There's a pretty strong argument imo that the bassist leaving after Pinkerton was a large part of their downfall.
Rivers is a larger part of it for sure but it's an interesting take.
That take doesn't make sense since Blue and Pinkerton were mostly(if not fully)written by Rivers, not Matt Sharp. Most complaints against post Pinkerton weezer are the lyrics, not the bass/backing vocals.
If anyone reading this hasn't heard of The Hip you really really really should check them out, they're Canadas most beloved band for a very good reason
In terms of raw talent, I can think of few bands that are better than RHCP. Unbelievable musicianship from the band. And then they decide to have a singer who can hardly sing, who’s also a pedo and just drones on and on about California. They still have some great songs in spite of this but I can’t help but feel there’s so much potential with this band that they never fully unlocked
After disliking them my whole life I’ve grown to appreciate them in a nostalgic sense. And when Kiedis chooses melody he’s actually passable. Maybe it’s Stockholm syndrome.
But my god his frat boy raps are fucking horrific, and make up the majority of their catalogue.
Ian Brown was essential in their success. Squire is a great guitarist, but you can tell by their output after The Stone Roses that he needed Brown more than he needed him.
3 fantastic musicians, two of whom are in the goat convo on their respective instruments… and Anthony kiedis. Or as I’ve come to think of it, 4 friends jamming together, like they did back highschool; or as we’ve all done back in highschool. If they wanted a better frontman they totally could’ve gotten one, but how I think they see it is they’re all just friends in the basement vibing, no need to kick a homie out. And that’s when they’re at their peak musically too, when it feels like a jam sesh. That’s why I enjoy the early work now too some more, a fun funk-punk blend with Slovak on guitar. ofc I still love John’s work too, the sesh vibe on some of the cuts on BSSM is immaculate. Anthony is also able to match the energy, which kinda helps a little to make up for his less than stellar vocals.
Maroon 5
In that this band had nothing of value to offer musically since 2011, but the only reason they’ve been around for so long in terms of Billboard / popularity is cause Adam Levine is hot, seemingly good-natured and overexposed on TV.
Adam and Jesse were the main songwriting duo from 1994 to 2010. The riffs especially were those two- James added the funky chords on top of the main riff. His only writing credit on Songs About Jane is She Will Be Loved... which he wrote the drum pattern for, thus causing Adam to stay up all night and make a song from it.
Don't get me wrong, I love James, but Adam and Jesse were the duo behind the classic hits of Harder To Breathe, This Love, Sunday Morning, Makes Me Wonder and Misery- not to mention the amazing album cuts like Captain Splendid, Ragdoll, Shiver, Secret, Through With You, Back At Your Door and Story.
Hands All Over was definitely the best album for band collaborations, though. Jesse and James were writing on the same songs, plus Sam had been introduced as a songwriter instead of just as a producer, double plus Matt Flynn (drummer) got a credit, AND friend of the band Noah Matchbox and former touring keyboardist Tommy King both got credits.
I wish Maroon 5 would have songs that Jesse, James and Sam contributed to. And PJ Morton- multi Grammy winner and he doesn't even write for the band? Sigh.
his falsetto is absolutely grating though (or, at least the way it’s processed on the more recent records is— the first album his vocals *are* pretty good, great even, but it goes so downhill so fast from there.) If it were less autotuned it might be bearable
Funnily enough, one of my favorite Adam Levine vocals was his hook on the Lonely Island SNL digital short "Iran So Far" - his falsetto over that Aphex Twin "Avril 14th" sample and a simple, subdued beat was surprisingly beautiful and haunting. So hilarious when juxtaposed with the Andy Samberg comedy-rap lyrics.
Yeah, I don't care for their music at all but it's impressive they've remained popular/successful for as long as they have with no identifiable sound, talent, or face outside of Adam's.
CCR. Fogerty wrote and sang all of their hits, played lead guitar and essentially managed the band. When he let his creative control slip, they went to shit.
Paramore is a great answer. They’re my favorite band and I think both Zac and Taylor are supremely talented artists but without Hayley, it’s just not Paramore. That being said, I do appreciate how much emphasis Hayley puts on the fact that they are a *band* and it’s not just the Hayley William’s show.
Silver Jews
*American Water* is probably their best, but even Bob and Malkmus can only elevate David Berman's lyrics to a marginal degree
*The Natural Bridge* is 99% as good, and the band is borderline irrelevant.
