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Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame
The coffee brews behind a Utopia video I watch/listen in amazement at. Todd Rundgren and his band mates put on quite a show for the gathered in Detroit at the Royal Oak Theater 28 years ago. One World, Back on the Streets and Just One Victory really standout in the hour long set. The sky clears a bit and the aroma from the french roast fills the head cavities. Hello It's Me takes over the sound system. Damn, fresher than this hot cup of coffee. I saw a brief show on VH1 last night where the gathered music pundits were bemoaning the lack of metal gods installed in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. I guess Dee Snyder and the other toastmasters probably have a point. When you see some of the inductees who have been enshrined while leaving others out who have made considerable impact over a long time, it seems some big name omissions really stand out, but not necessarily just the metal ones. It is really funny to see Louis Armstrong in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, or Billie Holiday. Influences be damned, these two and many others have nothing to do with rock unless you're some kind of six degrees of musicality separation freak, which I guess Dave Marsh and Jann Wenner must be. It is really strange to note that Del Shannon is inducted to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. I liked Runaway a lot as a kid, but I liked a lot sappy stuff with good beat and a distinctive voice. I think the Seeds made more of a definitive rock statement with Pushin' Too Hard, but I'm not on any crusade to see the Seeds with Sky Saxton nominated. Quick questions!!! Do really big album sales and phenomenal popularity over a long career mean an artist should be enshrined? Is a very short career with really big creativity that spawned a host of imitators worthy of induction? Here is the major criteria from the Hall: -Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.- This year Metallica finally beat out Jethro Tull. The California metal monsters will be inducted on April 4, 2009. Their black album, Metallica, is a seminal record with awesome songs of creep, torment and angst set to a thunderous backdrop of sound. They have had some decent records over their 28 year career, Kill 'Em All stands out, as well as Justice For All, but the rest seem pretty mundane and at this stage of eardom, unlistenable. I think when all is said and done Lars, James, Kirk and cursed bass player to be named later will be more remembered for Napster railing and lawsuits than for most of their catalog. Oh well, congratulations Metallica! There are three major artists who I humbly believe deserve to be in any Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. You probably figured by now I would be lobbying for Todd "Runt" Rundgren, who not only deserves to make it on songwriting and performance alone, but was one of the greatest producers of rock records for many years. In his very early twenties he was hired by Albert Grossman, The Bob's manager, to be the house producer for his record label Bearsville. Many of you also know that he produced and performed extra-world guitar work on one of the 1970s best selling albums, Bat Out Of Hell. Meatloaf and Jim Steinman owe their careers to Todd Rundgren. Check out Todd's catalog sometime. Great stuff, very quirky but very amazing. He had the LP era's longest running side with the Initiation album clocking in a more than 30 minutes in length. No record had ever been cut with such precision and mastery to get close to that type of time length. Artist, producer, engineer and incredible live performer who played every type of music brilliantly. Another artist who needs to get in the Hall before it loses all credibility is Alice Cooper. Yes, he borrowed some of the early cross-dressing stuff from the Brits who do it for fashion, and he was not what Frank Zappa envisioned when he signed Alice to Straight Records, but the guy redefined the rock stage show and the anger and frustration of the outcast in rock for many years. For simply writing School's Out, Alice Cooper should be in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Oh, and since Metallica finally got the best of Jethro Tull, the Hall should recognize one of the most influential British bands that defied categorization with a broad use of folk, blues, jazz and classical influences to make great records and masterful live shows for more than twenty years. Give Ian Anderson and his crew some love. They didn't make the stupid Grammy categories or have a vote 20 years ago. Who would you nominate? There are some great bands and artists who began more than twenty-five years ago looking for a little help from their friends. Oops, coffee is calling.
