Barguments: Topic #8

From page #47 : Name the five best bands of all time.










OK. This doesn't actually specify whether or not you are to list best bands in concert or best bands for music, so I am just going to list the best bands for playing their CDs in the CD player.





1.Steely Dan: Musically, I prefer Walter Becker and Donald Fagen et.al. over all others. Maybe its because I like jazz so much and the jazz feel to their albums is very relaxing and enjoyable. The best album by far is Aja









2. ZZ Top: The best band to ever come out of Texas, and still going strong some forty years later. They are also the answer to my favorite trivia question: What band, still performing, has always had the same lineup without ever changing band members? Eliminator put them on the national map, but they were big in Texas for years before.
































3. R.E.O. Speedwagon: Up until Hi Infidelity this band was a great rock n' roll band. In recent years they have gone a little too far towards the mainstream radio friendly stuff, but the really kick-ass stuff was done before their primo guitarist Gary Richrath left the band. Nowadays, only one original member, Neal Doughty, is still with the band. (Kevin Cronin doesn't count since he was only on R.E.O./T.W.O. and then went off and didn't return the sixth album.) For the best tracks I chose the You Get What You Play For live album, but my favorite all-time studio album is R.E.O./.T.W.O.




4. Foghat:Unfortunately, Lonesome Dave, the driving vocal force of Foghat died several years ago. They still tour, I think, I never got a chance to see them, though, with the original lineup. The blues driven tunes are all feel good crank up the volume songs. Some radio stations play a severely shortened version of "Slow Ride" (the original Fool for the City version is just over 8 minutes long, not the typical 3 or 4 you hear most of the time).






























If I had to pick a band based just on lyrics and political philosophy, definitely my first choice would be my number 5 band of this list, Rush. You only have to listen to a few songs before you get the impression that Rush is a thinking man's band. And they are. My favorite track, which doesn't get airplay unless I call in and request it, is "The Trees" from Hemispheres. Give it a listen, not only for the sound, but the words.