He was that good.
Too many to count. I think most bands are remembered for their vocalists because for a lot of people, the vocals are 90% of the music. There are some that go the extra mile though.
CCR comes to mind. They have some great guitar and bass parts, but the real draw is the vocals.
I see where you're coming from and he probably does get more credit than the others, but the bandmates wrote some of their best songs/riffs/moments and gave them their signature sound. I wouldn't say it was a carry by any means.
matt cameron is one of the best drummers ever and the other members wrote some of their best songs so i can't agree. chris cornell is definitely a singular talent tho and imo the single best musician from the grunge scene
Even tho the rest of the band is super talented, I feel like Queen is nothing without Freddie..his voice, his songwriting, his songs, are what carries everything about Queen.
I think this one is harsh in the sense that while I agree I couldn't picture Queen in their prime without Freddie, I also couldn't picture them without Brian, and John and Roger would be massive misses too. It'd be like saying Led Zeppelin wouldn't be Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant: it's totally true, but I think it undersells the fact that they *also* wouldn't be remotely the same without Page, Bonham or JPJ either.
It's difficult to quantify how valuable Freddie Mercury was as a frontman without seemingly underselling the other three members, but that's just Queen for you. It shows you just how powerful Freddie was as a performer that he could play with three musical geniuses like Brian, Roger, and John and still stand out so much. I think they were destined to be successful regardless of which band they ended up playing in but Queen just isn't Queen without Freddie.
Absolutely, all of them were incredible talented, but Freddie elevated them to another level, especially in the early 70s/70s, goat frontman, greatest voice oat, brilliant songwriting, without him we wouldn’t have songs like ,a kind of magic, or ,radio Gaga, because he overworked them to the point that they were perfect. But he also needed the band, even tho I like his solo work, and Barcelona is a great album, Queen is where he truly shined
It’s easy to look to some of the GOAT frontmen for answers to this thread but I feel like Queen does not fit. The harmonized lead guitars are similarly iconic to Queen’s sound as Freddie’s voice
And at the same time Freddie is "nothing" without Queen. Let me explain, Freddie made some solo work but it wasn't even close to what he made in Queen, I'm not saying he made awful music, but Freddie + Queen was in another level of greatness that only those 4 guys were able to create
I was looking If somebody else thought of Queen. Though I must say that while I cannot picture Queen without Freddy I don't think they fit the question
Session musicians are supremely talented, indeed.
But “session musicians” is not “Aerosmith” - the multi-platinum rock n roll band that defines “Classic Rock” for many of us.
Yeah session musicians are super important. If you’re interested there’s a super good documentary about The Wrecking Crew that goes into a lot of detail about their work with The Beach Boys.
I hate that you’re right, but you are, at the same time Brad wouldn’t have made a lot of that music with out Bud and Eric. They were the only two that could hang with him and the music definitley wouldn’t be sublime without them or Kelly or Marshall. But Brad tied all of that together.
im gonna sound so stupid (and prove your point) but coldplay is still a band? like theyre not a panic! at the disco situation where its one guy cosplaying as a band??
Just to add my two cents on this but Chris normally starts the song on piano/ rhythm guitar and the other members chime in and write their respective instrumental parts. Chris doesn't write their parts for them. Chris writes the lyrics and the melody mostly. There have been times where the other members have started the songs too like Jonny in Adventure of a Lifetime and Guy's bass riff in Magic :)
CCR is the answer for me. John sang, wrote, and played lead guitar on every song. The drums, bass, and rhythm guitar were so forgettable on every song.
Phil Collins carried Genesis in the post Gabriel and probably more than Peter Gabriel ever did. They wouldn’t have been as big as they were if not for Phil
Creedence Clearwater Revival was just John Fogerty and some dudes. When the other guys demanded they get to write and sing too, it was a total flop. All of their hits were written and recorded by John basically by himself.
Morrison deserves loads of credit; however, Krieger and Manzarek, as already alluded to, also contributed a significant amount to the bands evolution. Forgetting the dominating personality of Morrison, the Doors were a well-rounded band.
Nirvana is an obvious answer.
Look what became of The Doors after lead singer died.
Bands with two lead singers count too? Oasis and Alice in Chains come to mind.
>Look what became of The Doors after lead singer died.
