I like The Pretty Things' attitude but in no way did their songwriting of that period match Jagger/Richards, IMHO.
I think The Kinks are now regarded very favourably. I think they matched the quality of The Rolling Stones at their best, but did not necessarily exceed it.
The main one would be The Hollies, who I personally thought were a far better band all the way up to "Let It Bleed" (in which the RS released the first of three flat-out great albums in a row)Originally Posted by JJ88
yes, i know: this is all subjective
Status Quo?
Eh, maybe not.
With The Hollies, there was a conservatism when it came to their singles releases. They would fall back on very safe, commercial, bubblegum choices too often ('Yes I Will', 'Jennifer Eccles', 'Sorry Suzanne' etc.). I love the band but that is their Achilles' heel, and also perhaps prevented people checking out their albums, which could often be excellent.
Precisely.
Surely the obvious contenders are The Who, who had similar beginnings to the Rollies, and a similar "bad boy" attitude, but unlike the Stones managed almost until the last to develop and push the boundaries without "selling out" (sorry).
The Kinks are indeed well respected men, mainly because they were never dedicated followers of fashion but rather did a dandy job of living on a thin line between giving the people what they wanted and being misfits.
A "sell out" is somebody that compromises what they do for the sake of reward.....and just because a song is highly melodic, a lot of folks want to immediately label it as "bubblegum".......In The Hollies case, they always wrote melodic pop, so they arent selling out at all: this type of music is more condusive for layering harmony parts to showcase their vocal talents, which was one of their key selling points. If they were to get "edgier", that would have a tremendous impact on their vocal abilities and the ability to layer those harmonies ("Long Cool Woman" for example)......One could be a total asshole and make an argument that the more "rawer" and "edgier" you make something, the less actual skill is required to sell it.....but I wont go therePrecisely.
Surely the obvious contenders are The Who, who had similar beginnings to the Rollies, and a similar "bad boy" attitude, but unlike the Stones managed almost until the last to develop and push the boundaries without "selling out" (sorry).
....but i personally believe the main reason why The Stones were launched into the icon stratosphere was all timing: They released the excellent "Let It Bleed" in Dec. 1970 and followed that up with two more equally good albums in the following years. 1970 is also the same year The Beatles said "goodbye" with "Let It Be" six months before "Let It Bleed" was released (as of this writing, Im noticing a similarity between both album names and Im wondering if this was an intentional message by The Stones)....they filled a void with greatness, and it was all stratosphere afterward
The Who actually had the recognition and success they deserved though.
'Long Cool Woman' doesn't have any harmonies at all, that is only Allan Clarke.
The Who's entire body of work from 1964-73 is near-perfect...paralleling The Rolling Stones' own peak period. No argument with that.
Last edited by JJ88; 09-09-2015 at 04:26 PM.
Let It Bleed came out six months before Let It Be.
Also, Let It Be was actually the second of four flat out great albums in a row. You're forgetting about Beggar's Banquet.
Right - thats the point: Its a rawer song. harmonies would have prettied it up too much
my bad, but the point is still the same: they were hitting their stride about this time.........It still doesn't negate the fact that there were many better performers, artists, songwriters, and singers that came out before or after.....They were one of many very popular bands at the time waiting to step-into the void left by The Beatles, and they did it stylistically that The Beatles probably would have never done (also a key factor)
lol - well, now youll get your antipathy that you mentioned earlier..... Ive let it be known many times on this forum that I don't care for The Who at all.....but a similar situation applies: I still like some of their stuff
+1
I always considered Daultry one of the most-overrated singers ever. Can't stand the guy. Never liked Moon's playing either. Pete's a genius, though.
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