Month: August 2010

One of the surest ways to know that most people don’t know jack shit about music is to see all the little lists they make of the top bands in history and they ALWAYS leave these cats out. Why? Other than the fact that most of these list makers have tin ears. Well, because the Paul Butterfield Blues Band got caught in a three-way squeeze back in the day. One, in 1965, the year of their first album, people were still listening to AM Top 40, where the Butterfield Blues Band was not heard at all. Two, by 1967 with the advent of FM progressive rock, the band was heard sparingly because the music scene had exploded with a million great and different acts. Finally, three, by the years of 67-68, while they were still a very strong group they did add a brass section which watered down their prototype dual-lead guitar sound. Additionally by that time, Electric Flag, Blood, Sweat and Tears and later Chicago really took the whole “jazz-rock” thing and ran with it to much greater commercial success.

But, for my money you better get up pretty early in the morning to show me two better albums of R&B, rock and roll and blues, in any era, than the first two Paul Butterfield Blues Band albums. I so wish the average listener would avail themselves of this music. I know it’s over 40 years old but it stands tall. Very well recorded too by the same people that recorded The Doors a year or so later, Bruce Botnick and Jac Holzman

1) Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band

2) Paul McCartney

3) Guns and Roses

4) Avenged Sevenfold

5) Jethro Tull

6) Green Day

     You’re not bad ass, you’re lame. Shut up.

7) John Mellencamp

8) The White Stripes

9) Styx

10) Georgia Satellites

11) Great White

12) REO Speedwagon

                             Gay bullshit

13 Chicago

14) Red Hot Chili Pweppers

15) Supertramp

16) Foreigner

17) Bob Jovi

18) Patti Smith

                     Oh stop it, you idiot

19) Radio Head

20) ELO