Honestly, if they had gotten Iggy Pop as their lead singer (he auditioned to replace Morrison), they would have continued, possibly to eve greater heights/notoriety (and probably an early grave in the 70s due to drugs). They needed a Brian Johnson to replace their Bon Scott essentially. Manzarek and Kreiger wrote a lot of the iconic riffs and songs of the Doors (Densmore was the right drummer for the band but definitely the weakest link). Jim had the voice and personality to deliver them though.
I honestly cannot imagine what Iggy fronting The Doors would sound like. Jim was a somewhat limited singer but I still don't know that Iggy could pull off the kind of stuff he did on their early albums.
It probably wouldn't be boring, for sure.
The Doors was not carried that much by one man at all, the one without Jim Morrison sucks but it doesn’t prove that argument.
Listen to the debut album and tell me that it wasn’t also carried by their keyboard player
A Radiohead album without Thom Yorke would be heavily worse for example, does it mean the band wasn’t carried by Jonny also? No
I feel like Oasis are carried by the personalities and antics of the Gallaghers. Their music is just uninteresting. Fine but I’d never willingly put it on.
While Jack White is definitely the more prominent member, I don't think this is a great response to the question. I'd argue his guitar playing was far more important to their success and appeal rather than his vocals
I think any guitar-playing frontman is a bit dishonest answer to this. For example David Mustaine pretty much is Megadeth and even though he have had excellent musicians around him there could be Megadeth without any of the other members but not without Dave. However, Dave is much more than a mere lead singer.
Drummer and lead guitarist are super important for them imo. Their drummer produces a lot of their tracks and their guitar player revived 80’s pop guitar better than anyone imo, and there’s a million people doing that these days / the last decade+
True. Adrianne as a solo artist is just as successful. The band definitely brings layers that her solo tracks don’t have, but she has one of those iconic voices
certainly Cocteau Twins saw their success primarily because of Elizabeth Fraser’s vocals. MBV too if you consider Kevin Shields as the lead vocalist, but less from his vocals and more from everything else he did.
Not sure if this is exactly a good answer for this question but I see what you mean. Chuck was notoriously difficult to work with, band members were rotating constantly.
Motorhead had some very good musicians in the band, more than they are given credit for, but it was undisputably the Lemmy show and impossible to continue without him
Maybe a hot take but queens of the Stone Age. They’re all stellar musicians, and they’ve had some incredible guest stars and former members too. But josh homme is really the glue that holds it together, being the only original member and the one with that iconically smooth voice and drunken stumble. So maybe not carried (the band can pull their own weight), but heavily relying on would be a better way to put it.
Culture Club, Dead Or Alive. I want to point out that the other musicians of these bands also contributed to their success, but I doubt they would be as popular with another singer
I’d say Blur are carried by Damon and Graham. Damon’s a great singer-songwriter and Graham’s a killer guitarist. Alex and Dave are the weakest links though and I don’t think they were that good until later on; they definitely improved a lot by Magic Whip, I think. Yeah.
So much so that the band found a new singer and released three platinum albums with him, while Zack... did a few guest features here and there?
I love Rage and I love Zack, but this is slanderous.
Youre selling Billy Howerdel short in a major way. He is the primary songwriter for APC (Maynard the lyricist) and that band has some heavenly instrumental parts. APC would not exist without Billy.
Nevermind is not close to as good without Grohl’s drumming (he’s the GOAT of the rock drum fills imo), also Nevermind wouldn’t have been a smash hit without Butch Vig’s vision for the sound of the album
Brian really wasn’t their lead singer, and even though he was definitely on another level compared to the rest of the band, the other Beach Boys could certainly write great stuff as time went on. Worth considering how young Carl and Dennis Wilson were in their early years, wouldn’t really hold it against teenagers for not carrying the band at the beginning.
Probably Neutral Milk Hotel honestly (?). I had to double check to make sure it was a full band before I uploaded this comment, hardly anyone talks about the other members IME
Ironically enough, the band is slick. Jay Kay is a good singer, great dancer, and superb showman/frontman, but really, without the creativity of the full band, I don’t think Jay Kay would be enough to catapult them anywhere
I feel like '*Dude* and the *Somebodies*' acts are almost a gimme for this category. It's no surprise that when people went to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or Prince and the Revolution they were mainly going to see the guys whose names were in the title.
