The Five Most Overrated Classic Rock Artists

[Wazmankg]

Who is this clown ? Kiss obviously, but Lennon ? Neil Young ? I'd be hard-pressed to name another who's output surpassed Young's both for excellence and longevity. But this guy doesn't like his voice and thinks he's a lousy guitar player. He probably thinks Keith Richards can't play the guitar, either. This idiot doesn't have a clue what makes great rock music great.

 

[shopson67]

Bon Jovi
Nirvana
Sex Pistols
Grateful Dead
Lou Reed

 

[tnapucco]

Elvis
Rolling Stones
Ramones
Michael Jackson
Bon Jovi

 

[Chewbaccer]

Elvis
Rolling Stones
Ramones
Michael Jackson
Bon Jovi

Rock, Michael Jackson ain’t rock

 

[Myles]

U2
Bruce Springsteen
Frank Zappa
Elvis Costello

I wouldn't put KISS in there. They were a show as much as they were a band. They put on a great show.

 

[Chewbaccer]

U2
Bruce Springsteen
Frank Zappa
Elvis Costello

I wouldn't put KISS in there. They were a show as much as they were a band. They put on a great show.

I can jive with the first 3, but I love me some Elvis Costello

 

[Chewbaccer]

Who is this clown ? Kiss obviously, but Lennon ? Neil Young ? I'd be hard-pressed to name another who's output surpassed Young's both for excellence and longevity. But this guy doesn't like his voice and thinks he's a lousy guitar player. He probably thinks Keith Richards can't play the guitar, either. This idiot doesn't have a clue what makes great rock music great.

Beatles aside, I hate Lennon’s solo work

 

[Wazmankg]

I see Van Halen keeps popping up so I will attempt to convey my personal thoughts:

Below, you will see/hear - Eruption. At the time and for a while, it was the de facto piece to at determine the "godliness" of a guitarist; if you could pull off (pardon the pun) Eruption, then you had "tapped" into the status of guitar hero/god (well not really, but hear me out here).

Now, if you really listen to this critically, you will notice that apart from about twenty seconds at the 1 minute mark, there isn't really any discernible melody whatsoever happening in this piece. It's about 2 minutes of noodling - highly technical noodling at that - and then some trite classical tapping licks to close out on.

To be honest, I find most of EVH's solos to fit the build of what I was just eluding to -- lotsa flash without a lotta substance.

Don't get me wrong here; I actually do like quite a few VH tunes but I'll just say it here -- EVH is over-rated.

Flame away and may god have mercy on my soul.

Thank you.

What they play (ie; the melodic lines and riffs and how they fit into the song) are infinitely more important than how fast they play or how complicated the solo or fill.

I'm not suggesting EVH isn't a great guitarist. He has plenty of terrific solos, fills and riffs. But Van Halen would be on my list of most overrated rock artists.

 

[hatcher3333]

Aerosmith
The latest Version of Van Halen
The Rolling Stones after Brian Jones
Pink Floyd
U2

 

[Wazmankg]

I can jive with the first 3, but I love me some Elvis Costello

One of my favorites as well. You have excellent taste in rock music (imo) for a young guy who's basically a country music fan, so I won't argue with your opinion about Lennon, though I disagree.

But you seem to like good country as opposed to the watered down stuff that dominates the genre now, so I guess it makes sense that you'd lean towards the good stuff in rock as well.

 

[Wazmankg]

The Rolling Stones after Brian Jones

You're not one of those are you? It amazes me how many fans he has who agree with you. They're all over the Youtube comments under their songs.

The guy never wrote a song and was already gone during most of what's universally considered their creative peak (Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers & Exile on Main Street). He added some nice instrumental contributions to their early stuff, but I honestly don't get the Brian Jones love.

 

[Chewbaccer]

One of my favorites as well. You have excellent taste in rock music (imo) for a young guy who's basically a country music fan, so I won't argue with your opinion about Lennon, though I disagree.

But you seem to like good country as opposed to the watered down stuff that dominates the genre now, so I guess it makes sense that you'd lean towards the good stuff in rock as well.

I used to be stubborn and say I hated bands without actually listening. Some of the ones I used to “hate” are some of my favorites.

I can’t do grunge, but I gave it a shot

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

Agree with KISS, anybody who bought their albums for the music must be missing a chromosome, or some shit.

The rest of this thread, seems like summa y'all need to define what "Classic Rock" actually is before you go spouting off artists.

Like John Lennon/Beatles, not even sure they qualify as rock. Lennon's solo stuff was definitely POP, most of the Beatles' catalog also seems more like pop to me than rock and roll.

I agree that they're probably thee most over-rated group in history, though.

 

[Wazmankg]

Van Halen changed the hard rock scene completely, whether you liked it or not.

Bruce is a more commonly palatable extension of Dylan IMO. Not my cup of tea, but not going to rip him.

Aerosmith is arguably the biggest American hard rock band of all time.

I can see naming AC/DC due to their "consistency" to put it nicely.

I love Kiss, but can see the argument.

How did Van Halen change the hard rock scene completely ?

What did they bring to the table that Led Zeppelin didn't do much better 10 years prior?

I always considered them to be basically a dumbed down LZ

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

How did Van Halen change the hard rock scene completely ?

What did they bring to the table that Led Zeppelin didn't do much better 10 years prior?

I always considered them to be basically a dumbed down LZ

I heard similar things about Def Leppard. Some people likened them to a "Zeppelin of the 80's." Even their name was a riff on LZ, but nothing really innovative in their music.

My lead guitar friends in college all hated Jimmy Page. Said all he did was rip off a bunch of blues riffs from black American artists, and nothing he played was ever really that complex.

 

[cheerupcharlie]

Grateful Dead
Doors
Janis Joplin
Led Zeppelin
Jimi Hendrix

All blow.

 

[Wazmankg]

Alice Cooper did the whole stage theatrics thing before Kiss came around. His music was better too. Maybe if I was 10 instead of 20 when they hit the scene I would have been a fan, but I doubt it. "Kiss is for Kids" was the saying.

Do people who were Kiss fans back then still actually listen to their music ?

 

[Wazmankg]

I heard similar things about Def Leppard. Some people likened them to a "Zeppelin of the 80's." Even their name was a riff on LZ, but nothing really innovative in their music.

My lead guitar friends in college all hated Jimmy Page. Said all he did was rip off a bunch of blues riffs from black American artists, and nothing he played was ever really that complex.

Yeah, I remember that as well... people arguing Clapton & Beck had been the real guitar forces in the Yardbirds and Page was just a poseur. I think that's way too strong, though I've never been a big Page fan as a guitarist, either. But I do love Led Zeppelin.

 

[tnapucco]

I used to be stubborn and say I hated bands without actually listening. Some of the ones I used to “hate” are some of my favorites.

I can’t do grunge, but I gave it a shot

If you're a true lover of music, you can find gems in ANY "genre".

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

Yeah, I remember that as well... people arguing Clapton & Beck had been the real guitar forces in the Yardbirds and Page was just a poseur. I think that's way too strong, though I've never been a big Page fan as a guitarist, either. But I do love Led Zeppelin.

I used to like LZ a lot more than I do now. Something about evolving tastes or growing up or some shit. Same with groups like the who or Skynyrd.

I knew some really good guitarists in college. Classically trained guys who could play real advanced pieces. Some of them understood that most of the stuff being played in popular music wasn't meant to be complex or it wouldn't necessarily be popular, but a few others were clearly just bitter. "Oh, Page? He plays easy shit...he just happened to record it first." eck setra.