Greatest American rock band?

[RC Vikings]

Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, The Eagles, Van Halen, Metallica? It kind of pales in comparison to what England and Ireland has produced with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, U2, The Who and Led Zeppelin.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana, Gwar.

[New Mexican Disaster]

Hansen, REO Speedwagon, Jonas Brothers

[RC Vikings]

Hansen, REO Speedwagon, Jonas Brothers

You might as well add New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys and N Sync to that list.

[UtahDan]

Interesting. OTOH we seem to produce the vast majority of the world's great solo artists. Why should that be I wonder.

[Commando]

the Pixies, the Smashing Pumpkins, Skynrd, R.E.M., the Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Weezer, Guns N' Roses, Jane's Addiction, The Cars, the Violent Femmes, Faith No More, the Ramones, etc. etc. etc.



no-- the list really doesn't pale.

[RC Vikings]

the Pixies, the Smashing Pumpkins, Skynrd, R.E.M., the Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Weezer, Guns N' Roses, Jane's Addiction, The Cars, the Violent Femmes, Faith No More, the Ramones, etc. etc. etc.



no-- the list really doesn't pale.

Do you realize you just called Weezer a great rock band?

[wuapinmon]

Do you realize you just called Weezer a great rock band?

=W=

What's with RC Vikings dissin' my boys? Why does he gotta front?

[MarkGrace]

Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, The Eagles, Van Halen, Metallica? It kind of pales in comparison to what England and Ireland has produced with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, U2, The Who and Led Zeppelin.

When you start comparing the great Brit bands to the great American bands, it's just insulting. American bands are so bad in comparison. The irony of course being that most of the great Brits were inspired by American jazz and blues.

Most influential American band is the Beach Boys, though I guess they are not a "rock" band. They made what is arguably the greatest album (though it's the only real album they ever made) in pop/rock history, and the two most hyped/acclaimed albums of 2009 (Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear) have major Beach Boys influence all over them. Their impact has been lasting and substantial.

[RC Vikings]

When you start comparing the great Brit bands to the great American bands, it's just insulting. American bands are so bad in comparison. The irony of course being that most of the great Brits were inspired by American jazz and blues.

Most influential American band is the Beach Boys, though I guess they are not a "rock" band. They made what is arguably the greatest album (though it's the only real album they ever made) in pop/rock history, and the two most hyped/acclaimed albums of 2009 (Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear) have major Beach Boys influence all over them. Their impact has been lasting and substantial.

I saw a deal on the Beatles the other day and Paul was talking about their "Pet Sounds era" and it kind of struck me how they were even influenced by this album during that time.

[Commando]

Do you realize you just called Weezer a great rock band?

meh. for all their latter-day sins sans Sharp, I'll take em over effing Aerosmith or brit bands like Oasis.

[Commando]

When you start comparing the great Brit bands to the great American bands, it's just insulting. American bands are so bad in comparison. The irony of course being that most of the great Brits were inspired by American jazz and blues.

yeah it is more than well documented how the Beatles were obsessed with Elvis and Chuck Berry.

[MarkGrace]

I saw a deal on the Beatles the other day and Paul was talking about their "Pet Sounds era" and it kind of struck me how they were even influenced by this album during that time.

Absolutely. The Beatles loved The Beach Boys and for a period engaged in this something of a friendly rivalry. The Beach Boys were a singles-era band, but when Brian Wilson heard Rubber Soul he decided that he wanted to make an album that from top-to-bottom "was a gas." So he sat down to write Pet Sounds, and that was really the only Beach Boys record that was crafted as an album. And really, it's basically a Brian solo album since he wrote and recorded the thing with sessions musicians while the rest of the Beach Boys were on tour. When they got back, the thing was done and all they had to do were the vocal parts. Of course on many of the songs Brian was not satisfied with their vocals, and would wipe them off the track and he would then sing them himself, since he had the best voice and could do all the parts.