Tame Impala
Did you know that Tame Impala is just one guy???
This is basically the Buscemi Firefighter 9/11 of indie music at this point
The Viggo Mortensen broke his toe of indie music
Did you know chickens cross roads?
Except when Pond back him up :)
Tommy Impala
Weezer. Rivers is Weezer Although the other members are pretty important the band could exist with only rivers but not without him.
For better or for worse…
There's a pretty strong argument imo that the bassist leaving after Pinkerton was a large part of their downfall. Rivers is a larger part of it for sure but it's an interesting take.
They made plenty of good songs after Matt Sharp left
That take doesn't make sense since Blue and Pinkerton were mostly(if not fully)written by Rivers, not Matt Sharp. Most complaints against post Pinkerton weezer are the lyrics, not the bass/backing vocals.
The tragically hip, a good band carried by a once in a lifetime frontman.
Awesome shout. Not enough people, especially Americans, know how incredible Gord was. I honestly put him in the argument for best frontman ever.
Yeah they are all fantastic musicians on their own, but Gord IS the Tragically Hip
A Canadian icon through and through
Love that band. Wild that they’re so insanely popular in Canada but have barely made a blip in the states.
Which is a shame because gords lyrics are truly amazing and they should’ve been bigger
Agreed. However I liked the song the band did with Feist on vocals.
If anyone reading this hasn't heard of The Hip you really really really should check them out, they're Canadas most beloved band for a very good reason
The Strokes. I think Julian wrote most of the songs on their first albums. I also can't imagine this band with any other singer.
Didn't Julian write basically everything until he got fed up by the time they were writing Angles?
FIOE was slightly more collaborative as well
I’ve always heard it as the other members wanting more freedom, not Julian being overworked. Could be wrong tho I dont have a source
[удалено]
Nope, Julian wrote the riffs and solos. Valensi is just a player.
Wow that’s interesting, I assume the other instrument parts were written by the respective member? (Bass drums and stuff)
Nope, Julian wrote literally everything for Is This It and Room On Fire
What the fuck?? That’s crazy man, he was basically everything on those 2 then
Yeah this is crazy, I had no idea at all. Pretty annoying that he's that pretty and talented.
I'll take the inversion: Red Hot Chili Peppers is a band that carries their lead singer.
In terms of raw talent, I can think of few bands that are better than RHCP. Unbelievable musicianship from the band. And then they decide to have a singer who can hardly sing, who’s also a pedo and just drones on and on about California. They still have some great songs in spite of this but I can’t help but feel there’s so much potential with this band that they never fully unlocked
They’re very very very very very good musicians but my god their material is just so whatever and unenjoyable
After disliking them my whole life I’ve grown to appreciate them in a nostalgic sense. And when Kiedis chooses melody he’s actually passable. Maybe it’s Stockholm syndrome. But my god his frat boy raps are fucking horrific, and make up the majority of their catalogue.
[удалено]
Nah, that masterpiece of a debut does not work without Ian Brown's vocals.
Ian Brown was essential in their success. Squire is a great guitarist, but you can tell by their output after The Stone Roses that he needed Brown more than he needed him.
No way. Brown's vocals are so intrinsic to the sound.
3 fantastic musicians, two of whom are in the goat convo on their respective instruments… and Anthony kiedis. Or as I’ve come to think of it, 4 friends jamming together, like they did back highschool; or as we’ve all done back in highschool. If they wanted a better frontman they totally could’ve gotten one, but how I think they see it is they’re all just friends in the basement vibing, no need to kick a homie out. And that’s when they’re at their peak musically too, when it feels like a jam sesh. That’s why I enjoy the early work now too some more, a fun funk-punk blend with Slovak on guitar. ofc I still love John’s work too, the sesh vibe on some of the cuts on BSSM is immaculate. Anthony is also able to match the energy, which kinda helps a little to make up for his less than stellar vocals.
