The EditoriaList: Top Ten American Rock Bands

posted in: Features • Rock

Not solo artists. Bands only. All members of the band must be American, or yew kin GIT OUT. For the most part, we’re looking at bands that have had steady careers and a substantial body of work.

10. The Byrds

Their career was so fragmented that it is difficult to assess as a whole, but The Byrds almost single-handedly popularized both folk rock and country rock, while also bringing increased international attention to young folkie Bob Dylan. In melding Dylan’s compositions with the concept of a guitar-based group, The Byrds brought poetry to pop and illustrated the incredible melodicism of Dylan’s not-always-accessible songs. The Byrds got into psychedelia early on, and had a number of their own classic originals (many by Gene Clark) before later catching on to the roots revival. When they hooked up with Gram Parsons, to the credit of the band and leader Roger McGuinn, they followed his vision of a unique country-based ‘cosmic’ American band. His time in the group was short-lived, but produced one of their best LPs, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The Byrds influenced at least two other bands on this list, as well as re-inspiring the acts that influenced them, including Dylan, The Beatles, and songwriters like John Phillips and John Sebastian.

9. The Grateful Dead

Despite the cult surrounding their shows (literally), I never loved them as a great live band. In fact, on many so-called legendary bootlegs, I thought they were damn awful. Even on the good live stuff (Europe ’72 is not bad, but I think Live/Dead is the one; intense and tight), I just can’t get down with a lot of the noodling. They make this list for a stretch of solid studio recordings, containing classics in the American songbook, especially the LPs American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead.  I even dig Terrapin Station pretty hard. The whole Deadhead thing was pretty stupid, though. Take a shower, hippy. No one wants to buy your homemade incense.

8. The Velvet Underground

They didn’t sell many records, they were very influential, yes, yes, it’s all been said. The Velvet Underground was a truly great and unique American band. Specifically, they were perhaps the ultimate New York City band. Gritty and glamorous, melodic, poetic, and arty, they were a pop culture experiment that continued to morph and keep everyone guessing. But VU had the ultimate edge by virtue of Lou Reed‘s incredible songwriting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LEXJfcIQfI

7. Creedence Clearwater Revival

The reason this list exists is because there is a surprisingly short supply of great American bands to choose from, relative to Britain’s wealth of rock combos. The US has historically produced legendary solo artists, especially in the genesis of blues and early rock and roll. British kids were so enamored with these American progenitors that it seems like they all formed bands to try and copy it, going on to evolve the art in leaps and bounds. Meanwhile, young Americans seemed less in touch with their own musical roots. Creedence Clearwater Revival, however, was one of the few who tapped into the deep, dark spirit of American music. Songwriter and frontman John Fogerty famously sang about the bayou without ever having been there. But he sold it with his soulful voice, impassioned guitar playing, and an instinct for hit songs, including his own originals and covers of American classics. The band is not remembered much as a phenomenon now, but for a while there, CCR was one of the biggest rock bands in the world. A quick listen to their collection of singles provides a convincing argument as to why. It might be hard to imagine 12-year-old girls with pictures of John Fogerty pinned up on their walls, but that’s the way it was. I guess that’d be kind of creepy now.

6. The Ramones

America’s punks, the Ramones, married a raw and loud sensibility to a passion for classic pop songs in the mold of Phil Spector (with whom they eventually collaborated) and the ’60s girl groups he helped create. These guys were the first to bang it out with such a straight-ahead, no-frills aesthetic. The Sex Pistols and The Clash took the concept and ran in different, more extreme directions but it all started with the Ramones. Their dark, scruffy appearance and eschewing of stagecraft was jarring and appealing, especially in contrast to ’70s stadium rock and glam. Simple, fast, and hard; this was actually revolutionary and self-reflexive. The songs were short, the guitars were loud, the lyrics were often goofy, and they catapulted pop music over the hurdle of intellectual and arty reinterpretation. Pure rock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLlLtSG7xe4

5. The Beach Boys

Well, in terms of albums, they are best remembered for Pet Sounds, but they are on this list because that LP was the culmination of a string of nearly perfect singles that centered on America, California, childhood, surfing, cars, girls, loneliness, or some combination of all those things. Those songs still sound fantastic, with the band’s trademark harmonies and increasingly complex and pioneering recording techniques. All the guys crashed pretty hard eventually, and the act that calls themselves The Beach Boys now is a vague shadow of what they once were. But while they lasted, they were the premier American band, spawning a new sound, inspiring acts like The Beatles and pushing the boundaries of what pop music could be.

