The Greatest Band Ever ?

[presta didwicks]

If you had to choose 1, not 2 or 3 contenders.
Whose catalogue would keep you going on a desert island ?

For me , there can be only one.
The band that had the rare combination of oustanding musicianship who were brought together at the right time and moved everything forward, and inspired a generation of followers who have never really measured up.
A band that re wrote the rule book, changed the way artists got paid, and best of all, still achieved massive success despite refusing to release a British single or do media interviews.
A band who simultaniously boasted the best drummer of ALL time, one of the greatest guitarists ever, a vocalist who is certainly amongst the top 3 rock singers  I can think of, and a musical genius on bass.

I loved em when I was a teenage grunt, and I still love em now i`m approachin 40 45.
Sorry if i`m over gushing but can anyone justify a greater band than the mighty Led Zeppelin ?

[Paaaaul]

If you had to choose 1, not 2 or 3 contenders.
Whose catalogue would keep you going on a desert island ?

Robert Pollard. I could listen to a different album every day.

Can I take The Bible and The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare too?

[Jemble Fred]

I've never quite understood the claims made for Led Zeppellin by their fans. They made some superb music for sure, but their music is hardly a major part of the national consciousness or anything. I think if you asked a reasonable cross-section of the country to name their favourite Led Zep songs you'd be lucky to find many who can name more than one or two, and you'd also just get a lot of puzzled looks from the oldest and youngest people you ask (I can only think of three LZ songs without hitting Google). There are quite a few bands from the last 50 years who'd get a much better response across the board.

They're definitely Great with a capital G, but any number of performers and bands have higher profiles, more successful songbooks, bigger hits, longer careers and more general popularity than Led Zep. I'd put them somewhere between The Kinks and, ooh... Blondie in terms of 'Greatness'. (And even then I'd just be being polite to all my Led Zep fan friends, who can get a bit scary on the topic.)

I also get them mixed up with Deep Purple.

[Serge]

Deep Purple were better, though neither were as good as Black Sabbath.

For me, inevitably it's going to be David Bowie. Obviously the seventies stuff is incredible, especially the mighty Berlin trilogy, but being stuck on a desert island might give me the time to try and appreciate the later works ('Earthling' for a start.)

[Tom Pynchon's Photo]

David Bowie? Band? He's played with bands. Tin Machines was one.


But they weren't good....at all.

[Johnny Townmouse]

I guess for me the greatest band ever would not necessarily be the band I would choose to go to a desert island with their back catalogue.

I find it hard to choose between My Bloody Valentine, The Smiths, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Pogues and Tindersticks. However, I would probably be quite happy to bring the back catalogue of wonderful, transcendent, seminal The Velvet Underground to whichever island I have landed on that has a record player and electricity supply but no means of communicating with the outside world.

In fact, I would probably be happy to take just the Velvet Underground & Nico album to be honest.

[imitationleather]

I hate bands where every member is the most technically skilled at their instrument. They inevitably just produce boring wank.

The actual best band ever is quite clearly New Order.

[purlieu]

I would (of course) choose The Future Sound of London, who may not be the greatest band ever, but are certainly the group who have had more of an impact on my life than any other.  I actually don't even rate their music alongside that of any other artist.  At their best, their music has a very strange effect on me and does the whole 'transports me off to another world' type thing which a lot of ambient music is supposed to do, but it's so utterly vivid to me.  Every sound on Lifeforms has an image in my head, it's surreal.
Not to mention that the size of their catalogue - including alias releases and remixes - is vast and covers everything from acid house, jazz, ambient, psych rock, funk, breakbeat, techno, contemporary classical - acoustic ballads to bleepy noise tracks.  Enough to keep me going for a long time.

[vrailaine]

Probably Springsteen(&the E-Street Band), could do with his positivity on a desert island I reckon.

[chocky909]

Probably The Grateful Dead. I don't listen to them much so it's not a choice based on my personal taste but I've heard plenty of them through my older relatives and they seem to me to be the epitome of what that kind of live music can be.

[Dusty Gozongas]

Gong: Because they are.

Crass: Because they are.

Hard to explain without actually being bothered to tell anybody why these two will always be my top two. It's what it is.