Maroon 5 In that this band had nothing of value to offer musically since 2011, but the only reason they’ve been around for so long in terms of Billboard / popularity is cause Adam Levine is hot, seemingly good-natured and overexposed on TV.
maybe in a popularity way yes, but their guitarist James Valentine is amazing and has some great riffs
Adam and Jesse were the main songwriting duo from 1994 to 2010. The riffs especially were those two- James added the funky chords on top of the main riff. His only writing credit on Songs About Jane is She Will Be Loved... which he wrote the drum pattern for, thus causing Adam to stay up all night and make a song from it. Don't get me wrong, I love James, but Adam and Jesse were the duo behind the classic hits of Harder To Breathe, This Love, Sunday Morning, Makes Me Wonder and Misery- not to mention the amazing album cuts like Captain Splendid, Ragdoll, Shiver, Secret, Through With You, Back At Your Door and Story. Hands All Over was definitely the best album for band collaborations, though. Jesse and James were writing on the same songs, plus Sam had been introduced as a songwriter instead of just as a producer, double plus Matt Flynn (drummer) got a credit, AND friend of the band Noah Matchbox and former touring keyboardist Tommy King both got credits. I wish Maroon 5 would have songs that Jesse, James and Sam contributed to. And PJ Morton- multi Grammy winner and he doesn't even write for the band? Sigh.
And talented. It IS easy to hate on Adam Levine, sure. But not for his vocal talents. Dude can fucking sing.
his falsetto is absolutely grating though (or, at least the way it’s processed on the more recent records is— the first album his vocals *are* pretty good, great even, but it goes so downhill so fast from there.) If it were less autotuned it might be bearable
Funnily enough, one of my favorite Adam Levine vocals was his hook on the Lonely Island SNL digital short "Iran So Far" - his falsetto over that Aphex Twin "Avril 14th" sample and a simple, subdued beat was surprisingly beautiful and haunting. So hilarious when juxtaposed with the Andy Samberg comedy-rap lyrics.
Yeah, I don't care for their music at all but it's impressive they've remained popular/successful for as long as they have with no identifiable sound, talent, or face outside of Adam's.
I wanna say The Beatles as a joke/bait but I already left an ironic comment
you're wrong but only because Ringo was mostly just the drummer
Someone had to write Octopus Garden.
CCR. Fogerty wrote and sang all of their hits, played lead guitar and essentially managed the band. When he let his creative control slip, they went to shit.
I don't believe it was the creative control. he was fed up with the rest of the band and essentially made them write the songs for their final album.
Paramore is a great answer. They’re my favorite band and I think both Zac and Taylor are supremely talented artists but without Hayley, it’s just not Paramore. That being said, I do appreciate how much emphasis Hayley puts on the fact that they are a *band* and it’s not just the Hayley William’s show.
Silver Jews *American Water* is probably their best, but even Bob and Malkmus can only elevate David Berman's lyrics to a marginal degree *The Natural Bridge* is 99% as good, and the band is borderline irrelevant. He was that good.
Honorable mention to *Purple Mountains*.
Absolutely, it's a hard listen for me :(
Oh absolutely, this must be the best answer here.
Too many to count. I think most bands are remembered for their vocalists because for a lot of people, the vocals are 90% of the music. There are some that go the extra mile though. CCR comes to mind. They have some great guitar and bass parts, but the real draw is the vocals.
Most of the music was written by Fogerty too heh.
Virtually all. Stu is a fantastic bassist, but he is an average songwriter who happened to play in one of the most iconic bands that ever existed.
I’m not underestimating the musicians but damn Chris Cornell
I see where you're coming from and he probably does get more credit than the others, but the bandmates wrote some of their best songs/riffs/moments and gave them their signature sound. I wouldn't say it was a carry by any means.
i love cornell but the soundgarden instrumentals absolutely fucking rip and complimented his voice so well.
matt cameron is one of the best drummers ever and the other members wrote some of their best songs so i can't agree. chris cornell is definitely a singular talent tho and imo the single best musician from the grunge scene
Well, to be fair, without them he made Scream, which is the single worst thing a gunge musician has released ***EVER***.
he also made euphoria mourning which is the best solo grunge thing ever
Even tho the rest of the band is super talented, I feel like Queen is nothing without Freddie..his voice, his songwriting, his songs, are what carries everything about Queen.
I think this one is harsh in the sense that while I agree I couldn't picture Queen in their prime without Freddie, I also couldn't picture them without Brian, and John and Roger would be massive misses too. It'd be like saying Led Zeppelin wouldn't be Led Zeppelin without Robert Plant: it's totally true, but I think it undersells the fact that they *also* wouldn't be remotely the same without Page, Bonham or JPJ either.
Spicy take. I think you really undervalue what the other guys brought, from song writing to harmonies.