When Paul McCartney got his hands on Pet Sounds, he thought it was the greatest album he had ever heard, and God Only Knows instantly became his favorite song. He took the album to John, and they set out to top it, ultimately creating Sgt. Peppers. Brian Wilson heard Sgt. Peppers and part of the reason he lost it was because he felt he could never top that album. He started working on SMiLE immediately after, but came unraveled trying to create a work that he thought would be better than Sgt. Peppers.

Paul was such an admirer of Brian that when the Beatles were on tour in America he stopped by one of his SMiLE recording sessions and helped collaborate on the song Vegetable, which appears on SMiLE and was finally released earlier this decade. If you haven't heard it, you should, because it is absolutely stellar.

I've also recently read an article where Paul said that he once had the opportunity to play God Only Knows with Brian, and he totally broke down in the middle of it because he was so overcome by the moment.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

When you start comparing the great Brit bands to the great American bands, it's just insulting. American bands are so bad in comparison. The irony of course being that most of the great Brits were inspired by American jazz and blues.

Most influential American band is the Beach Boys, though I guess they are not a "rock" band. They made what is arguably the greatest album (though it's the only real album they ever made) in pop/rock history, and the two most hyped/acclaimed albums of 2009 (Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear) have major Beach Boys influence all over them. Their impact has been lasting and substantial.

Somebody finished the biography he was reading.

[UtahDan]

Absolutely. The Beatles loved The Beach Boys and for a period engaged in this something of a friendly rivalry. The Beach Boys were a singles-era band, but when Brian Wilson heard Rubber Soul he decided that he wanted to make an album that from top-to-bottom "was a gas." So he sat down to write Pet Sounds, and that was really the only Beach Boys record that was crafted as an album. And really, it's basically a Brian solo album since he wrote and recorded the thing with sessions musicians while the rest of the Beach Boys were on tour. When they got back, the thing was done and all they had to do were the vocal parts. Of course on many of the songs Brian was not satisfied with their vocals, and would wipe them off the track and he would then sing them himself, since he had the best voice and could do all the parts.

When Paul McCartney got his hands on Pet Sounds, he thought it was the greatest album he had ever heard, and God Only Knows instantly became his favorite song. He took the album to John, and they set out to top it, ultimately creating Sgt. Peppers. Brian Wilson heard Sgt. Peppers and part of the reason he lost it was because he felt he could never top that album. He started working on SMiLE immediately after, but came unraveled trying to create a work that he thought would be better than Sgt. Peppers.

Paul was such an admirer of Brian that when the Beatles were on tour in America he stopped by one of his SMiLE recording sessions and helped collaborate on the song Vegetable, which appears on SMiLE and was finally released earlier this decade. If you haven't heard it, you should, because it is absolutely stellar.

I've also recently read an article where Paul said that he once had the opportunity to play God Only Knows with Brian, and he totally broke down in the middle of it because he was so overcome by the moment.

Heros and Villains is a great Beach Boys bio. I know I am preaching to the choir but it is amazing how many people think of the Beach Boys as bubble gum music and have no appreciation for the genius and influence of Brain Wilson, not just as a writer but also as a producer and a technological innovator. Brian invented dubbing for example along with a host of other techniques no one had used before.

My dad was a rock musician in the 60s and he has talked about how totally blown away everyone was the first time they heard Good Vibrations. It just sounded completely different than anything anyone else had every done and they couldn't figure out how many of the sounds had been created.

But you are so right that there was mutual respect among the great ones. There is a good story in the book about Brian during his house phase (he didn't leave it at all for many years) where their manager brings by the new song writer named Elton John to meet Brian. Elton sits down and plays "Your Song" and Brian spends the next several weeks beside himself because he doesn't think he can wirte anything like that and has been surpass. The stories about him spending months and months perfecting certain tracks and then throwing them away are interest.

We need a Beach Boys thread. The most underrated of the whole group is Bruce Johnston who is a late addition and penned Disney Girls on the Surfs Up album which to me is one of their very best tracks. He also wrote "I Write the Songs" which Barry Manilow had a hit with.