The Greatest British Rock Band

[Kudzu]

You knew it was coming.

 

Seeing as that Britain is the rockbasket of the world (like a breadbasket, but for rock), there are a hell of a lot of valid options. I myself am going with Pink Floyd out of sheer preference, but Marillion, The Who, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, and Supertramp still deserve mention.

[rickyrob]

I'm only a fan of a handful of songs, but I voted for Queen, just for their contribution to Brit-rock over the decades. I really don't think you can beat them.

[Huck]

 

Led Zeppelin, the best band ever

[doubled_mystic]

no Judas Priest? I abstain

[rickyrob]

... despite voting for Queen, my favourite band on the list is Def Leppard. But there are two bands not on here:

 

1. Little Angels better than Def Leppard IMO

2. Manic Street Preachers some of the best lyrics EVER written

 

You could quite easily add another 10 or so to this list. Some of the World's best rock originates over here

Edited January 23, 2007 by rickyrob

[Arndrake]

No Spice Girls on the list? For Shame!!!!

 

Can you really say that Fleetwood Mac is a Brit band, considering two of the members are American? I realize their first level of success was as a Brit blues band, but their mainstream success came after hiring Buckingham and Nicks.

[willowroolz]

QUOTE (doubled_mystic @ Jan 23 2007, 09:29 AM)

no Judas Priest? I abstain

Same here. Much as I love Marillion and Led Zep, I would've gone for Black Sabbath or Porcupine Tree

[Batman]

Iron Maiden

 

I love Maiden and Voted for them but I not sure if they should be on the List.

 

 

[Hatchetaxe&saw]

Led Zeppelin. The greatest rock band of all time. So far ahead of everybody else. They took the blues, mangled it, and devised the blueprint for everything we've heard since.

They still have an almost mythical aura about them. I still want to be Jimmy Page. I'm 36 for f**k's sake!

 

 

[Snowman]

Marillion, I like a lot of other the mentioned bands. But it is Marillion I listen to regularly.

 

 

[Stormtron]

The Beatles. This was the easiest poll ever for me.

[apetersvt]

QUOTE (Hatchetaxe&saw @ Jan 23 2007, 06:42 AM)

Led Zeppelin. The greatest rock band of all time. So far ahead of everybody else. They took the blues, mangled it, and devised the blueprint for everything we've heard since. They still have an almost mythical aura about them. I still want to be Jimmy Page. I'm 36 for f**k's sake!

I couldn't have stated it any better myself (except that I am 34 rather than 36)

[Fridge]

I don't see how anyone could really vote for anything other than The Beatles.

I really like them, but there is other music I personally prefer.

 

However, for sheer originality, impact, and influence there is no one else that can touch them.

[ReRushed]

The Beatles. Amazingly, their entire repertoire was recorded in an 8 year span. Listen to the progression and innovation from 1962 to 1969. Nowadays, they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but read your history books - nobody had the impact they did. It's not even close.

 

 

[ReRushed]

QUOTE (Hatchetaxe&saw @ Jan 23 2007, 06:42 AM)

Led Zeppelin. The greatest rock band of all time. So far ahead of everybody else. They took the blues, mangled it, and devised the blueprint for everything we've heard since.

Don't you mean "They ripped off the blues..."

 

Seriously, I love Led Zeppelin. They were an amazing band, but they really took credit for a lot of melodies and riffs they did not write. That or they conveniently forgot.

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (rickyrob @ Jan 23 2007, 12:19 AM)

I'm only a fan of a handful of songs, but I voted for Queen, just for their contribution to Brit-rock over the decades. I really don't think you can beat them.

Of the 20 bands listed of whose material I know well enough to judge, I'd put Queen at #16 out of 20. I really DO think you can beat them, and pretty easily...

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Fridge @ Jan 23 2007, 05:57 AM)

I don't see how anyone could really vote for anything other than The Beatles. I really like them, but there is other music I personally prefer. However, for sheer originality, impact, and influence there is no one else that can touch them.