It's difficult to quantify how valuable Freddie Mercury was as a frontman without seemingly underselling the other three members, but that's just Queen for you. It shows you just how powerful Freddie was as a performer that he could play with three musical geniuses like Brian, Roger, and John and still stand out so much. I think they were destined to be successful regardless of which band they ended up playing in but Queen just isn't Queen without Freddie.
I 100% agree but the question here is which band was carried by their lead singer. And I just don't think Queen is a valid answer here
That's fair
Absolutely, all of them were incredible talented, but Freddie elevated them to another level, especially in the early 70s/70s, goat frontman, greatest voice oat, brilliant songwriting, without him we wouldn’t have songs like ,a kind of magic, or ,radio Gaga, because he overworked them to the point that they were perfect. But he also needed the band, even tho I like his solo work, and Barcelona is a great album, Queen is where he truly shined
It’s easy to look to some of the GOAT frontmen for answers to this thread but I feel like Queen does not fit. The harmonized lead guitars are similarly iconic to Queen’s sound as Freddie’s voice
And at the same time Freddie is "nothing" without Queen. Let me explain, Freddie made some solo work but it wasn't even close to what he made in Queen, I'm not saying he made awful music, but Freddie + Queen was in another level of greatness that only those 4 guys were able to create
I was looking If somebody else thought of Queen. Though I must say that while I cannot picture Queen without Freddy I don't think they fit the question
I think they do, and they don’t…
Aerosmith would be a bunch of session musicians if it weren't for Steven Tyler.
In terms of playing skill, improv, reliability, "session musician" is a huge honor. I'm not sure I understand
Brad Whitford has great leads and band has good groove. Joe Perry is sloppy as hell though.
Session musicians are supremely talented, indeed. But “session musicians” is not “Aerosmith” - the multi-platinum rock n roll band that defines “Classic Rock” for many of us.
Yeah session musicians are super important. If you’re interested there’s a super good documentary about The Wrecking Crew that goes into a lot of detail about their work with The Beach Boys.
The Fall definitely fall into this category!
Sublime
I hate that you’re right, but you are, at the same time Brad wouldn’t have made a lot of that music with out Bud and Eric. They were the only two that could hang with him and the music definitley wouldn’t be sublime without them or Kelly or Marshall. But Brad tied all of that together.
David Bowie with Tin Machine
Coldplay. Chris Martin writes nearly everything
Perfect answer. I don’t think many people realize they never had a major change in lineup lol
Dude why would you leave that gravy train?
im gonna sound so stupid (and prove your point) but coldplay is still a band? like theyre not a panic! at the disco situation where its one guy cosplaying as a band??
Yeah, they’re still the same lineup from like 25 years ago
I kinda forget there are other members haha
Just to add my two cents on this but Chris normally starts the song on piano/ rhythm guitar and the other members chime in and write their respective instrumental parts. Chris doesn't write their parts for them. Chris writes the lyrics and the melody mostly. There have been times where the other members have started the songs too like Jonny in Adventure of a Lifetime and Guy's bass riff in Magic :)
Greta Van Fleet. I don’t even care for them but I can’t imagine them ever being noticed without their lead singer
CCR is the answer for me. John sang, wrote, and played lead guitar on every song. The drums, bass, and rhythm guitar were so forgettable on every song.
Phil Collins carried Genesis in the post Gabriel and probably more than Peter Gabriel ever did. They wouldn’t have been as big as they were if not for Phil
Finally a real take
Sade? lol
I disagree, the band's bassist Paul Denman is as important as Sade on most tracks (especially the hits), same with the saxophonist.
surprised no one has said the dire straights. great band, but they’re nobodies without knopfler
How about Guitar George? He knows all the fancy chords.
Nah he’s strictly rythym he doesn’t want to make it cry or sing
Paramore is a thesis ship
r/boneappletea
A thesis ship is when you pretend two essays are dating.
What a way to make boring college work interesting!
Hayley never left the band
Zac farro the current drummer is also a founding member, so yeah im not quite sure how that applies to them
[Ship of Theseus, just FYI.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus)
No they aren’t and that’s not how you spell it
Creedence Clearwater Revival was just John Fogerty and some dudes. When the other guys demanded they get to write and sing too, it was a total flop. All of their hits were written and recorded by John basically by himself.
