One member leaves, band starts to suck

[golfer]

Have you tried the early Genesis without Phil Collins singing?
The album Foxtrot is rated one of the best Prog Rock albums of all time, but if your tatse wont allow you to there,more the pity!


[quote][i]Originally posted by Rubbeet921[/i]
<br>
Yikes, I can't stand Genesis![xx(] Crappp! I'd rather listen to the worst songs released by REM than that! (my personal preference only, of course [|)])
[/quote]

[Rubbeet921]

Hmmm, I was referring to a comparison between Genesis without PG and REM without BB...

Still, if it were the earlier Genesis vs. earlier REM, I would still go for REM without second thoughts. I'm not such a huge fan esp. after "Automatic for the People" but it's a fact that those guys are icons and have a soft spot in the hearts of so many wavers that I know of.

[hexicon]

[quote][i]Originally posted by brock[/i]
<br>Anything that the B-52's released after Ricky Wilson's death (does dying = leaving?) was just not the same, IMHO.
[/quote]

Since I only liked the first Pretenders album, I'll say the Pretenders after the first band death.

[middlesexnj]

I couldn't stand when Gloria and Mike left All In The Family. And what was with that replacement?

[Bitter Almonds]

I've always thought Genesis sucked with or without Peter Gabriel... always disliked his solo music too.

Clan Of Xymox really started to suck when Anke and Peter left the band. [i]Hidden Faces[/i] was the only worthwhile album after the line-up change, but everything else was whitefaced, late 90s wankery.

[MartiniHoudini]

[quote][i]Originally posted by XXX[/i]
<br>I've always thought Genesis sucked with or without Peter Gabriel... always disliked his solo music too.

Clan Of Xymox really started to suck when Anke and Peter left the band. [i]Hidden Faces[/i] was the only worthwhile album after the line-up change, but everything else was whitefaced, late 90s wankery.
[/quote]

I completely agree with you about Clan of Xymox. With the exception of Hidden Faces, their post-Anke and Peter albums have been a HUGE letdown.

[lundibleu]

I'd like to think New Order is exempt from this thesis as their singer only left due to "different" circumstances but evolved into something as good or better than the predecesser.

OMD changed when Paul Humphries left and I think another band member left too? Andy tried to hold things together but difficult to do. Either way, OMD wasn't as enjoyable. [:(]

[Borneojimy]

Mott the Hoople without Ian Hunter
Dead Kennedys without Jello Biafra
Clash without Mick Jones
Wall of Voodoo without Stan Ridgway
Lots more, but I'm at work & my brain has been turned to mush today...

[Grunch]

[quote][i]Originally posted by XXX[/i]
<br>I've always thought Genesis sucked with or without Peter Gabriel... always disliked his solo music too.

Clan Of Xymox really started to suck when Anke and Peter left the band. [i]Hidden Faces[/i] was the only worthwhile album after the line-up change, but everything else was whitefaced, late 90s wankery.
[/quote]

Not caring for a style of music is different than truly thinking it sucks......I can only think you have no interest in progressive rock, since Genesis (earlier, with and without Gabriel) created some of the most classic, intricate prog rock we have. Their music alone was a story to be told, never mind the at times brilliant lyrics, stories, and singing that fed to this great wall of woven, detailed music they intricately laid down. What depth. Anyone with an appreciation of prog rock would know how hard it must be to construct such majestic works, the incredible musicianship, the lyrical magic, the sometimes perfect song that finds its way to you.

I agree you have every right not to care for this style of music, but please, define what it is that makes then "suck" as I imagine many musicians would love to suck so bad. Sometimes it is glaringly obvious how narrow a vision or tolerance some appear to have for music, at least as conveyed by words such as yours. No offense intended, just seems ludicrous to use "sucks" so loosely in this regard. I have very little affinity for heavy metal myself; still, I haver thought of it as sucking, just not my cup of tea. But one listen to many heavy metal artists, even if I despise the music style at times, and the talent is clearly obvious, so "suck" would be a term so far removed from my thoughts.

[Bitter Almonds]

Busted by the grammar police![xx(]

Okay, mister. Genesis blows.

There.

Better now?

[MonkeyTrousers]

1)The Replacements after Bob Stinson left (Pleased to meet me was written,
rehearsed and demoed with Bob in mind and still in the band)
2)XTC after Terry Chambers left (okay XTC never sucked but the level of consistent, exciting, groundbreaking-ness sharply decreased, and they sounded like old men overnight)
3)Too Much Joy after Sandy Smallens left (too obscure for this post sure...but they never recovered)
4)The Clash after Nicky "Topper" Headon left. The general dynamics changed and anything after the fact is almost completely trivial.
5)The Fleshtones after Jan Marek Pakulkski left. I dunno why but after
his last record the band changed, not so far from where they came.
Still making pretty good records. Just not great that's all.

[skeggia]

Gang of 4 after Dave Allen left
Sisters of Mercy after Gary Marx and even worse after Wayne Hussey left
PIL after Keith Levene left

[hutter]

AC/DC with Bon Scott = Great
AC/DC with Brian Johnson = Not too shabby. The exception.

INXS with Michael Hutchence = Great
INXS with any other frontman = shit

Same goes for Queen (with all due respect to Paul Rodgers)

And I don't even want to get started about the "New" Cars

I know that an untimely death or walkout puts the remaining band members in a tough spot, but why not use a different name, so the eventual comparrisons won't have so much weight? Yeah, a brand name is money in the bank, but what about credibility?

In the case of Audioslave f.n.a Rage Against The Machine, they hit three home runs by letting their non-singing frontman go, hiring the amazing frontman from Soundgarden, and using a new band name. If only every change in line-up could be handled like this.

[Jason²]

In general - when the lead singer leaves the band - the band changes radically - and they just aren't the same. It's a rare case where a new vocalist can keep the band at the same level as the previous one. A stunning example of this is the change to <B>Hooverphonic</B> once their original lead singer left. Those first two albums are absolutely brilliant, but everything they've done post <I>Blue Wonder Power Milk</I> just doesn't measure up. Same story w/the post-Shane <B>Pogues</B>.

<B>X</B>, after Billy Zoom left, just weren't the same. Even though <I>Ain't Love Grand</I> was a dreaful album, I suspect that if Billy had stuck around and they re-refocused their sound, the post <I>ALG</I> albums would have been MUCH stronger.

Same story with <B>Duran Duran</B> after Andy Taylor and Roger Taylor left.

[tomfin2000]

Interesting thread!

I would be pretty hard to top Mick Jones leaving the Clash. I think that's the epiotome of a band that sucked after losing a member.

The Pretenders losing Honeyman-Scott and Farndon is a good one too. I wouldn't say the Pretenders sucked after that, but they went from being a great band to just a good one.

I'm not sure that I agree with Nick Heyward leaving Haircut 100 though. I actually liked "Paint and Paint" much better than any of Heyward's subsquent solo albums.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this one, but I've been listening to a lot of Japan lately, and I think Rob Dean's contributions were underappreciated both by the band and the audience.

Also, although not a band in the conventional sense, I'll throw in Steve Stevens splitting with Billy Idol. Neither one of them did anything worth a damn after "Whiplash Smile".

Finally, just to keep it interesting for the hardcore fans, I'll throw in Fashion, both before Dee Harris arrived and after he left. The great musicianship was still there, but the songwriting wasn't.