I really deliberated between Pink Floyd and The Beatles, and in a heartwrenching decision I voted for the Floyd.

 

The Beatles were the obvious choice in terms of sheer influence if nothing else, but in the end it came down to my short list of my favorite bands of all time (in no particular order - Pink Floyd, Rush, Popol Vuh and The Moody Blues (who are alarmingly absent from this list)). Pink Floyd is on my short list, The Beatles are not. But in my 2nd tier, which would included several bands, The Beatles would be right up there.

 

Honestly, I don't know how anyone can vote for a band other than The Beatles, Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin, but whatever...

Edited January 23, 2007 by rushgoober

[Mandalorian Hunter]

Thats a pretty tough list. There's the old, classic bands, like The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, but for me, and possibly my generation, i'd have to go for Muse. They really are at the forefront of something good, and they're ahead by a mile.

 

If I have to go for an oldie, i'll say The Who.

 

Really goes to show how brilliant Britain's been for modern music, with a list that huge.

Edited January 23, 2007 by Mandalorian Hunter

[Hatchetaxe&saw]

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 23 2007, 04:39 PM)

QUOTE (Fridge @ Jan 23 2007, 05:57 AM) I don't see how anyone could really vote for anything other than The Beatles. I really like them, but there is other music I personally prefer. However, for sheer originality, impact, and influence there is no one else that can touch them. I really deliberated between Pink Floyd and The Beatles, and in a heartwrenching decision I voted for the Floyd.   The Beatles were the obvious choice in terms of sheer influence if nothing else, but in the end it came down to my short list of my favorite bands of all time (in no particular order - Pink Floyd, Rush, Popol Vuh and The Moody Blues (who are alarmingly absent from this list)). Pink Floyd is on my short list, The Beatles are not. But in my 2nd tier, which would included several bands, The Beatles would be right up there.   Honestly, I don't know how anyone can vote for a band other than The Beatles, Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin, but whatever... Goob, my knowledge of the Moody Blues music is shameful, you obviously rate them very highly, what would be a good start off point for an amateur? My brother met Justin Hayward a couple of years back, in a pub in West Cork. Thoroughly decent fellow by all accounts.

[rushgoober]

QUOTE (Hatchetaxe&saw @ Jan 23 2007, 08:42 AM)

