Bands can often be fragile organisms held together
with the most tenuous of threads, waiting to collapse under the weight of
accusations, creative differences, drugs, alcohol and general rock and roll craziness. Sometimes the whole thing implodes and
members go their separate ways and other times the restructuring consists of a
single party either getting the boot or just walking away. Once in a while, from the ashes will rise a
creative effort from a solo member that is as good as, or better than anything
done by the group as a whole. Something that garners “critical acclaim”.
Something that sticks. Something where said former band member has the backing
to say F@$% you old band, I don’t need you suckers. The following list is in no particular order
and rest assured does not contain the 1985 Mick Jagger release “She’s the
Boss”.
10. Peter
Gabriel – So
Apparently Peter Gabriel left Genesis on reasonably
amicable terms, so perhaps he didn’t feel the need to say F@#$ you, and indeed
“So” did not follow directly after his departure. It seems it took him a few
years and a few albums to get warmed up. Before “So” there were sporadic bits
of genius with Solsbury Hill, Je Sans
Frontieres, Biko and Shock the Monkey,
but it took “So” to pull things all together. Top tracks on this one include Red Rain, In
Your Eyes, Sledgehammer and Big Time. It was a commercial and critical success and
lead to multi-platinum sales, video awards and Gabriel’s headlining the Amnesty
International concerts. With
“So” coming at a time when Genesis was in their “Invisible Touch” phase…it’s
obvious that it wasn’t even really a fair fight.
9. John
Lennon – Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon’s first solo release after the breakup of
the Beatles does not contain the song Imagine.
While Imagine might be his legacy as a
solo artist, this album shouldn’t be overlooked as a masterpiece in its
absence. Here we get a real glimpse of Lennon and how great he could be without
Paul McCartney as a writing partner. Stripped bare and void of any Beatles influence
we are left with the real John Lennon. It’s
raw and at times painful as heard with Lennon screaming his guts out at the end
of Mother. Other highlights are Working
Class Hero, Well, Well, Well, and God . I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me...
8. Peter
Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive
Okay…this is a biggie, literally. Remember double
albums? Usually one of the records didn’t
get played as much as you forged your allegiance to either side one and two or
three and four. This monster by Peter
Frampton actually came several solo albums deep into his career after leaving
Humble Pie. It is more of a greatest hits deal, with the most well-known tracks all
having been previously released on studio albums. It took all of them together
in one big concert package to take Peter Frampton to the top of the arenas,
radio and high school parties everywhere in 1976. Led by Show me the Way, Baby I Love Your Ways, and the iconic Do You Feel Like We Do, this defined his career, and
in another sense ruined it, for the next 20 years.
7. Motorhead –
Motorhead
Lemmy Kilmister was kicked out of Hawkwind in 1975
after being arrested for drugs at a border crossing from Detroit to Windsor.
Two years later came the birth of Motorhead and the rest is history. Screw you
Hawkwind…goddamn hippies.
6. Billy Idol
– Billy Idol
Billy Idol said F@#$ U to the punk band Generation X and
released his first solo album in 1982. From this solo effort came White Wedding, Hot in the City and Dancin’ With Myself (which was originally
recorded for Generation X). Rebel Yell was released the following year and contained
more hits, but it was the self-titled debut that originally cracked the market
for Billy Idol.
6. John Fogerty – Centerfield
After the acrimonious break up of CCR, John Fogerty
released two low key albums in the seventies that did not chart well. He was
embroiled in legal battles with his former band mates, and there was a third album
that the record company refused to release. Then after a lengthy nine year
recording hiatus, Centerfield appeared out of nowhere. It is filled with a collection
of catchy Fogerty-esque material
including the The Old man down the Road, Rock
and Roll Girls and the title track
Centerfield. Fogerty was vindicated
when this went to #1 in the US.
5. Ozzy-
Blizzard of Ozz
Ozzy was kicked out of Black
Sabbath in 1979 and went on to
release Blizzard of Ozz the following year. With Ozzy, Black Sabbath had ruled
the world of crunching doom rock for nearly a decade. Without him, they spiraled
into a revolving door of lead singers and a whole bunch of forgettable albums.
Ozzy teamed up Randy Rhoades and leapt out of the gates with what would
eventually become a hard rock classic. Crazy
Train, Mr. Crowley, and Goodbye to
Romance provide the foundation to this monumental F@#% you.
4. Van
Morrison – Astral Weeks
Van Morrison quit the Belfast formed band Them in
1966, after scoring hits with Baby Please Don’t Go and Gloria. There was a solo
album prior to Astral Weeks, but it was released without Van’s consent, so we’re
going to ignore it. Astral Weeks never had mainstream success and remains somewhat
obscure to most of the general listening public. It is sprawling and
loose and the songs seem to meander aimlessly from one to the next. It can be
overwhelming in its complexities as one searches for some type of grounding
anchor. For some reason this makes it an absolute joy to listen to.
3. Janis
Joplin – I Got Dem ol’ Kozmic Blues Again
Mama!
Janis recorded two records as the lead singer with Big
Brother and the Holding Company, but it wasn’t until Kozmic Blues that she took
full control of her own band. Apparently members of Big Brother resented all
the attention lavished on her and by her own account, Joplin wished to form her
own soul music band. Whatever the reason, Kozmic Blues was the result and Big
Brother essentially disappeared from the face of the earth. Kozmic Blues
features the hits with Try (just a little
bit harder), Kozmic Blues and To Love
Somebody.
2. Neil Young
– Neil Young, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, After the Goldrush, Harvest
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1.Robbie
Robertson – Robbie Robertson
While I will
never come to terms with Robbie Robertson putting an end to The Band, I must
however give accolades to this release. The last couple of albums by The Band
were a bit lackluster so this is a return to form by a great songwriter. Broken Arrow, Showdown at Big Sky, Somewhere
Down That Crazy River and Testimony are
among the highlights of this 1987 release.