6 comments from 6 users
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posted by
motopoet
on Feb 5, 2009 at 05:14 PM
I didn't go back past the mid 80s, so some of these may be there. How about Heart? I see Blondie, but no Heart! Ann Wilson is probably one the best vocalists PERIOD to ever belt out a rock tune and Nancy is a great guitarist. Their album sales alone should qualify them, but I saw them live in 1980 and it still stands out as one of the best concerts I ever attended(Nancy actually smiled at me a couple of times as I clung to the stage at the Civic Auditorium!). Their live shows sold out everywhere. The band introduced the world to a very cool sound. There is no mistaking Heart for anyone else. Alan Parsons: Not only did he have some very cool, very popular albums in the late 70's-early 80's, but was also one of the top producers of his time with "Dark Side of the Moon" to his credit. J.J. Cale: No, all you spun out, sweat bathed hipsters from the 80s. Eric Clapton did NOT pen Cocaine. The song that you all thought was so cool as you shared lines in the bathroom was actually bemoaning the use of that cursed drug. Clapton was so enamored of Cale's writing prowess that he recorded "After Midnight" and "Travelin' Light" to name a couple more. There is also the Skynard cover of the southern favorite "Mr. Breeze". Go listen to Cales verisions of those tunes if you haven't already. I wager you'll come away preferring his originals to the covers! Not that the covers didn't rock! Alvin Lee and Ten Years After: Lee was one of the best and most innovative guitarists of his time, and his time was shared with Hendrix, Santana and Clapton. If "I'd Love to Change the World" isn't one of your favorite rock ballads, you really arent a rocker after all! OK..There's my three cent's worth!.. Cool thread Adam posted by
montfred
on Feb 5, 2009 at 05:41 PM
Off the top of my head, Moody Blues, Neil Diamond, Lou Reed, Moody Blues and ELO. Did I mention the Moody Blues?
posted by
vanityfair
on Feb 5, 2009 at 07:11 PM
I personally would have nominated the Beastie Boys or Big Audio Dynamite before Run - D.M.C. Thanks for the post ... that was a fun site to browse. I actually learned a thing or two about the process. edited to add: I just realized that BAD was formed in 1984 but didn't have its first release until 1985, so they don't fit the 25 year criteria. Maybe next year :) posted by
adampayne
on Feb 5, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Moto, you have four really worthy and talented folks that deserve a key to the palace of rockdom. When Woodstock happened no one could believe the performance of Alvin Lee and 10 Years After. There was a video release entitled Night of the Guitar I & 2 that Miles Copeland produced, along with a series of records called Guitar Speak he put together for his label IRS Records. Alvin Lee's performances in these late 1980s concert and studio settings are really spectacular. The band had some really seminal album releases like Shhhh and Cricklewood Green in the late 1960s. The original owners of the local nursery, Cricklewood Green, on Brundage Lane, used the 10 Years After album title as the name of their business when they opened in the very early 1970s. Heart is a great choice. They still rock! I'm a huge fan of J.J. Cale who has written a lot of timeless classics. After Midnight is probably one of favorites, but They Call Me The Breeze is a close second. Cale developed a groove of his own, a very distinctive sound and rhythm. The producer title in my Rundgren rally above might have sparked the Alan Parsons Project choice. Alan Parsons had a big hand with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album. He also produced Al Stewart and those classic songs, Time Passages and Year of the Cat. And then he put out great sounding records that fused a lot of differing elements into a signature sound all his own. Montfred and vanityfare, great choices, although vanity I might argue with BAD only in the fact that the Clash is already enshrined and Mick probably does not need to be enshrined twice. Thanks for the posts!
posted by
sagefever
on Feb 6, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Having spent way too much time in The Alley Cat ,I absolutely hate the song "Cocaine" and the drug before anyone asks. Leon Russell comes to mind,but maybe the whole gang should be considered~ Joe Cocker and Mad Dogs and Englishmen is still one of my favs. Alan Parsons Project...memories. Mr. Sage is the "metal go to guy" in the house so I'll ask him after work and peruse my album collection to spark some brain cell activity~be back later. Great post adam.
posted by
lmolen
on Jul 8, 2009 at 09:36 PM
Great question. I just stumbled across this, so sorry I'm late to the party. Jeff Beck would have been at the top of my list, but he finally got in this year. Should have been in his first year of eligibility, and The Yardbirdswere just a small part of his career. NO guitar player is as good at playing diverse styles than Beck. And I'd argue he's the best hard-rock guitarist ever. And where's Roxy Music? Are you kidding me? Their sound was like nothing else when it surfaced in the early 70s. And few bands are better live, even to this day. It's criminal that Chicago isn't in there. Their first five albums were monumental, filled with great musicianship, songwriting and potent political messages. Even the schlock that's defined the last half of their career can't smother their genuis from 1968-74. I agree with Rundgren, although I'm more a fan of Utopia (the three-sided "Utopia" album is one of my favorites) and his production (Cheap Trick, among others). I did really enjoy the album he released in the '80s that was recorded acappella and mimicked instruments. I'd guess Brian Eno will make it at some point too. Like Rundgren, he was a sharp composer, musician and producer (U2). Let's see there's already too many people inducted already (it's as bad as the Bob Elias Hall of Fame) but here are three others:
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