Robert Plant
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Monday, February 4, 2013 1:08 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
disagree on the whole, but also raising sand didn't become a mini-phenomenon because he was the guy "from led zeppelin" & his early 80s output might have been underrated because he was the guy from led zeppelin
― downton arby (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 4 February 2013 19:23 (eleven years ago) link
Malkmus absolutely
Has Rod done anything worthwhile post-1976? Genuine q.
― Deafening silence (DL), Monday, 4 February 2013 19:24 (eleven years ago) link
ilm loves young turks
― mookieproof, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:25 (eleven years ago) link
E-Cost is kinda pushing it
― frogbs, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:25 (eleven years ago) link
shorter list would be people whose solo careers eclipse their band careers, methinks
neil youngvan morrisonmichael jacksonbrian enopaul simon
― iatee, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:25 (eleven years ago) link
there are a lot of cases of that!! but in many of those cases the bands aren't ones you would really hear much of
― frogbs, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:26 (eleven years ago) link
Buyers of No Jacket Required in '85 likely newbies; it's quite likely he became a Genesis fan as a result of NJR.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 4 February 2013 19:29 (eleven years ago) link
Rod Stewart― EZ Snappin, Monday, February 4, 2013 11:02 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink??? rod's early output is fucking classic as hell
― EZ Snappin, Monday, February 4, 2013 11:02 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
??? rod's early output is fucking classic as hell
Yes it is. But he's been mostly horrible for nearly 40 years.
― EZ Snappin, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:30 (eleven years ago) link
Bryan Ferry 's solo career at worst redundant, not abysmal
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 4 February 2013 19:30 (eleven years ago) link
PW is the definition of not getting a pass (also see Sting). I've never heard anyone praise his solo stuff
Apparently someone gave him a pass because he was allowed/encouraged by SOMEONE to release some incredibly shitty stuff. I like a few songs on the first solo album, even the RIDICULOUSLY corny "Runaway Wind", but someone must have been out there encouraging him to "do what he does best" and that didn't turn out so well on the whole imo.
― this customer is a jerk (La Lechera), Monday, 4 February 2013 19:32 (eleven years ago) link
Steve Malkmus was the first name I thought off actually, I mean I don't think he's 'abysmal' fwiw but I can't think of a single person I know who actively reps for any of his solo music
prefer Malkmus solo to Pavement tbh. I didn't follow Pavement at all when they were a thing though
― available for sporting events (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Monday, 4 February 2013 19:33 (eleven years ago) link
Never heard anything I liked by solo David Byrne. Didn't enven try Love the Giant.
― Van Horn Street, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:39 (eleven years ago) link
I think Eric Clapton and Jeff Back probably qualify but I'm not actually going to explore their solo albums in enough depth to find out if I'm right.
― wk, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:39 (eleven years ago) link
I don't like solo Malkmus at all but it's def foregrounded his chops/guitar skillz, which are admirable
― Welcome to my world of proses (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 4 February 2013 19:40 (eleven years ago) link
Alex Chilton
― President Keyes, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:41 (eleven years ago) link
No, Jeff Beck fucking rules.
― brimstead, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:46 (eleven years ago) link
Christ
if Rod Stewart is getting a pass it's because of Every Picture Tells a Story not "past successes with respective bands" so he can't be an answer here. no disrespect to the Faces of course.
― g simmel, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:47 (eleven years ago) link
The Beck-Stewart "People Get Ready" a near classic
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 4 February 2013 19:47 (eleven years ago) link
OTM. And how are you classifying Truth?
xpost re Jeff Beck ruling
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Monday, 4 February 2013 19:51 (eleven years ago) link
I wasn't really counting Jeff Beck Group as solo but I guess it is.
― wk, Monday, 4 February 2013 19:57 (eleven years ago) link
Chick Corea
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Monday, 4 February 2013 20:16 (eleven years ago) link
lennon is an insane answer
clapton's a good answer, he was in two great bands and then churned out MOR hackwork for decades
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:21 (eleven years ago) link
Art Garfunkel.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:22 (eleven years ago) link
Solo Byrne is really, really bad. "Now and then I get horny." Ugh.
― afriendlypioneer, Monday, 4 February 2013 20:22 (eleven years ago) link
Lennon's not really that much of an insane answer... I'll give him Imagine, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band a small handful of his songs from Double Fantasty and Milk And Honey, plus '#9 Dream' and 'Mind Games' (the song)... rest of his stuff, and I include the rock'n'roll covers record and his early collaborations with Yoko here, is mostly gash.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:24 (eleven years ago) link
Does Clapton get a pass though? I get the feeling a lot of Clapton fans genuinely like MOR hackwork rather than just yearning for the good old days.
