It was a hot steamy day, and I was in Woolworth’s going through the now marked down 45’s (for those of you who are technology challenged those were really small records that played at 45 revolutions per minute). I found the one I was looking for, which was, the Who’s “I Can See for Miles”. I have to be honest and say, I didn’t like their really early stuff much, like ‘Happy Jack’. But when I came home and played this 45 and listened to it in my huge ole headphones— it was a whole new ballgame. Hard rock had showed up with a tremendous thud!!! It was released October 14, 1967 and the world has not been the same since. The Beatles were a pop band, and they were wonderful, but the Fab Four couldn’t play anything like this! The Rolling Stones were good, and ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction released in 1965 complete with fuzz lead guitar, was heading in the right direction, but again, those boys could not play nearly as well as the Who. Long before Led Zeppelin was saturation bombing the airwaves and even before Jimi Hendrix lit his guitar on fire at Monterey and Woodstock, the Who were destroying guitars, amps and eardrums right left and center. The irony was, they could really play and didn’t need the theatrics at all to sell an audience. John Entwhistle was simply amazing on bass, Keith Moon was the ultimate mad drummer whose machine gun speed was incredible, and then there was of course Daltrey and Townsend. I saw the Beatles in 1964 on the Ed Sullivan Show, and that definitely got the party started

It will be necessary to divide this list up into two parts– best live bands, and best studio bands (and there is plenty of crossover of course).

I honestly do not understand all the hype about the Rolling Stones being the best rock n’ roll band ever. I’ve seen them even in their prime, and they are not, if the issue is performance. They’re not if we are ranking them in terms of skill in playing, actual on key singing, and the like. They are a lot of fun, and have a lot of wonderful tunes, but neither Ronny Wood nor Keith Richards (basically a rhythm guitarist with ambitions) can hold a candle to some of the bands who had major guitarists in them.

BEST LIVE ROCK BANDS (including more popish and folk ones) EVER (in no particular order, except the Who are first)

1) The Who (as I said before, go listen to the remastered Live at Leeds)
2) Cream– (like the Hendrix Experience, these three were equally to about six others)
3) Led Zeppelin
4) The Allman Brothers
5) U2
6) Santana
7) Joe Cocker and the Grease Band
8) Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company
9) The Jimi Hendrix Experience (and it was)
10) ELP (simply unbelievable drumming and piano playing. Greg Lake had a hard time keeping up on guitar)
11) Derek and the Dominoes (Eric Clapton and Duane Allman— enuff said)
12) the Moody Blues (of the more symphonic bands they were better live than Renaissance, Pink Floyd and other atmospheric favorites, though I am listing next…)
13) Pink Floyd
14) Crosby Stills and Nash– best harmonies on the planet, with the occasional exception of the Beach Boys and the Beatles
15) James Taylor and Carole King together, doing each others songs— magic
16) Joni Mitchell (when she had her later Tom Scott and Brian Blades led band)
17) Loggins and Messina (maybe the best live folk rock concert I ever saw)
18) The Eagles
19) the Rolling Stones (they were lots of fun)
20) Bob Dylan and the Band (a truly amazing concert run, and tandem)
21) the Eagles
22) the James Gang (Joe Walsh blowing away the neighbors eardrums)
23) The Grateful Dead (their albums do not capture the live effect of this band in their prime)
24) Collective Soul (really very good live)
25) Foreigner (with Lou Gramm, superb live)
26) The Little River Band (great tunes, sung wonderfully)
27) AC DC— (Angus we hardly knew ye)
28) Uriah Heep– (not together long enough. They were very good live)
29) Jefferson Airplane (saw them at Fillmore East– they burned down the house, and Bill Graham couldn’t stop them)
30) Aerosmith– These boys can still bring it.
31) Van Halen

I could go on, but I will move on to the best bands in the studio.

1) the Beatles (they were good performers early on when they were doing the really simple early stuff up through Beatles 65 and a Hard Day’s Night. But truth be told they owed much to George Martin in the studio, especially on things like Sgt. Peppers)
2) the Moody Blues (as a classical musician I know how hard it was for them to do some of this both in the studio and live, but they were better in the studio. They were one of the few bands who could play with a classical orchestra, and hold their own, and be commended by the orchestra)
3) the Who (Tommy, Quadrophenia and Who’s Next, to mention but three)
4) Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon– one of the all time great lps. The Wall is down the list compared to Dark Side)
5) Michael Jackson’s killer Thriller Band (with Eddie Van Halen)
6) Prince (Purple Rain)
7) Sly and the Family Stone (check out the greatest hits– you’ll be dancin’)
8) Led Zeppelin ( I love the first second and 4th lps)
9) Bob Dylan (some amazing lps– including Blonde on Blonde, Nashville Skyline (didn’t see that one comin’; Time Out of Mind and so many others)
10) Elton John (the Your Song album and the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road lps were great)
11) Billy Joel (52nd Street, among others)
12) the Eagles (the first lp and Hotel California)
13) Fleetwood Mac (the second incarnation that produced the untitled lp and Rumors)
14) Genesis (post Peter Gabriel)
15) U2 (this band has kept getting better over the years in the studio, but Joshua Tree already showed what they could do)
16) Deep Purple (Smoke on the Water and Hush)
17) Traffic (check out John Barleycorn and Low Spark of High Heeled Boys)
17) Jim Hendrix (Are You Experienced and Axis Bold as Love)
18) Eric Clapton (too many to choose from, but the Layla lp is mighty great)
19) ELP (I love their first lp)
20 King Crimson (again the first lp with Greg Lake especially)
21) Joni Mitchell (Blue, Court and Spark etc.)
22) James Taylor (Sweet Baby James, Copperline)
23) Carole King (the all time best folk rock selling lp of the 60s-80s– Tapestry)
24) the Eagles (their most recent Long Road CD shows just how good they still are in the studio)
25) Crosby Stills Nash and Young (listen to their first two CDs closely, especially Suite Judy Blue Eyes, and Carry On)

THE IF I WAS STRANDED ON AN ISLAND WITH THE CAST OF ‘LOST’ AND WERE ALLOWED TO TAKE ONLY TWENTY ROCK LPS WITH ME COLLECTION—-

1) The Beatles, Hard Day’s Night
2) the Beatles Sgt. Peppers
3) the Beatles Abbey Road
4) the Rolling Stones– Import very Greatest Hits
5) Carole King- Tapestry
6) Michael Jackson– Thriller
7) Pink Floyd– Dark Side of the Moon
8) U2 Joshua Tree
9) Elton John– Good bye Yellowbrick Road
10-12) Led Zeppelin– I, II, IV
13-15)– The Who– Tommy, Live at Leeds, Who’s Next
16) Eagles– Hotel California
17) Crosby Stills and Nash
18) Moody Blues– Question of Balance
19) King Crimson– Court of the Crimson King
20) Traffic– John Barleycorn is dead

(of course I would rather have taken a lot more to the desert island, including some more recent ones)