I feel like Evanescence belongs in here The band is basically Amy Lee and co.
the cure
i dunno about that, i couldn't imagine what pornography would sound like without simon gallup on bass
Bright Eyes
As much as I love them, Chino Moreno is the reason Deftones transcended their nu-metal label
They also just stopped being a nu-metal band.
Probably not really what you meant but Fred Durst is everything to Limp Bizkit.
Hard disagree. Wes was the real brains behind LB.
40/60, aesthetics matters too.
Fred was always the weakest part of Limp Bizkit. Wes, Sam and John Otto are amazing musicians.
Gord Downie was a national treasure, I can't name another member of The Tragically Hip.
The answer to this question is The Doors
My favourite frontman of all time but he’d be a poet without Manzarek and Krieger.
Morrison deserves loads of credit; however, Krieger and Manzarek, as already alluded to, also contributed a significant amount to the bands evolution. Forgetting the dominating personality of Morrison, the Doors were a well-rounded band.
Nirvana is an obvious answer. Look what became of The Doors after lead singer died. Bands with two lead singers count too? Oasis and Alice in Chains come to mind.
Nirvana feels like a weird answer since Dave Grohl did go on to make another successful band
>Look what became of The Doors after lead singer died. Honestly, if they had gotten Iggy Pop as their lead singer (he auditioned to replace Morrison), they would have continued, possibly to eve greater heights/notoriety (and probably an early grave in the 70s due to drugs). They needed a Brian Johnson to replace their Bon Scott essentially. Manzarek and Kreiger wrote a lot of the iconic riffs and songs of the Doors (Densmore was the right drummer for the band but definitely the weakest link). Jim had the voice and personality to deliver them though.
I honestly cannot imagine what Iggy fronting The Doors would sound like. Jim was a somewhat limited singer but I still don't know that Iggy could pull off the kind of stuff he did on their early albums. It probably wouldn't be boring, for sure.
The Doors was not carried that much by one man at all, the one without Jim Morrison sucks but it doesn’t prove that argument. Listen to the debut album and tell me that it wasn’t also carried by their keyboard player A Radiohead album without Thom Yorke would be heavily worse for example, does it mean the band wasn’t carried by Jonny also? No
Exactly. Manzarek's work is as important to the Doors' sound as Jim's voice ever was.
I feel like Oasis are carried by the personalities and antics of the Gallaghers. Their music is just uninteresting. Fine but I’d never willingly put it on.
The White Stripes
A direct Meg diss lol
I’m not a Meg hater or anything, what she did worked great, but Jack was pretty uncontroversially the main character of that band I think?
I love Meg, but let's be honest: Jack enjoyed working with Meg *because* she was a limitation.
Purely technically speaking sure, but watch any live vids of them and you’ll see their damn near telepathic ability to communicate without words
While Jack White is definitely the more prominent member, I don't think this is a great response to the question. I'd argue his guitar playing was far more important to their success and appeal rather than his vocals
I think any guitar-playing frontman is a bit dishonest answer to this. For example David Mustaine pretty much is Megadeth and even though he have had excellent musicians around him there could be Megadeth without any of the other members but not without Dave. However, Dave is much more than a mere lead singer.
David Byrne made the talking heads the talking heads.
Car Seat Headrest if it counts
Nine Inch Nails
I hate to say it but Angel Olsen
Not a dis at the other members but The Killers and Coldplay are good choices
Wham.
The 1975
Brand-wise, maybe. Musically, I’d have to disagree….
Drummer and lead guitarist are super important for them imo. Their drummer produces a lot of their tracks and their guitar player revived 80’s pop guitar better than anyone imo, and there’s a million people doing that these days / the last decade+
I'm surprised I haven't seen this yet Megadeth, carried by Mustaine's talent and his hate against Metallica lol
If it hasn’t been said yet… big thief. I’m sorry.
The lead guitarist is really important to their sound.
True. Adrianne as a solo artist is just as successful. The band definitely brings layers that her solo tracks don’t have, but she has one of those iconic voices
Does Black Country, New Road even exist now that Isaac Wood is gone?
Maybe a hot take but I actually prefer their new songs
certainly Cocteau Twins saw their success primarily because of Elizabeth Fraser’s vocals. MBV too if you consider Kevin Shields as the lead vocalist, but less from his vocals and more from everything else he did.
