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The return of the supergroup?
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With the release of Monsters of Folk’s self-titled debut CD, last month, the term “supergroup” is getting thrown around again. Consisting of Louisville’s own Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Connor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes, and M. Ward (solo and of She & Him fame), this whole subgenre has been given new life. It’s also given us pause to look at the supergroups who have come before them. 
For the purposes of this article, “supergroup” means a band comprised of artists who had achieved previous acclaim and/or success as a member of another group or as a solo artist but have not forgone that previous group or solo career. So, these boundaries rule out bands like CSN&Y since the members did not return to The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, or The Hollies as their primary gig. And fans of early 80s pre-Hip Hop take note that New Edition can’t be included because they achieved individual fame after the group disbanded. Blind Faith, however, counts since Cream and Traffic had already enjoyed success. So, let’s take a look at some supergroups – some good, some bad, and some completely unusual.
The Firm: They are not listed first because they are the best. Some may argue that Bad Company was one of the first supergroups. Anyway, bring in Jimmy Page with Paul Rodgers and you’ve got some quality rock pedigree. Oddly enough, there was also a hip hop supergroup called The Firm that released one album in the late 90s.
Asia: At the time, I didn’t want to like them for some reason, but the years have mellowed me when it comes to Asia. The Heat of the Moment and Only Time Will Tell now sound good to me. When you combine members of King Crimson, Yes, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, you aren’t exactly getting slouch musicians, either. On an unrelated note, when I mention Emerson, Lake & Palmer, I can’t help mention Love Beach. Sure, it wasn’t one of their most highly regarded records, but it did posses a really cheesy title and one of the cheesiest album covers ever.
The Power Station: A union of Duran Duran, Chic, and Robert Palmer didn’t sound likely, but the results were good. The Taylors proved they could play rock, and Robert Palmer added enough suave leadership to make the band a success. Tony Thompson’s powerful drumming, though, was the most impressive part of this quartet.
The Good, The Bad, & The Queen: When you combine members of Blur (Damon Albarn), The Clash (Joe Simonon), and The Verve (Simon Tong), you have British music royalty. Throw in drummer Tony Allen, often attributed as the founder of the Afrobeat genre, and you have an eclectic and potent mix. They released their lone album, a self-titled one in January 2007.
Cry Cry Cry: There aren’t many folk supergroups out there and Cry Cry Cry’s only album was a collection of mostly cover songs, but even with that going against them, combining Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplansky, and Richard Shindell can’t be a bad idea. Their version of R.E.M.’s Fall on Me is perfectly suited for their harmonies, and Shindell’s The Ballad of Mary Magdalen with a Williams’ lead vocal is simply beautiful.
Oysterhead: Combine Primus bassist Les Claypool, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, and The Police’s Stewart Copeland, and you’ve got a pretty impressive resume. They made one record, 2001’s The Grand Pecking Order and reunited at Bonnaroo in 2006. Copeland was also a member of Animal Logic, which included esteemed jazz bassist Stanley Clarke.
Electronic: New Order’s Bernard Sumner and The Smiths’ Johnny Marr made three albums as Electronic. As the band’s name implies, it leaned more heavily to the New Order side, but Marr’s unmistakable guitar was often present. Although they joined them on a couple songs on their debut album, the Pet Shop Boys were never full-fledged members.
Hindu Love Gods: Combine 75% of R.E.M. and add Warren Zevon as its lead singer and you get Hindu Love Gods. It’s an interesting proposition that combined to make a covers CD that was well-received with the critics upon its 1985 release. Talk about two completely different vocalists. Today, Peter Buck can also be found in The Minus 5, another supergroup of sorts.
Temple of the Dog: Unite Soundgarden and Pearl Jam and you’ve got Temple of the Dog. They released their only album in 1991, but it didn’t really take off until both bands had achieved breakthrough success soon thereafter. Hunger Strike was a deserving hit. This was definitely the grunge supergroup.
Los Super Seven: Releasing three albums since 1998, Los Super Seven mixes Cuban, Tejano, and Brazilian influences. Joe Ely, Freddy Fender, and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas lead the band. While they may not be well-known to the mainstream, they are a huge success within the Hispanic music community.
The Flatlanders: Another Joe Ely project. Throw in singer-songwriters Jimmie Dale Gilmour and Butch Hancock and you have alt country greatness. Yes, they came together in 1972 before each artist’s career took off, but since they reconvened in 1998 and continued to work on their own, they can go on this list. These three guys sound like they really were meant to work together.
Back Beat Band – OK, they were not really a band band, but they worked together on the soundtrack to the film Backbeat, a film about the early days of The Beatles. Here’s the lineup : Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs and Twilight Singers), Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum), Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Dave Grohl (Food Fighters and Nirvana), and Don Fleming (Gumball). Remember, don’t confuse the Backbeat band with Nickelodeon’s new Fresh Beat Band. Completely different.
Golden Smog: With members of Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Wilco, and The Jayhawks, you should expect some good music. While the lineup changed a bit during their three album tenure – for instance Jeff Tweedy wasn’t on all three albums, Gary Louris has remained, and they were a credit to the upper Midwest.
