Supergroups: Saviors of Rock?

Supergroup. A title awarded to any band with two or more people involved that had some modicum of success either in another band or as a solo artist.

It's a title I don't like. Just because someone was able to find their way up a sales chart in a previous life doesn't mean the new amalgamation can or will live up to any type of expectation. Remember Tin Machine or The Firm? I thought not. If the new band finds the success they seek, then the moniker "super" can probably be attached. Until that happens, we have to wait and see.

The main problem I see with supergroups is that they rarely live up to the tremendous hype surrounding them. It also seems they can never get past two albums, if they manage to get that far in the first place. Bands like Damn Yankees, Velvet Revolver, Bad English, and even the Traveling Wilburys (official site) found great success with their first albums, but for whatever reason were unable to carry it much further.

Ego seems to be the culprit most often blamed for the failure of bands whether they are super or not, but I believe that's an ignorant response for those that are wondering why their favorite band broke up. While that could be a valid reason, there are many more factors that need to be considered.

Incredibly fickle purchasers would be at the top of my list. As any audiophile knows, there are a massive amount of albums out there filled with great music that the public never latches on to. Because general musical taste moves in waves, the general buyer is only picking up what is hot at the moment. Rather than form their own identity with their own taste, it's much easier to just follow the lemmin...er, crowd. This can work the other way too. Sometimes, album sales will become so huge that the fans of that record will rebel against having to share their idols, and stop future purchases. Hootie & The Blowfish ring a bell?

Music or record label executives would be next on the list. These executives know only too well what current wave of musical taste is separating kids from their hard earned minimum wage, and they exploit the heck out it. In the process they will ignore advertising an album of great music, even if it's an album from a band that made a ton of money for the label in the past. All is done for the worship of the almighty dollar instead of the artistry. Too bad.

Another reason a supergroup may fail? Maybe their music turned out to be nothing more than dreck. Musicians, even the talented ones, can have a bad day, and not turn out their usual standard. Sometimes they even lose the ability to create anything of quality, whether it be timing, or writing, or whatever. Or maybe the supergroup just didn't gel like they thought they did. To avoid having my house egged, I will not name any bands or supergroups that I believe belong here.

The most successful supergroups that find longevity in their careers are the ones where it seems the public doesn't even know they're a supergroup. Bands like Asia, Bad Company, and Journey fit this bill nicely.

I will explain.

In Asia(official site) we had Steve Howe and Geoff Downes from Yes (official site), John

Wetton from King Crimson, and Carl Palmer from King Rooster and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (official site). Later, when John Wetton left the band, he was replaced by Greg Lake from King Crimson and ELP. Lake's time with the band was short though, and Wetton returned. Then Steve Howe left to form GTR, another supergroup, and he was replaced by Mandy Meyer of Krokus (official site). Over the years other musicians had temporary placements in the band, but all were short lived. Then in 2006 the original lineup regrouped, and they've been touring ever since. See their current tour dates here.

Bad Company (official site) was formed by Paul Rogers and Simon Kirke, both from the classic Free. They were joined by Mick Ralphs from the glam band Mott The Hoople (official site), and Boz Burrell from King Crimson. They have gone through a few lineup changes over the years, but are now relatively regrouped with Rogers, Ralphs, and Kirke, and just completed a ten-city summer tour.

Journey (official site) has gone through too many lineup changes to keep track of, but I'll

cover a few. They were originally formed by Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie from Santana (official site), Ross Valory from the Steve Miller Band (official site), Prairie Prince from The Tubes (official site), and George Tickner. Prince recorded one album, then left and was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar, a drummer who had played with the likes of Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, and David Bowie. Then Steve Perry joined, coming from who-knows-where. Soon after, Steve Smith from Montrose took over for Dunbar. When Rolie left, Jonathan Cain from The Babys stepped in. Whew! At this point the band, made up of Schon, Perry, Valory, Cain and Smith became what is now known as the quintessential Journey. They have continued to go through various lineup changes over the years, but they still remain Journey.

My point is that almost all bands are made up of musicians that have paid their dues by playing from band to band, whether successful or not. It seems the bands given the "super" label are the ones made up of individuals that just happen to have had some sort of recent success, and are still fresh in our memories.

After all that is said, I will admit to being a big fan of supergroups. I have always found it fun to follow a talented musician through their career to see what different kinds of music they offer at each stop along the way. When several individuals that I follow team up, I begin to salivate knowing that chances are, I will get something exciting and new. Because of the fickleness of the music industry as a whole, I never expect a supergroup to stick it out for the long haul. No band has come along that can lay claim to being the next Rolling Stones, and I doubt there ever will be.

So here's to the individuals that continue to follow their passion of music, and I look forward to supergroups yet to come. Rock on.

Up next; Chickenfoot...