[Absorb the anus burn]

Can... Although Talking Heads give them a run for their money. XTC come in third.

[Ginyard]

Madness  -  not because I think they're the greatest band ever but because I can envisage myself gobbling the desert island monkey or fucking a Loquat tree to One Step Beyond as I'm midway through my 30 year long period of isolation and insanity.

[Jah Wobbler]

The Beatles obviously

[clingfilm portent]

U2, obviously. Come on, we've all seen the adverts they're clearly AMAZING. Joshua Tree didn't get to be the biggest selling album ever by accident did it? All Bobo has to do is appear on camera in those pathetic glasses and beckon you into his U2niverse... or maybe you're hooked on the Edge's kickarse moustache and signature 'wanking guitar' sound.. yes.. the glory of U2 is really the inspiration thats going to turn the world's sorry situation around.

Or Coldplay.

[Serge]

David Bowie? Band? He's played with bands. Tin Machines was one.


But they weren't good....at all.

Tin Machine amazingly isn't the worst thing that Bowie has done - I still don't own a copy of 'Never Let Me Down'.

I thought as Paaaaul had already nominated Robert Pollard, rather than Guided By Voices specifically, that solo artists were allowed too. But if I need to name an actual band, then Kraftwerk. But I wouldn't be happy on my desert island without 'Low'.

[slipperydish]

Its got to be between The Beatles, Pink Floyd or Radiohead in terms of tune-age, innovation, experimentation, live performances, branching into other areas i.e artwork, film etc.. oh and amazing musicianship.

[brand_new_modems]

boring questions deserve boring answers

[Captain Crunch]

ooh get her.


I'm going for Sonic Youth as Led Zep's been taken.  Wake me up when the Red Cross arrive.

[confettiinmyhair]

The Beatles obviously

Unfortunately, I have to agree with this. You could make an argument of Led Zep containing the better musicians, Ray Davies from the Kinks being the best songwriter, Radiohead being the most experimental or Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) being the greatest guitarist, but The Beatles have the Discography, the cultural impact, and the ability only this year, many decades after their pomp to get millions excited about remastered albums and a silly computer game.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Cardiacs

No other band makes my tummy go funny more than Cardiacs.

[purlieu]

Unfortunately, I have to agree with this. You could make an argument of Led Zep containing the better musicians, Ray Davies from the Kinks being the best songwriter, Radiohead being the most experimental or Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) being the greatest guitarist, but The Beatles have the Discography, the cultural impact, and the ability only this year, many decades after their pomp to get millions excited about remastered albums and a silly computer game.

Also, Radiohead really aren't the most experimental.  I've been trying to hold off, but ARHIPG$GWENM THEY'RE BORING.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Some bands have an incredible history and have advanced music and sound creation onto another level, yet I still don't actually like most of what they've done.

My favourite bands/groups probably aren't the greatest in terms of any of that, but I just like more songs/tracks they've done in comparison to any other. A band that has limitations yet still tries its damndest to overcome them, rather than settling for the easy option are endearing to me.

What you think the greatest band ever is, isn't nearly important as what your favourite band is.

[the science eel]

It's The Fall, of course.

[Zontar Smith]

It's The Fall, of course.

Or CAN. I never get tired of them.

[the science eel]

Or CAN. I never get tired of them.

They're also very very good.

[Jemble Fred]

Wet Wet Wet beat The Fall like Scissors beats Paper. Even if all they ever did was 'Angel Eyes'.

[the science eel]

Wet Wet Wet beat The Fall like Scissors beats Paper. Even if all they ever did was 'Angel Eyes'.

Ah! Wet Wet Wet! Of course, how could I forget them?




Are you a bit soft in the head?

[Jemble Fred]

I can't believe that took nearly two bloody hours! I expected instant flabberghastation and disgust from Steptoe E Smith disciples.

But yeah, obviously I wouldn't nominate WWW in this thread, that would be daft and I'm no real Wets fan... it's just that The Fall never wrote anything as good as 'Wishing I Was Lucky'. 'I'm Going To Spain' is quite good, but I was disappointed to learn that's a cover apparently.

Maybe I just want a fight, it's quite a dull day.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Both The Fall and Can are very very very very very very very very very very very very very good, but neither are as good as Cardiacs.

Fact.