4. R.E.M.

R.E.M.’s output between 1983 and 1987 included five classic albums that countered the ’80s tide of crapulent arena-rock and hair metal. (I like subsequent albums, too, but accept that not everyone agrees, whereas I have no time for anyone that argues against that first stretch.) They were an independent band creating commercially viable music on their own terms, with a sound that embraced the jangle but was beholden to no specific overt influence. The amazing thing about these albums is that they really hold up, having avoided many of the pitfalls of recording in the ’80s, specifically chorus-effected guitars and bad drum reverb (I’m looking at you, Replacements). By 1994’s Monster, they lost me a bit. And by lost me, I mean that I kept buying the new records, each time feeling like Charlie Brown trying to kick the goddam football. Everyone says the newest LP is really good. Maybe this will be the one.

3. The Replacements

Disaster, disaffection, and barroom poetry are the hallmarks of this legendary, almost-was band. They were pretty big for a college rock band, but were really on the brink of blowing up when they petered out. Some people aren’t crazy about the final couple of records, and for many fans it was over when guitarist Bob Stinson got the boot. But the Replacements made at least one undeniably classic album after that with 1987’s Pleased to Meet Me. I’d argue that there is something to be enjoyed on each of the two albums that followed, Don’t Tell a Soul and All Shook Down. For my money, 1985’s Tim (produced by Tommy Ramone) is the one, though most fans favor Let It Be. There’s are so many great stories about this band, but one of my favorites is the time they told the number one band on this list, for whom they were opening, to go fuck themselves from the stage because they had been told to get their shit together. (The city they were in at the time, Nashville, was also advised to pleasure themselves.) Are all the stories true? Probably not, but that doesn’t make them bad stories.

2. The Pixies

The Pixies were and are one of the most dynamic rock bands ever. The yin and yang, sweet and sour, Kim Deal/Black Francis combination is irresistible to anyone with two ears and a soul. The loud-soft-loud flow of the songs set a template famously cited and copied by Kurt Cobain, but the Pixies offered a lot more than that. The harmonies, the screaming, the cooing, the humor, the aggressive guitar, the slow grooves, the syncopated drums, the rapid-fire Spanish — all of this made the Pixies simply thrilling to listen to. They were easily the coolest band in alt-rock, simultaneously plain and exotic, making music that was challenging, compelling, and sexy as hell. The fucking Pixies, man.

1. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

In the opinion of this writer: The greatest American rock band ever. Despite Petty’s name up front, and notwithstanding his solo output, I reject any argument that suggests this is not a real band. I’ve excluded others for this reason − Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band − these are not the band equivalent of Petty and the Heartbreakers. Also, I am just not into The Boss. Can’t do it. I know. I’m sorry.

With Petty and the Heartbreakers, smash hit after smash hit is complimented by a plethora of spectacular, grooving, rocking album tracks, deep cuts, and B-sides. I think people take this band for granted by not exploring the depth and breadth of the catalog, or even stopping to listen with fresh ears to the many ubiquitous hits. I can understand that Jeff Lynne‘s production style is not for everyone, but that was mostly solo Petty (exception: Into The Great Wide Open). The Heartbreakers’ collaborations with producers Jimmy Iovine and, in more recent years, Rick Rubin, have been much more about letting the band shine. For hidden gems, check out the overlooked soundtrack LP She’s The One.

These guys have been at the top of their game, both live and on record, for pretty much their entire career. Sure, some records are not as jaw-droppingly awesome as others, but that’s a pretty high bar there, don’t you think?