+ people to see him on any given night boggles me mind.

 

U2 ... hmmm ... Boy, October, War, Unforgettable Fire and Joshua Tree were all truly classic, unique and great albums. After that, they did what most bands with their kind of longevity did ... they changed. Not necessarily evolved or grew ... but they definitely changed. I think their first five albums keep them off of any overrated list.

 

I will add one to my underrated list:

 

The Police

 

No band has ever matched their sound. Many have tried. Hell, Bruno Mars even gave it a shot and Sting showed the world who was boss at (I think) the American Music Awards.

 

They recorded five studio albums from 1978-1983. That's five years. And they left a mark on music history. That is impressive. Every single album was great. Even Synchronicity (their sell-out/swan song album). It had cheese (Wrapped Around Your Finger and Every Breath You Take - by far the worst Police song EVER) but it had pure Police (Tea in the Sahara and Murder By Numbers to name a couple off the top of my head). And the first two were one style; their third was a complete separation; the fourth another separation; then their last, which was pretty much a potpourri of styles. They evolved. They didn't just change.

 

I think the Police are one of the greatest bands in the history of music.

Edited by The Poojer
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There's no way The Police are underrated. They were the biggest band in the world in 1983-84 and almost as big before that.

 

And, I said even then that they are overrated, because they have a bunch of good songs, but no great ones. Then I heard Synchronicity II and said now they finally have that one great song they needed!

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Poojer nailed it with Miss Gradenko, as far as the Synchronicity album. Synchronicity II, while a very good song, is not as good as Synchronicity I, and is a tad on the poppy/radio friendly side. Listen to Outlandos D'amour, Regatta de Blanc, Zenyatta Mondatta and Ghost in the Machine ... then you'll see why I consider Synchronicity to be their worst album. Still a great album ... just not as great as the other four. And if you're looking for "great" songs, you'll find plenty on each of their albums ... and you haven't heard very many of them on the radio.

 

One more thing to love about the Police ... they quit on top (much like the Beatles). They knew when their gig was up. As much as I love Rush, I wish they would have stopped making albums 20 years ago. And I cringe thinking of what Led Zeppelin's next album after "In Through the Out Door" would have sounded like. I am a huge Zeppelin fan, and I can guarantee if Bonham hadn't passed they would have gone on to make pathetic records.

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One more thing to love about the Police ... they quit on top (much like the Beatles). They knew when their gig was up. As much as I love Rush, I wish they would have stopped making albums 20 years ago. And I cringe thinking of what Led Zeppelin's next album after "In Through the Out Door" would have sounded like. I am a huge Zeppelin fan, and I can guarantee if Bonham hadn't passed they would have gone on to make pathetic records.

I think Rush kind of did what U2 did - they had a bit of a lull there (Presto, Roll the Bones) but they have rebounded and their last couple of CDs are among the best in their catalog. Snakes and Arrows and Clockwork Angels are both superb. Test for Echo and Counterparts are also very good. Unfortunately Vapor Trails was not mixed well.

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I refuse to debate music because that is up to the listener as to thier preferences.

 

But I agree with you about Tull. I love Jethro Tull, but saw them live in 1997 opeing for Gov't Mule and they were quite a disappointment. The bad was good, I thought maybe Ian had an off night. Then I saw some special on Audience Network or the like. Good God, but Anderson is awful these days. He doesn't even sing anymore, just kind of a whining squeal. No inflection or fire at all anymore. Contrast that with the footage from the 60's and 70's, you'd never believe they were the same person. Such a same...

 

Thanks. Let me add Gov't Mule to the underrated list. Along with the Allman Brothers.

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Thanks. Let me add Gov't Mule to the underrated list. Along with the Allman Brothers.

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.

Edited by Fig Newtons
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I would like to add Our Lady Peace and Yellowcard. Yes I know Yellowcard is pop punk but if you listen to them the songs are well written. Vocals are strong and they have one of the best drummers I've ever seen. They also manage to work in the violin without overdoing it. May have seen them 5 or 6 times and never disappoint. Also Anti Flag is always solid. Terror State is one of my favorite cds to listen to.

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