The Thorns: Maybe Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge, and Shawn Mullins doesn’t sound too super to you, but this is a really satisfying album filled with really quality songs and some great vocals that blend really well together. Different from Sweet’s acclaimed power pop but really well done.
Chickenfoot: I always preferred Sammy Hagar over David Lee Roth when it came to Van Halen lead singers. I know this sort of comment elicits much debate. But I’d rather hear Love Walks In 100 times in a row than I would Jamie’s Cryin' just once. Here Hagar is joined by fellow former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and guitar whiz Joe Satriani. Released this June, it hot #4 on the US albums chart.
Velvet Revolver: I was never a big fan of this band, but credit goes where credit is due. The fact that no band member died from self destructive behavior during this groups’ tenure is a monumental achievement. Scott Wieland is Generations X’s Keith Richards.
Mike + the Mechanics: Despite public perception, Paul Carrack has not played in every band. He was, however, in Mike + the Mechanics along with Genesis’ Mike Rutherford and Paul Young (not the Every Time You Go Away Paul Young). Silent Running and The Living Years were both great singles from the 80s. Surprisingly, the band released five studio albums though the 90s.
Bad English: It is only a rumor that the band was originally going to be called Bad Music. No, to be serious, they weren’t bad – just bland. Despite his work with The Babys Jon Waite was and is the Missing You guy. Here he is joined by Neil Schon and Jonathan Cain from Journey. No offense to Journey fans, but the result is what you expect from Journey – innocuous stuff that has little nutritional value. But look on the bright side, they did have a song on the soundtrack to the cinematic classic Tango and Cash.
Damn Yankees: Speaking on no nutritional value … OK, High Enough wasn’t a bad single, but all the late 80s needed was another hair band. Predictable, mundane, but harmless. Well at least, Ted Nugent didn’t shoot a dear on stage or anything. They, too were also featured on a soundtrack of another classic film, Gremlins 2: The New Batch. While these guys deserve some musical respect, touring with the likes of Poison and Jackyl doesn’t exactly help me take them seriously.
Little Village: Combine veteran artists like songwriter extraordinaire John Hiatt, the well-respected Nick Lowe and throw in Ry Cooder and Jim Keltner for good measure and you can expect great things. In actuality, their self-titled release was a bit disappointing. Not bad, but it only had a couple really good songs on it. See Don’t Think About Her When You’re Trying to Drive. Lowe's project with Dave Edmunds Rockpile made the classic Seconds of Pleasure in 1980.
Tinted Windows: The oddest supergroup ever. Seriously. Hands down. I’m not making this up. Take one of those Hanson kids (Taylor), a member of Fountains of Wayne (Adam Schlesinger),Smashing Pumpkins’ James Iha, and and Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick. They released their self-titled debut this April.
Class of ’55 – Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis celebrated their early days at the seminal Sun Records with this one album that featured the delightful Waymore’s Blues. Yes, I used the word “delightful.”
The Highwaymen: Johnny Cash’s other supergroup, the one with more staying power. Along with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristoferson, they made three albums. Their track Highwayman is a chilling country classic with each singing lead on a verse. 
The Traveling Wilburys: This was the end all be all of supergroups. Throw in a Beatle (George Harrison), one of music’s most acclaimed songwriters ever (Bob Dylan), the best rock singer of all-time (Roy Orbison), a current superstar (Tom Petty), and arguably the best musical mind in pop (Jeff Lynne) and you’ve really got a supergroup that deserves the name “supergroup.” It always annoyed me when critics would slag Jeff Lynne, sometimes not even mentioning his name. It was sort of like on the early years of Gilligan’s Island when the theme song singers would say “and the rest” in place of “the Professor and Mary Ann.” Along with Harrison, Lynne co-produced their two records and also played bass and keyboards. The Wilburys, however, weren’t the same after Orbison’s death. While good, their second album featured Dylan vocals a bit too much and lacked the spontaneity of the first album.
On a side note, Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band doesn’t qualify, since they have been a revolving door for the last twenty years and have only released live albums. Nevertheless, if you checked out a list of names that have been in this touring band, it would surprise and impress you, and the names are too many to list here. Trust me on this one.
So are supergroups back? Well, many indie band members work on each others’ stuff and form side projects. For fans in the know, these may indeed be super, but for the true definition of supergroups – acts that have had major success on their own – they don’t quite fit just yet. For instance, had Jenny Lewis been an official member of The Postal Service with Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, I would have included them, but she was just an occasional guest vocalist.
So with Monsters of Folk’s success, what can we expect next? Well, The Bens – Ben Folds, Ben Lee, and Ben Kweller made an EP together a couple years back. Let’s just hope lesser qualified people don’t form bands simply because they share first names. For instance, Danny Boy, a collective of Who’s The Boss’ Danny Pintauro, Diff’rent Strokes’ Danny Cooksey, and The Partridge Family’s Danny Bonaduce would be a horrific and disastrous idea.
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