Them Crooked Vultures
Although the end of the decade sparked some great new stars, 2009 seemed to embrace the familiar faces of music too. Indie, rock and punk side-projects surfaced in every nook and cranny of the music melting pot and it was all spearheaded by exciting new trio supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures starring Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones.
The Foo Fighters/Queens Of The Stone Age/Led Zepplin outfit is tipped for a successful 2010, but with a back catalogue like theirs, it would be absurd to assume anything less than mere genius. So far, expectations are being met two thirds of the way, (not that anyone will admit that).
The phenomenon of the supergroup isn’t something that the music biz is turfing out left-right and centre; in fact it’s much more home-grown than that - just about. The supergroup was most prominent during the 70’s with bands like Cream and Toto but more recently these supergroup relics have got some more company.
You see, it’s only a matter of time before the musicians of this world get a bit bored of touring with the same band, scrapping with the same band mates, or trying to save a failing career alone. The most common solution seems to fall down to one common plan – form a supergroup.
There are pros and cons to being in a supergroup. Some would think that jamming with your best pals for a living would be any musician’s greatest aspiration, but is it really a good idea to work with your friends? Loveable bromances like Dave Grohl and Josh Homme’s have charmed the rock hemisphere and it’s clear the two pals have been yearning for an official hook up in years.
If you're not content with the risk of ruining a friendship and a career in one fell swoop, there’s always a chance that the big ol’ ego will be. Turns out, sacrificing your individual identity seems the biggest obstacle musicians face when forming a supergroup. Who knew?
Nevertheless, providing ones super powers are used for good and not evil a supergroup can become something really special. It all comes down to the nature of how the band was formed and why they’re doing it. A supergroup can’t just be formed slapdash after a drunken promise, and it can’t be created solely to reignite a fleeting career. We expect more from these ‘super’ musicians.
Supergroups are a huge commitment and a scary ordeal – the easier option is to test the waters with a super-project. This could be something as little as a one-time duet. Florence and The Machine and Glasvegas made 2007 a year for duets together and they could be seen together at pretty much every televised music awards that year. Johnny Marr and The Cribs also dipped their toes in the collaboration pit, during last year, but apart from rustling up some short-lived controversy, we soon forget all about these super-side-projects.
Supergroups are risky business and failing in a band that is made up of majorly established musicians can leave their careers in tatters. Here are some of FemaleFirst's favourite supergroups that made it to stardom rather than being left with no other option but to seek reality TV fame, an early retirement and flat-out failure.
Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young) (1969)
This 4-piece is the perfect example of a band struggling to sacrifice their individual status’. It’s also a great example of just how prolific a supergroup can become. The band’s name comprises of the surnames of the musicians involved, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and occasional fourth member Neil Young.
The four guitar-playing singer-songwriters formed the folk-rock band in 1969 and the genesis of the group lies within two 1960’s rock groups, The Byrds and The Hollies. Neil Young also left Buffalo Springfield to pursue the project. Originally a trio without Young, the men released their first album in 1969. Their album was massively successful and the band was catapulted into superstardom. It was at this moment when the men called upon the help of Neil Young as Stills was struggling to command all of the instrumentation alone.
With Young a newly appointed member, the band went on to even more success with a number one album, Déjà Vu, and three top 40 hits, not to mention a stadium tour! Success was no match for these squabbling folk-rockers however and a split was inevitable soon after.
Audioslave
As the ashes from Rage Against the Machine settled in 2000, Chris Cornell was ready to brush them up and create something special. Remaining members Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford jammed with the ex-Soundgarden front man and the four-some decided to record together. The rich, produced rock sound of Soundgarden was prominent over RATM’s rough edged rock-metal in Audioslave’s critically acclaimed self-titled debut album of 2002.
It was 2005 when they released their second album Out of Exile to similar success coupled with an extensive tour. The band got to a third album in 2006 but it was reported Chris Cornell ditched the guys like hot cakes, despite claims it was an amicable split.
Velvet Revolver
Another group that was created after the demise of another was Velvet Revolver, built from the talented remnants of Guns N Roses Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Slash. The three musicians got together with Stone Temple Pilot’s Scott Weiland and Dave Kushner from Wasted Youth to form Velvet Revolver.
Weiland actually gained his spot in the group after a televised audition on VH1 Inside Out: The Rise Of Velvet Revolver. So having rustled up a nice amount of publicity with any celeb's old friend, reality TV, the band went on to record a song for The Hulk soundtrack and made their U.S. number one album in 2004, despite a tricky recording process during which Weiland attend court appearances for drug charges, and had stint in rehab. A number five album, lots of drugs and one too many fights later, Weiland was sacked in 2008 and the band are pursuing a replacement.
The Highwaymen
Before country music even knew how hard it could actually rock, The Travelling Wilbury’s came to the surface in 1985. Living legends of the time Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings had already worked together in previous projects but the men decided to make it official under the name The Highwaymen. After dominating the country charts with debut album The Highwayman, the band casually took a break to focus on their individual careers for a few years, only to reconvene in 1990 for another successful album, The Highwaymen 2, which reached number 4 in the country album charts. What followed was yet another break for the band and during their third collaboration in 1995 they released The Road Goes On Forever but it turned out to be, commercially, a huge disappointment. Still, this band will go down in history as one of the greatest supergroups of all time.
N.W.A
NWA prove that supergroups can work outside rock territory and when Dr Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy-E (along with MC Ren and DJ Yella) formed NWA, they not only became successful, but they pioneered a new genre of hip-hop - Gangsta Rap. With true gangsta rap style the group managed to rustle up a fair amount of controversy during their time together from 1986-1991 with their explicit lyrics. Despite being banned from as many mainstream U.S. radio stations as possible, NWA sold over 9 million units in the U.S. alone, not to mention becoming, individually, household names within hip-hop territory.
So, as fame heightens and talent breeds, it seems a supergroup is the thing to do. Turns out, the musicians of our times just want to share the love and we at FemaleFirst couldn't appreciate it more!
FemaleFirst - Carla Pearce