Band of Equals
Posted by Stephen G on 6 March 2008 - 3:05pm.
Four band members, four singers, four songwriters: sharing the lead vocals and song credits pretty much equally. All equally good. No obvious band leader.
10cc
Any other examples of such in-band egalitarianism?
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Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub - three singer/songwriters but the same basic group dynamic as 10cc.
Westlife?
Westlife?
All equally not much cop.
The Band
had three singers, all as good as each other. All could play more than one instrument - three tried drumming - and in the early days Richard Manuel was quite a prolific writer before Robbie Robertson eclipsed the rest on this front.
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Not an ego in sight!
Souther, Hillman, Furay as a lesser equivalent.
The Eagles, even?
The Beach Boys
In the sense that they all had their moments. Even Al Jardine wrote "Disney Girls".
Disney Girls
I thought that was Bruce Johnston.
The Bee Gees
All wrote, all sang.
No he didn't!
Bruce Johnston wrote Disney Girls (and, trainspotters,"I write the songs" as performed by Barry Manilow)
Which puts me in mind of this by John Cooper Clarke:
I wrote the songs that nearly made
the bottom line of the hit parade
almost anthems, shoulda been hits
songs like... Puttin' Off The Ritz
Some Enchanted Afternoon
Twenty-Four Hours To Levenshulme
Dancin' In The Daylight, Singin' In The Smog
You Ain't Nothin' But A Hedgehog
so close and yet so far
do you remember The Way We Are
I'd Like To Get You On A Speedboat To China
(from an idea by George Steiner )
Ain't No Blag - Uncle's Got A Brand New Jag
Ain't No Slouch - Mama's Got A Brand New Couch
She Ain't Heavy, She's My Sister
nt to leave out Twist And Whisper
Brand New Leopardskin Pillbox Glove
Baby You And Me We Got A Greasy Kind Of Love
Tony Wilson was wrong
Shawn Ryder isn't the Manc who's the finest poet since Yeats. It's JCC.
It's a shame...
Little Village amounted to so much less than the sum of its parts. Still, before the egos kicked in, Buffalo Springfield were in with a shout - "Stephen's the leader, but we all are...". P'raps that was the problem?
Little Village:
True, I think there is only one track I can bear and that's the calypso. Maybe there is something to be gained by having a leader, as the same line up proved with the earlier and much more like it "Bring the Family"
(Lets also have a retrospective for the superlative Mr Hiatt!)
Objection!
Proven fact: nothing in the world with Jim Keltner on drums can do any wrong.
Excuse the interruption...
... but didn't Jim Keltner play on Keith Moon's solo album?
I said "do no wrong"
Not necessarily always do right. There are a few Ringo moments that probably wouldn't make it onto a Kelto's greatest hits compilation either, but the Little Village drumming was dead proper.
Drumming: probably so.
Songwriting: proper dead.
I refer purely to Little Village.
Interesting thought, tho', where the playing of duff material is so good as to make one feel it is better than it is, the whole style over content argument. Somehow Japan come to mind.
I remember...
...an excellent solo performance of 'Disney Girls' from Bruce Johnston on the 2nd Old Grey Whistle Test DVD where Messrs Ellen and Hepworth took much mirth at Bob Harris seemingly nodding off in his chair whilst Bruce Johnston is playing.
I think Queen count here. OK, Freddie stood out, but all of them could write songs and I'm fairly sure all of them had songs that were big hits.
Genesis, maybe- all of their members managed to have successful solo careers as well (Tony Banks maybe the exception- he was never as successful as the others but had some minor album hits).
Oasis
Oh, I can't be bothered to spell it out.
REM...
... pre-the loss of Bill Berry. Three were great singers, three were multi-instrumentalists, and all four wrote individually and collectively.
We've had The Beach Boys...
...What about The Beastie Boys?
You can't beat a bit of Queen......
Egalitarian song writing at it's finest...
Freddie knocking off "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" to prove he could write a C&W number!
The still dignified John Deacon's staple of hockey rinks everywhere in "Another One Bites The Dust"
Roger Taylor's Radio GaGa
and May hitting the rock button for Seven Seas of Rhye...
and there's LOADS more....
Jefferson Airplane and The Byrds anyone?
Kantner, Balin and Slick contributed most of the great tracks for the Airplane and Jorma Kaukonen also had his moments.
Not sure they are a great advert for togetherness though.
Down in LA and the Byrds, McGuinn, Hillman, Crosby and Gene Clark all did some great stuff.
Trouble is with this game you have to deal with the drummer. Apart from Don Henley in the Eagles is there another good drumming song writer. Does Dave Grohl count?
Stewart Copeland?
Probably somewhat tongue in cheek, but I have a lovely green 45 of Klark Kent, his alter ego.
Don't Care! No, No No.....
Marvellous!