Saw them in concert, they are actually very good. My wife's favorite band.
The Best British Rock Band
- Thread starter Warstud
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Of that list, I would say Led Zeppelin, but there again, describe what makes any band "the best". The best guitar player in that list of bands is David Gilmour IMO, but of course, that wasn't the question, I just had to throw that in there.
I would throw the Police in there. While one of them was American, they were considered a British band. They were around for a relatively short period of time and broke up at the height of their success. Sting figured that they were at the top and there was no where else to go. There was also the fact that he and Stewart fought like cats and dogs.
Sting is a phenomenal songwriter and their sound evolved on almost every album. They started out kind of punky (Outlandos d'Amour), evolved into a little white reggae (Regatta de blanc), then along came Zenyatta mondata, Ghost in the machine and then ultimately Synchronicity ( a darker album with some very interesting lyrics). Listen to synchronicity ll and read the lyrics, understanding what synchronicity is while reading the lyrics helps, it's very dark and it leaves you wondering what happened when daddy walked through the door. They had the right chemistry at the right time.
Sting is a phenomenal songwriter and their sound evolved on almost every album. They started out kind of punky (Outlandos d'Amour), evolved into a little white reggae (Regatta de blanc), then along came Zenyatta mondata, Ghost in the machine and then ultimately Synchronicity ( a darker album with some very interesting lyrics). Listen to synchronicity ll and read the lyrics, understanding what synchronicity is while reading the lyrics helps, it's very dark and it leaves you wondering what happened when daddy walked through the door. They had the right chemistry at the right time.
Missed something I shouldn't:
1) Rolling Stones
2) Pink Floyd
3) Cream (and anything Clapton was involved, Yardbirds, Mayall, Blind Faith, solo etc)
4) Who
5) Led Zeppelin
6) Kinks
7) Black Sabbath
Great stuff there. I've heard it a million times it seems and I listened to that YouTube all the way through just now.
This is a tough choice-depends on what kind of “rock” we’re talking-early ‘60s British Invasion beat rock-Beatles. Heavy metal-a dead heat between Sabbath & Zeppelin, too close to call. Electric blues, Stones. Progressive rock-Pink Floyd. Glam rock-Queen by miles (although David Bowie is a competitor).
I'm throwing Blind Faith out for some consideration. Clapton and Winwood is a collaboration that is close to perfect. Both good enough to not have to share the stage with anyone with real talent, yet they complement each other perfectly.
I love how in this (relatively) recent performance they smile and nod to each other at the end, knowing that even though the arrangement is very different than the original, it's still special.
I love how in this (relatively) recent performance they smile and nod to each other at the end, knowing that even though the arrangement is very different than the original, it's still special.
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Village Green Preservation Society is my favorite album by The Kinks. My favorite song by them is Set Me Free (from the Kinda Kinks album).
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Wasn't Andy Summers in The Animals (circa 1968)?
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Imo every song by The Police is awesome!!
Ghost in the Machine is beautiful album beginning to end!!Led Zeppelin has been dogged by accusations of stealing others' music, especially on the earlier albums. Some have said the group performed songs by obscure local blues bands in Britain and passed them off as its own work. A long-running lawsuit by a better-known band, Spirit, against LZ for supposedly appropriating a riff in "Stairway to Heaven" was recently decided in favor of LZ, but this is just one claim.
I'm not passing judgement, and these claims might well be rubbish for all we know, but this has to affect any consideration of LZ as the greatest British band.
I'm not passing judgement, and these claims might well be rubbish for all we know, but this has to affect any consideration of LZ as the greatest British band.
LZ has straight up ripped off songs. There is zero doubt. They admitted it for several songs. The lyrics are the same in some, with no royalties paid. They (Plant at least) said they would only get caught if the song was a success and by then, wouldn't matter and they could pay if required. I can't remember all the songs, but you can easily hear the resemblance.......Lemon song, Can't quit you, etc....
That said Zep is better than the original, Zep is near if not the top and they were/are great musicians. I love Led Zeppelin.
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Good Times Bad Times is my favorite!!
I need to one day grab an original copy of that album.
The Stones
I go by what I still enjoy.
I still spin Yes. I know Beatles cold, I can play them back in my head without the need to spin it up.
I still spin Moody's early stuff. I have listened to some Purple of late, as I passed them over in youth.
I went from prog rock and hard rock to classical during the disco era as I was studying piano during that time.
There you have the German vs. German vs. German vs. Italian composer greatness arguments
List's only real worth or meaning is, you might be cued into checking something out you bypassed.
Other than that we have our own preferences formed over a lifetime, don't we ?
I still spin Yes. I know Beatles cold, I can play them back in my head without the need to spin it up.
I still spin Moody's early stuff. I have listened to some Purple of late, as I passed them over in youth.
I went from prog rock and hard rock to classical during the disco era as I was studying piano during that time.
There you have the German vs. German vs. German vs. Italian composer greatness arguments
List's only real worth or meaning is, you might be cued into checking something out you bypassed.
Other than that we have our own preferences formed over a lifetime, don't we ?
They started off as a new wave synth band where it was mostly electronic keyboards and drum programming. But their primary songwriter can play the guitar, and when I saw them in concert they had a really a good drummer. Guessing he was a session musician.
Old quiche-eater here 
... not "rock" by modern standards, but I'll vote for the mellower side of the British Invasion - Gerry and the Pacemakers, Chad and Jeremy, Peter and Gordon, Pet Clark, etc.
... not "rock" by modern standards, but I'll vote for the mellower side of the British Invasion - Gerry and the Pacemakers, Chad and Jeremy, Peter and Gordon, Pet Clark, etc.