Lou Reed's made some dreck but there are at least half a dozen albums that do a lot more than trade on post-VU goodwill.
― Deafening silence (DL), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:24 (eleven years ago) link
xpost:
*Double Fantasy, even.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:25 (eleven years ago) link
I like Clapton's work with Cream and I love the Derek & The Dominos record, yet absolutely can't stand his solo work.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:26 (eleven years ago) link
I was specifically thinking of my uncle when I wrote that about Clapton fans.
― Deafening silence (DL), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:27 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, it's not totally defined who's giving the pass. Is it fans, critics, or labels? I think a lot of the people mentioned in this thread were lucky to be able to consistently release records in the '70s and '80s even though they weren't selling a lot, so they got a pass in that sense.
― wk, Monday, 4 February 2013 20:32 (eleven years ago) link
― Welcome to my world of proses (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, February 4, 2013 7:40 PM (50 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
yeah I'll agree w/ this based on seeing him a few years ago, that is to say I put up with some not especially interesting songs for the sake of some of his guitar parts (and Janet Weiss actually)
― ima go (DJ Mencap), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:33 (eleven years ago) link
I think the original thread question has too many moving parts -- judgment calls on abysmalness, passes, opinion of original bands. In Garfunkel's case, did he ever really "get a pass"?
― Dr. Alfred P. Falfa (WilliamC), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:35 (eleven years ago) link
Suicaine Gratifaction...god
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:38 (eleven years ago) link
suicaine gratifaction is a pretty awesome record actually
― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:38 (eleven years ago) link
i think ppl forget how SHORT lennon's solo career was -- he was really only active till 1975 then made one half-album (kinda unfair to hold posthumous stuff against him IMO). in that time you've got the first two (great) solo albums, a handful of excellent singles, and some weird standout stuff like 'meat city.' not bad at all for like a 5-and-a-half year span.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:39 (eleven years ago) link
Phil C. was inspired to do solo LPs by the example of Robert Wyatt.
― OG requiem head (Call the Cops), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:49 (eleven years ago) link
Really?
― there were chinchillas, these weird little rat animals, in cages (Jon Lewis), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:53 (eleven years ago) link
^^^this. his most famous/signature song is not a Beatles tune
― Welcome to my world of proses (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 4 February 2013 20:58 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, but that still doesn't excuse the majority of Mind Games and Walls And Bridges...
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Monday, 4 February 2013 21:00 (eleven years ago) link
Phil Collins is the really insane answer, not because of the quality of the output but because he's one of the most critically maligned artists I can think of.
― Matt DC, Monday, 4 February 2013 21:05 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah he did not get a pass, at all.
― Van Horn Street, Monday, 4 February 2013 21:06 (eleven years ago) link
all those people that bought No Jacket Required were really just loyal early Genesis fans dontchaknow
― Welcome to my world of proses (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 4 February 2013 21:06 (eleven years ago) link
Challopy answer ahead:
Ozzy Osbourne. I always think I like those early 80s solo jams, especially the Rhoads ones, more than I actually do. When I hear them, I go all meh. Moving into The Ultimate Sin and beyond, the dude was just living on name recognition alone.
― Johnny Fever, Monday, 4 February 2013 21:07 (eleven years ago) link
Sting is another good example of someone who would qualify for the opposite
― frogbs, Monday, 4 February 2013 21:09 (eleven years ago) link
Alan Vega
― wk, Monday, 4 February 2013 21:22 (eleven years ago) link
iggy was cool up to and including zombie birdhouse (talk about an underrated album, it's so much fun!) and then it was all coasting on name alone. and that's a long time to coast on yer name.
― scott seward, Monday, 4 February 2013 21:38 (eleven years ago) link
yeah sheesh bob mould whenever i've been unlucky enough to hear his solo stuff i have a hard time believing that he was ever a part of something that i loved. and even that love is an old love. i bought candy apple grey when it came out and hated it. and i didn't even listen to flip your wig that much. so, NDR was the last thing i loved. that was a while ago.
― scott seward, Monday, 4 February 2013 21:41 (eleven years ago) link
i think lou reed just got old. and when he got old he got boring. and he's been a solo artist for way longer than he was ever in a band. lots of people only know him as a solo artist. but he has definitely been taken way more seriously for way longer than a lot of people. and often undeservedly. new sensations the last thing i really liked by HIM. and that was long ago for sure.
i'm gonna say nick cave too. in a pretty cool band. got more deadly boring/tedious/lazy with every album and people treat him like an art installation.
― scott seward, Monday, 4 February 2013 21:47 (eleven years ago) link
love New Sensations.
― the little prince of inane false binary hype (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 4 February 2013 21:53 (eleven years ago) link