QUOTE (rushgoober @ Jan 23 2007, 04:39 PM) QUOTE (Fridge @ Jan 23 2007, 05:57 AM) I don't see how anyone could really vote for anything other than The Beatles. I really like them, but there is other music I personally prefer. However, for sheer originality, impact, and influence there is no one else that can touch them. I really deliberated between Pink Floyd and The Beatles, and in a heartwrenching decision I voted for the Floyd.   The Beatles were the obvious choice in terms of sheer influence if nothing else, but in the end it came down to my short list of my favorite bands of all time (in no particular order - Pink Floyd, Rush, Popol Vuh and The Moody Blues (who are alarmingly absent from this list)). Pink Floyd is on my short list, The Beatles are not. But in my 2nd tier, which would included several bands, The Beatles would be right up there.   Honestly, I don't know how anyone can vote for a band other than The Beatles, Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin, but whatever... Goob, my knowledge of the Moody Blues music is shameful, you obviously rate them very highly, what would be a good start off point for an amateur? My brother met Justin Hayward a couple of years back, in a pub in West Cork. Thoroughly decent fellow by all accounts. Of my four favorite bands, two of them have major corollaries. When I say Pink Floyd as one of my favorite all-time bands, I'm referring primarily to their 1967-1973 output. When I say The Moody Blues, I"m referring primarily to their 1967-1972 output, often known as their first 7 albums. Technically it was their 2nd to 8th albums as they made an album called Go Now (aka The Magnificent Moodies) in 1965 with a different lead singer that was R&B and SO different from what they'd become a couple of years later, that most people, like myself, for all intents and purposes discount it entirely from their discography.   Of the first 7, I would personally rate them this way:   1. On The Threshold of a Dream (1969) 2. Days of Future Passed (1967) 3. In Search of the Lost Chord (1968)   4. To Our Children's Children's Children (1969)   5. A Question of Balance (1970)   6. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971) 7. Seventh Sojourn (1972)   Essentially I rate them in terms of quality in pretty much the order they came out, except that I place their 3rd album before their 1st two as it's a completely flawless album IMHO.   I separated the albums the way I did also, because I think there's a significant drop in quality for each space I left. Essentially, I think the first four albums are the REALLY essential ones, even though Children's Children isn't QUITE up to the level of the other 3. Mind you, all of the first 7 are great, but I really think a person needs to start with one of their first 3 albums to hear them at their very best; Days of Future Passed (1967), In Search of the Lost Chord (1968) or On the Threshold of a Dream (1969).   Days of Future Passed is very unique among their first 7 albums in that it's got a very strong concept, even though most all of the "songs" work fine on their own. One of the main parts of the concept is that it's all about a day in the life of a typical person (many people don't realize that Tuesday Afternoon and Nights in White Satin are part of a greater concept), and in that, it's become somewhat of a classic among people who take LSD and other psychedelic drugs, as a trip takes most of a day, and there are obvious lyrics like "this day will last a thousand years, if you want it to", and even song titles like "peak hour". If you've never done LSD, you won't know what I'm talking about, but the obvious and subtle drug references are definitely in there ("The smell of grass, just makes you pass into a dream...").   The other major concept part of Days of Future Passed is that all of the "songs", meaning the rock parts with The Moody Blues, are separated by orchestral sections. Even by today's standards it's pretty radical; orchestral section, rock section, orchestral section, rock section, etc. It works pretty seamlessly and brilliantly though. The orchestral movements echo the musical themes of the rock sections, and therefore add one further element that has endeared this album to be considered one of the major TRIP albums since it uses recurring themes, one major factor in the psychedelic drug experience.   All that being said, the album works great on its own without chemical enhancement, and honestly I don't even know how widespread and prevalent the concept is that the album is one of the major trip albums. When I indulged in such activities 20 years after this album came out, it was still pretty legendary in this regards among people I knew, and I've heard it mentioned elsewhere in this fashion as well, but I'm sure there are many who've never equated it as such.   Basically, you can't go wrong with any of the first 3 albums, taking into consdieration that the 1st one is very unique in that includes the orchestration. If you listen to any of those and don't like them, chances are you won't like them in general. If you love it, you'll love the rest as well. The Moody Blues are unique in that they're the most overtly spiritual rock band I've ever heard besides Yes, and even there The Moodies are perhaps slightly more obvious about it. Keep in mind it's generally spiritual as opposed to being in any way specifically relgiious. This to me is one of the key factors in their success. It's extremely uplifting music while still being firmly a rock band. Outside of The Moodies and Yes, I can't think of one other band that really pulled that off so consistently, even though The Beatles often dabbled in that, but they were far more eclectic.

Edited January 23, 2007 by rushgoober

[liquidcrystalcompass]

I voted for The Beatles. They revolutionized music.

[Finbar]

I voted King Crimson, 'cause they're the greatest band on any list...

But I'm not sure if they count as British anymore, with 3/4 of the band now American.

[RUSHMAN999]

CAN I SAY ERIC CLAPTON AND HIS BAND?

[ReRushed]

QUOTE (Finbar @ Jan 23 2007, 12:47 PM)

I voted King Crimson, 'cause they're the greatest band on any list... But I'm not sure if they count as British anymore, with 3/4 of the band now American.

Fripp is Crimson. Crimson is Fripp. Fripp is English. Crimson is English.*

 

*Yes, I know, Belew's role in the band is cemented, but Fripp is the only constant member.

[tangy]

QUOTE (ReRushed @ Jan 23 2007, 09:38 AM)

They were an amazing band, but they really took credit for a lot of melodies and riffs they did not write. That or they conveniently forgot.

 

That is really true.