Death
Not sure if this is exactly a good answer for this question but I see what you mean. Chuck was notoriously difficult to work with, band members were rotating constantly.
Motorhead had some very good musicians in the band, more than they are given credit for, but it was undisputably the Lemmy show and impossible to continue without him
Chester was linkin park . Sadly there is no replacement but just to show how there was only 1 Chester …most the fans are fine with no replacement
I completely disagree. Chester obviously was a once in a generation vocal talent, but Mike was the primary creative force behind the band.
Maybe a hot take but queens of the Stone Age. They’re all stellar musicians, and they’ve had some incredible guest stars and former members too. But josh homme is really the glue that holds it together, being the only original member and the one with that iconically smooth voice and drunken stumble. So maybe not carried (the band can pull their own weight), but heavily relying on would be a better way to put it.
Can't imagine a radiohead album without Thom Yorke.
Culture Club, Dead Or Alive. I want to point out that the other musicians of these bands also contributed to their success, but I doubt they would be as popular with another singer
Blur. Although the rest of the members, especially Graham, are amazing in their own right, Damon is basically the entire face of the band although.
I’d say Blur are carried by Damon and Graham. Damon’s a great singer-songwriter and Graham’s a killer guitarist. Alex and Dave are the weakest links though and I don’t think they were that good until later on; they definitely improved a lot by Magic Whip, I think. Yeah.
Alex James is a killer bass player. Blur absolutely does not belong in this thread.
Surely it’s Panic! At The Disco
Pre-split Ryan Ross kind of carried the band
You couldn't be more wrong. Their original lead guitarist was the one who wrote all of their good albums.
There’s a difference between carried and killed
RATM. Yes, Tom, Tim, and Brad are in a league of their own, but Zack is one of a kind.
So much so that the band found a new singer and released three platinum albums with him, while Zack... did a few guest features here and there? I love Rage and I love Zack, but this is slanderous.
Have to agree, they are possibly the worst example. You chose a band where every member joined another massively successful band lol.
This would be a good answer to the prompt on Opposite Day.
Dave Matthews (band)
A Perfect Circle is basically TOOL without the generational musicianship -- completely carried by Maynard's lyrics and singing.
Youre selling Billy Howerdel short in a major way. He is the primary songwriter for APC (Maynard the lyricist) and that band has some heavenly instrumental parts. APC would not exist without Billy.
Nirvana
Idk man, Dave Grohl is iconic
Nevermind is not close to as good without Grohl’s drumming (he’s the GOAT of the rock drum fills imo), also Nevermind wouldn’t have been a smash hit without Butch Vig’s vision for the sound of the album
Obviously Selena Gomez & The scene
Nothing But Thieves
The Beach Boys were basically Brian Wilson's touring band. He essentially made Pet Sounds by himself.
Brian really wasn’t their lead singer, and even though he was definitely on another level compared to the rest of the band, the other Beach Boys could certainly write great stuff as time went on. Worth considering how young Carl and Dennis Wilson were in their early years, wouldn’t really hold it against teenagers for not carrying the band at the beginning.
The Carpenters
Three Days Grace Band practically died the moment Adam left.
Jethro Tull is pretty much just Ian Anderson and whatever musicians he happens to be playing with that album. He's also pretty sick on the flute.
Coldplay
DK 100% They would be nothing without Jello
Probably Neutral Milk Hotel honestly (?). I had to double check to make sure it was a full band before I uploaded this comment, hardly anyone talks about the other members IME
D12 honestly
We are not a band bitch we don't play instruments
Name another member from polyphia that isnt tim henson
the strokes
Evanescene.
did someone say pearl jam yet
Jamiroquai Pearl Jam The Wailers (I mean, Bob was the main guy) Green Day Soda Stereo
I didn’t know Jamiroquai was even a band. Thought it was a solo act. Yikes
Ironically enough, the band is slick. Jay Kay is a good singer, great dancer, and superb showman/frontman, but really, without the creativity of the full band, I don’t think Jay Kay would be enough to catapult them anywhere
Soda Stereo basically turned into a Cerati solo project since they released Dynamo lol (which is my favorite album btw)
I feel like '*Dude* and the *Somebodies*' acts are almost a gimme for this category. It's no surprise that when people went to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers or Prince and the Revolution they were mainly going to see the guys whose names were in the title.