Catherine

Jim was out of control - and God Bless him for it !

Mike Love - WOW - could he harmonize. He MADE that classic Beach Boys sound!

Jim Morrison's voice is the most widely imitated of all artists in Rock. Well, Jim AND Elvis - the LIZARD KING and the KING! LOL! Ed Vedder of pearl Jam actually does a good Jim Morrison voice, but then again, Scott Stapp of Creed sings a great "Vedder".

I remember a punk band named The Dead Kennedys...they had a song called Too Drunk to F#!k Pearl Jam - now that's a strange name (I know where it came from but it is still weird). I thought at first it had something to do with a kick ass drum solo (Pearl) until I heard enough of them to realize almost all their drummers sucked - except Jack Irons! "Pearl Jam" isn't worse than their original name of "Mookie Baylock" - after an actual person:p

U2, being as politically overtoned as they are, though a wonderful band, named themselves after a WAR plane. Go figure!

OOPS...sorry Bobo.

No offense. OVER RATED - Clapton is the name that gets thrown around the most, be it out of genuine like of his work, or simply out of familiarity. Of course I know who Cream is, and Derek and the Dominoes, and The Yardbirds. I grew up on Clapton. I do like Clapton's work - in some songs, but I think that his (mostly) blues style is monotonous. It is too slow for me to really get into. Just as I think Angus Young is amazing, sometimes he is way too heavy, and Eddie Van Halen is great but "screechy" overkill. It is all a matter of musical tastes - what catches the ear. Jimmy Page, Hendrix - they did things that were DIFFERENT - things that were UNIQUE in terms of style. Page, to me, was nothing short of phenomenal. I never tire of LZ. David Gilmour of PF - another great, but unfortunately, he is UNDER RATED. Clapton may have made his guitar "sing", as they say, but Page made his WAIL :guitar:

I listen to CLASSIC rock like Led Zeppelin, Floyd, Boston, Aerosmith, Doors, The Who. I must be timeless and old fashioned then - or stuck in a rut - LOL!

I LOVE IT! Sharpton Protest! I'd name mine Mojo Recovering:: after looking at that Rolling Stone list of the Top 100 Guitarists and seeing David Gilmour and Angus Young, and Jimmy Page if you can imagine that crap, near the bottom of the list ::. Marc Bolan of T. Rex was near the top, and the ever over rated Eric Clapton was way up there...#2 I think. Page blows him away - hands down! And Jeff Beck. Who the BLEEP listens to HIM?!

I do like Stone Temple Pilots...some stuff anyway; nothing too funky. Big Empty, Interstate Love Song, Plush, and of course Vasoline (my favorite STP tune) - the riff is so cool. Pearl Jam...what can I say. I HATE their new music, and they (more so Ed) have taken on, though less subtle, and rather rough and unpolished, the political views of U2 that I find rather unappealing. Ed can be mouthy and out of control - totally get lost in his convictions & opinions and become unruly. I can name 3 songs on Binaural (5/2000) that were great. Do not ask me the rest; the album sucks! Sorry, but their debut (Ten) and Vs (2nd album) were it for them. I'm married to Ten myself, though I haven't fully listened to Pearl Jam or given their music any attention in months - closer to a year. No Code was good if you could get into the different, Middle Eastern, Indian, somwhere I heard Celtic too, kind of twangy sound. I liked it. Red Mosquito off No Code kicks ass! You are right - nothing good lately. I wonder who influenced Pearl Jam. Probably bands local - in the Seattle area, though Mike McCreedy loves The Stones Keith Richards and Ed Vedder loves The Who's Pete Townsend. I'd never classify them as having a Stone or Who sound though. They are not grunge - they are rock. Nirvana was rock...grunge was a description of something else - attire perhaps. Other influences are probably bands I've never heard of or would even listen to for that matter :: Yep, they suck now , so I will stick to, or go back to my favorites: Floyd, Zeppelin and Genesis .

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull played the flute.

Sting and U2 are also wonder lyricists. If you can get past the political overtones of U2's lyrics (and political actions and reactions), the music is incredible. The sound is different than that of other bands. Sting has had more success as a solo artist than when he was with The Police. Funny how you always know it is Bono or Sting the minute they open their mouths. The voices are very distinctive. Why Sting ever let anyone sample his music is beyond me!

The Moody Blues were another pioneer band, but listen to the lyrics of any Doors, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd song. The lyrics are so deep and philosophical. These men (especially Robert Plant and Jim Morrison) were no dummies. They were into literature and history; they read many books and were very knowledgable about many subjects. Not one band in the 80's (that I recall anyway) came out with anything remotely as intelligent. Poison, Cinderella, Bon Jovi or Motley Crue? How about Warrant or Whitesnake (a Robert Plant wannabe if there ever was one). It was all about getting laid - not that it's a bad thing, but there was nothing of any substance to their lyrics - just cliche.

Oops! I failed to mention the ultimate, near genius (IQ of 149) musical genius: Jim Morrison. The sound that came from The Doors (they never had a bass guitar played in any of their songs): the originality of Jim's lyrics, Ray's keyboards - they were the very 1st in the "progressive" league.

The bands you listed, especially Nirvana & Alice in Chains (RIP Kurt and Lane) - Pearl Jam & Stone Temple Pilots as well - they changed the way rock sounded coming out of the "Hair Band" plastic 80's, which I remember all too well. They brought back the true grit of rock - the no frills, classic sound once reigned over by the likes of some of the bands I've listed below. Some time ago, these bands were considered "progressive" - nothing being recorded at the time sounded anything like them. They were also the influence behind so many bands making music then and now. In every generation there are artists that change music for the better. In my opinion, some of that musical genius you are talking about can be found in the music of any one of these bands - they were the true pioneers of rock: Led Zeppelin Pink Floyd Rush Genesis Supertramp Yes