I always looked at Aerosmith -- when they were at their best, in the mid '70s, as trying to bridge the gap between the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin; the Stones in their look and attitude, and raunch, and Zeppelin in their melodies (Dream On, Joe Perry's style of play).
I don't dislike Aerosmith (I have one of their greatest hits albums, with their '70s stuff, which is enough for me), but I was a little dismayed when I saw in the Guiness record book a few years ago that the top five album-selling bands in the U.S., according to the RIAA (Recording Ind. Assn. of America), are (in order) the Beatles, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Eagles, and AEROSMITH!
I was shocked that Aerosmith has outsold the Stones (at least in terms of albums) in the U.S. I know they had their big comeback in the '80s (actually they got way bigger than they ever were in the '70s), but still! I was slightly less surprised by the high rankings of Floyd and the Eagles, though in their cases each band had a couple of albums that are in the top 5 or 10 biggest sellers ever. The Stones don't have that one Godzilla-type album like The Wall, or Dark Side, or Eagles Greatest Hits -- their stuff sold steadily but in smaller numbers. I still think of the Stones as being bigger than all other bands except for the Beatles and Zep, but maybe they're not as popular as I think.
Dream On alone got more radio play than the best of any Stone's song. Well, besides Satisfaction. It's like a Stairway to Heaven or Another Brick in the Wall Part II. And Toys in the Attic was pretty huge. And again spawned radio staples: Walk This Way and Sweet Emotion. Oh yeah, and then that thing they did with Run DMC and the whole eighties sell out come back. A lot of gimmicky and flash in the pan stuff that sold huge at the time.
But yeah, how they outsold the Stones is beyond me. I think the Stones probably kick anyones a** in concert ticket sales though.
Funny, I was just thinking about Pink Floyd and how they became such a monster band. I think that's so awesome that they're in that top five. But not surprised. Isn't it a right of passage for every young budding stoner to experience Dark Side in various states of...uh, what's the word?
I thought Mick Jagger had a little something, something back in his early days. hah
"Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup, They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe. Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind, Possessing and caressing me." "About a lucky man who made the grade" "I'm coming down fast but I'm miles above you."
Funny, I was just thinking about Pink Floyd and how they became such a monster band. I think that's so awesome that they're in that top five. But not surprised. Isn't it a right of passage for every young budding stoner to experience Dark Side in various states of...uh, what's the word?
I think the word you're thinking of is "consciousness."
How could the Eagles have got to the top? It`s a surprise to me. They ve got Hotel California, sure a hit, but to be number 4 is beyond me. Are they really so popular in the USA?
Supposedly, the Eagles' first greatest hits album is the #1 selling album of all time. Or at least in the U.S. But the Michael Jackson/Thriller camp will likely dispute that. (I think Thriller is #1 worldwide, but Eagles Greatest Hits might be #1 in the U.S.). And the Hotel Califonia album was a massive seller as well.
I read somewhere about the Eagles' record sales, and someone (I wish I remember the source) derisively said that most of the Eagles' sales came from those promotions you would find in the middle of magazines, where you could buy 12 albums for a penny (plus what was in the small print). I thought that was funny, but then I remembered that that was exactly how I bought their greatest hits CD! (The company that ran that promotion was Columbia House.)
And I own the Hotel California LP on vinyl -- which I bought at a used record store (Rasputin's) for $1. I still remember that day -- I picked up about 12 classic albums -- Eagles, Neil Young, Skynyrd, Allmans, Bowie, Traffic, some others, for 12 FREAKING DOLLARS!
How could the Eagles have got to the top? It`s a surprise to me. They ve got Hotel California, sure a hit, but to be number 4 is beyond me. Are they really so popular in the USA?
Yes. I've even heard them promoted as America's answer to the Beatles. Which is pretty lame, but I get it. There's a massive amount of talent in that band. They've got a great amount of hits. All members wrote and sang and their musicianship is excellent. When they started, it was supposed to be a situation of all members being equal. Similar to the Beatles style. All getting songs on the album, all getting the same amount of money. Then Henley and Frey's egos got in the way. As it is, Joe Walsh is just a paid employee at this point! Which is ridiculous because a good amount of their live show consists of old Jame's Gang and solo Walsh songs. Kinda sucks because I feel like stuff like this takes the soul out of a band. They all pretty much hate each other. Don Felder, who wrote most of Hotel California was fired and had to sue them, two other guys quit because of the way they were being treated and so on.
Anyway, yeah, they're pretty huge over here. No problems at all selling five or six nights worth of shows at stadiums. They did it here when they played The Staples Center which is a huge stadium. They even had to add a show.
In the movie, do you actually get to see Darryl Jones playing bass? Of all the film I have seen of them I have yet to see him, unless it's a distance shot of the whole stage.
I just want you to reassure him - talk to him, make him see the error of his ways. Then I'll hit him.
In the movie, do you actually get to see Darryl Jones playing bass? Of all the film I have seen of them I have yet to see him, unless it's a distance shot of the whole stage.
Great point, that. Can't say I noticed a lot of shots of him either.
Yes. I've even heard them promoted as America's answer to the Beatles. Which is pretty lame, but I get it. There's a massive amount of talent in that band. They've got a great amount of hits. All members wrote and sang and their musicianship is excellent. When they started, it was supposed to be a situation of all members being equal. Similar to the Beatles style.
Never had much interest in the Hotel California type of thing myself, but I like some of the earlier stuff:
Take It Easy
I think Jackson Browne had a hand in writing it, but I'm not sure.
Though the thread is dedicated to the Stones, we spoke about Brian Adams here, and I can`t help saying that driving home late at night, just 20 minutes ago i listened on the radio to Brian singing When a Man Loves a Woman and then came Eric`s You`re Wonderful Tonight. Two SUCH songs running! I go crazy listening to men singing such romantic beautiful songs. Still haven`t come round. Oh, what an emotional person!
I'm listening to Wild Horses right now, and while I LOVE Mick's style, his delivery just cracks me up sometimes. I mean, he really goes overboard with the southern accent thing. If that was in fact what he was trying to emulate. I wonder if he worked on that or if it just came naturally. Personally, I like it better when English singers sing with their English accents. Like the dudes from Pink Floyd or the Kinks. Even the Beatles really. But it did work for the Stones I guess. Part of their charm.
I'm listening to Wild Horses right now, and while I LOVE Mick's style, his delivery just cracks me up sometimes. I mean, he really goes overboard with the southern accent thing. If that was in fact what he was trying to emulate.
It's not the idiom that does him in, it's his utter inability to project (or convincingly fake) the "sincerity" the song requires. He's swinging away at emotions he knows about from other songs but doesn't particularly feel himself. Callow, callow, callow.
What? Are you implying that Mick doesn't really have any soul? No depth? You mean, that was all just an illusion?
Hey all I own from them is a best of CD. I have a sneaking suspicion that they might be slightly overrated. Although, Gimme Shelter is a masterpiece of a song.
Home
Calendar
Search
Register
Login
Sandra
Female
BlueMeanie
Male
Logged
DM's Beatles forums › Other music forums › Various Artists, Lyrics, Discographies, URLs › The Rolling Stones