the chase Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Just another link? EVH revolutionized electric guitar playing! They're not just another link.. He kicked guitar playing up a notch and spawned thousands of imitators.. True Steve Hackett was tapping years before EVH. EVH bought it to the masses.. But most influential of the 70's?? Nope. Came along too late for that title. Most influential in the 80's hard rock scene? sure.. alongside Aerosmith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osoz Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 JTM, I sympathize with your difficulty and it attests to the overabundance of great music in the 1970s that it is so difficult to pick just two bands. That's why there is no shame in just missing the cut...bands that are #3 or #4 are still important in the grand scheme of things. We haven't even mentioned Bob Marley & the Wailers! Hugely influential...the reggae explosion of the 70s wouldn't have happened without them. Queen were also gobsmackingly important, no doubt. When it comes to the Sex Pistols, as tempted as I was to elevate them, in the long run I had to ask the question: Would punk rock have happened without them? And the answer was that, to a certain extent, punk rock had already happened before they broke on the scene and most definitely would have continued on developing without their existence. The Stooges and New York Dolls of the early-70s had already set in motion the New York punk scene...the Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Blondie, Television were all in full swing by the mid-70s. Cleveland and Los Angeles also had nascent punk scenes happening before anyone had heard of the Sex Pistols. Since punk had happened without the Sex Pistols. that means post-punk would have happened without the Sex Pistols, too. So I had no choice but to lower the Sex Pistols on my list of important bands of the 70s. That is fair comment about the Pistols, I've given a very UK perspective. Some of the proto-goth bands were heavily 'inspired' if not 'influenced' by the Pistols, with individual band members seeing them play live (which few can claim to have done) and also with being around the 'scene' at the time. Having said that somebody else would have taken the torch in the UK without them, so it is a good point to make. I don't think musically many bands were influenced by the pistols, more a case that a lot of people picked up instruments and formed bands that might not of done otherwise here in the UK because they figured if the Pistols could do it, so could they. Some of them even turned out to be OK too! The whole thing in the UK with the Pistols was at the end of the day mostly a media circus that did nothing but increase their popularity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IpMan Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 How about Roxy Music? Possibly the first of the "New Wave " bands? They were using sounds by 73' that would not be used by others until the late 70's and what they produced made way for other like bands such as the Talking Heads, The Police, XTC, Bauhaus, even The Cure to an extent. As far as goth, Siouxsie & The Banshees were quite possibly the first goth band and they did punk much better than the Pistols IMO. All subjective I guess, and all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Duck Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Of course there's no answer, it's just conjecture - much like most of this site. I viewed the OP's question as to who was most important in developing the musical direction of the 70's and beyond. Obviously Zep has to be one of them, because there were so many clone bands that came out after them - for decades. I picked Queen because they expanded the musical landscape for rock. Am I correct? No way to tell. But they did influence a lot of musicians in many genres of music. I like Jethro Tull, no question about it. They definitely had their angle in the music world and were blazing their own trail. I adore Queen but I've always considered them more of a glam rock band than a prog rock band. Their unique sound was a combination of rock music and music hall style choral singing overlaid with Freddie Mercury's soaring vocals. However, their biggest claim to originality was their use of music videos. They were among the first rock bands to realize that medium's possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 I adore Queen but I've always considered them more of a glam rock band than a prog rock band. I've always considered them vastly overrated. They are to the UK what Bob Seger is to the Mid West--a provincial (regional) powerhouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic_juice Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I've always considered them vastly overrated. They are to the UK what Bob Seger is to the Mid West--a provincial (regional) powerhouse. First off Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. I'm not British but everytime I think of greatest bands American bands have great songs but don't seem to hold up against British bands. On a second note Queen....overrated!?!? ... Are we listening to the same Queen? Death On Two Legs (Queen Live @ Earl's Court '77): https://youtu.be/MQX-U7tAepY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Duck Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I've always considered them vastly overrated. They are to the UK what Bob Seger is to the Mid West--a provincial (regional) powerhouse. They were very popular in the US throughout the Seventies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutrocker Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 They were very popular in the US throughout the Seventies. So was Bob Seger. I'm not British but everytime I think of greatest bands American bands have great songs but don't seem to hold up against British bands. That's probably because generally speaking the American bands DON'T hold up against the British Bands, I don't know why exactly. But when you look at any "Greatest Bands Of All Time" list it's always something like Beatles/Stones/Zeppelin/Floyd/Who in the top five (usually in that order)...no Yankees there- you need about a "Top twenty" list before American groups start making the grade, which is strange considering that it was essentially American musical forms -Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, Jazz- that the British bands were emulating. Was it simply a case of once the Brits were able to tap into the source that they learned how to do it better, or what? Hell, look at this very discussion: most of the posts in this thread give the number two nod to other British bands (the Pistols and Queen seeming to get the most votes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 The OP said "1970s" so I'm going to eliminate Zep, The Who, Stones etc. and every band the began in the '60s and formed their style in that decade. All had their greatest success in the '70s but by the end of the decade they were no longer on the cutting edge of where Rock and Roll would be going later Just my opinion The Clash The Ramones Just for the sake of argument, Led Zeppelin didn't release an album until 1969, by which point the 60s were essentially over. Led Zeppelin's influence and impact was definitely 70s based. For instance, the way they changed the way concerts were promoted and how the money was split between promotor and band. The Ramones I'll give ya...they arrived in 1975 fully formed and ready to kill. But The Clash? By the time their first album was released in the U.S. it was 1978, and it was their second album. Their debut didn't get a U.S. release until 1979. 1979 was also the year of their first U.S. tour. They were whipping up media hysteria in the UK since 1977 but unless you had access to imports or a cool underground radio station, The Clash was a band you read about more than you actually heard their music. Their biggest album, "London Calling" was released as 1979 turned into 1980. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmie ray Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Having seen the Ramones in their heyday, I feel privy to declare that they are one of the least musically talented bands ever. And there's no challenge to what they play - repetitive song structure, lyrics, notes. They did know how to count... Not that I've ever turned them off, when they are on the radio - it's fun for one song. Maybe since music generally went into the shitter, heading into the 80's - perhaps they did have a huge influence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 The Ramones brought the streets back to rock and roll. The gutter kids...the leather and torn jeans. You see more bands today that look like The Ramones than Led Zeppelin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles J. White Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 How about Roxy Music? Any band that could write a song about making love to plastic doll is tops in my books Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillumpuffer Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Well you always got excellent value for money with The Ramones. What was it 40 tracks on a double album? Though the could have used 4 and kept the tape on repeat. Roxy Music - a bit like eating Filet Steak with no sauce. OK for the first mouthful then bland bland bland. My two acts are: Black Sabbath for the heavy powerful sound which spawned many a Metal band and Tangerine Dream, for without them, no Kraftwerk and no Techno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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