Classic Rock Fan

April 25, 2007 11:53 PM

I'm a 40 year old male and a music nut, but only classic rock and only musicians with ultimate talent. My favorites include The Who, Rush, Kinks, Moody Blues, Peter Gabriel's Genesis, pre-Born In the USA Bruce, Ozzy, Maiden, Sabbath, etc. I haven't found a good band in the 90's and 00's until I found Wolfmother. Are there any others out there worth listening to?
posted by whobynumbers to media & arts (53 answers total)

Are you aware that there's a large segment of jazz which is strongly influenced by rock that is quite similar to the kind of stuff you seem to like?

Try "Secret Story" by Pat Metheny.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 12:03 AM on April 26, 2007

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club?
posted by amyms at 12:36 AM on April 26, 2007

Recommending these guys has become a bit of a joke around here, but if you like pre-"Born in the USA" Bruce, there's a chance you'll like "The Neon Bible" by Arcade Fire. Seriously.
The Hellacopters are great.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club might also be what you're after.

(Also, many BritPop bands worshipped (i.e. tried to sound like) The Kinks and The Who. It might be worthwhile checking out some of the bands listed here, though they mostly dig around in the poppier end of both The Who and Kinks: you could try "Modern Life is Rubbish" by Blur (here's a single which I reckon's pretty Kinks-y) for a start.)
posted by bunglin jones at 12:46 AM on April 26, 2007

Everyone who knows me will roll their eyes (because I'm a total raving fanatic for the guy and inevitably wind up recommending him), but -- given that you like the Who and the Kinks -- it's entirely possible that you might like Paul Weller. His 1995 album Stanley Road is as good a place as any to start (it's probably his most critically acclaimed solo record); if you're looking for more, you could check out his 30-year career retrospective that just came out as a 4-disc set, with a single disc "condensed" version (which is too condensed for my tastes, but you might enjoy it as a newcomer to his work).
posted by scody at 1:11 AM on April 26, 2007

Jet?
posted by misteraitch at 1:20 AM on April 26, 2007

Give The White Stripes a whirl.
posted by zardoz at 1:28 AM on April 26, 2007

You'd probably really like Queens of the Stone Age if you haven't heard them already.

But if Wolfmother is the best band you've heard in the past two decades than you've missed out on a ton.
posted by ageispolis at 1:50 AM on April 26, 2007

The Black Crowes?
posted by twistedonion at 2:18 AM on April 26, 2007

Drive-by Truckers.
posted by essexjan at 3:02 AM on April 26, 2007

For metal, I can not recommend Mastodon highly enough. Just looking at the crowd in concerts should be enough proof that their music appeals to the more old school crowd as well as the younger metalheads.
posted by slimepuppy at 3:05 AM on April 26, 2007

Eagles of Death Metal, are Josh Homme of QOTSA's other band, check out Death by Sexy..

I'm a big fan of The Datsuns too, more Antipodean hard rock.

Kudos, to the BRMC fans too, they're cool.
posted by the_epicurean at 3:35 AM on April 26, 2007

The best of what Beck does feels both fresh and like a throwback to any number of genres all at the same time. "Odelay" in particular is recommended.

I'm also really enjoying the new Wilco album "Sky Blue Sky" too, although it doesn't (technically) come out for a couple of weeks. Good songs, talented musicians, although it might be a little too singer-songwritery for your Moody Blues palate.
posted by peacecorn at 3:37 AM on April 26, 2007

I was just going to say Eagles of Death Metal. Played the same bill as Wolfmother at EndFest 2006...same crowd loved them both equally.
posted by messylissa at 4:04 AM on April 26, 2007

If your "etc." includes T. Rex, then I think you could appreciate some of Louis XIV's album "The Best Little Secrets Are Kept." I think "Finding Out True Love Is Blind" is far and away one of the greatest rock songs of the aughts, and "A Letter To Dominique" is a straight-up T. Rex tribute.

I haven't heard much Kings of Leon, but I can see a classic rock fan liking them, I think.

Another opportunity given your tastes is to try to go backwards to learn about the music that inspired your favorite bands, or to go deep and learn about the minor bands that thrived ever-so-briefly during the heyday of your faves. If you've never heard the Nuggets compilation (or its sequel), there's a lot there to enjoy, even if you think you don't appreciate psychedelic rock.
posted by kimota at 4:33 AM on April 26, 2007

Raconteurs (Jack White of the White Stripes + Brendan Benson from Detroit.)

My dad loves them.
posted by santojulieta at 4:39 AM on April 26, 2007

If you're a big Rush fan (as it should be), you may learn to like Tool. Many would dispute me on this, but musically (not lyrically) they are clearly a beloved grandchild of Rush. It certainly isnt "classic rock" by any stretch, though.

And echoing ageipolis' last links... there's lots out there that you seem to have missed. I'll add The Replacements to the mix.
posted by elendil71 at 4:43 AM on April 26, 2007

Sloan
posted by stefnet at 4:43 AM on April 26, 2007

For intellectual and orchestrated music that still rocks out, listen to The Verlaines. For modern prog rock (which I find a lot more interesting than the 70s variety) check Tortoise. Or look backwards and listen to Miles Davis' benchmark Bitches Brew.

And I'm tossing this in because you might like the mix of sonic thunder and lyrical thoughtfulness: Eleventh Dream Day.
posted by ardgedee at 4:49 AM on April 26, 2007

The Black Crowes, but only their second and third album, which are absolutely brilliant from start to end.

If you're more into the Brit sound, Blur has a few good ones to choose from.

And the White Stripes (though I can honestly only take a few of their songs and no more than one at a time).
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:27 AM on April 26, 2007

Jeff Buckley!

Pick up Mystery White Boy and Grace.
posted by Spacelegoman at 5:53 AM on April 26, 2007

I really liked The Black Keys' Rubber Factory album. Nice, hard gritty bluesy rock.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:10 AM on April 26, 2007

Doves
posted by cowbellemoo at 6:17 AM on April 26, 2007

If you're into pre-USA Bruce, I would check out Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
posted by jmd82 at 6:18 AM on April 26, 2007

Doves is a good recommendation. I would also highly, highly recommend Swervedriver. Primus was highly influenced by Rush (they have covered YYZ), and are worth a listen. I'd start with the early stuff. Also, early Soundgarden strikes me as very Sabbath-like.
posted by Otis at 6:29 AM on April 26, 2007

I can help you out with the Ozzy, Maiden, Sabbath end of things. I'm going to assume that singing as opposed to screaming is where you're at.

First, you should check out the new Trouble album, Simple Mind Condition. It's very polished and metal but with a classic feel. I would recommend working back through their catalog to Manic Frustration, the S/T, and if you dig those into the 80s material (Run to the Light, Psalm 9, the Skull). Next to Sabbath, you can't get much better than Trouble.

Try out some Confessor, whose new material has that Sabbathy low end but with vocals that are almost alt-rockish. They were a very different band back in the late 80s, technical thrash metal but they've since become more downtempo, melodic and mainstream.

Funny names aside, Alabama Thunderpussy might be your bag; they're sort of southern dirt metal by way of classics like Molly Hatchet. Very classic rock feel to a lot of their stuff.

Solace is more dirt metal, this time from Jersey, with again a very alt-rockish vocal feel that makes them palatable to a broader audience than most bands of this ilk.

Have you ever heard of Wino? You should have. His Sabbath worship cred goes all the way back to the 80s and Saint Vitus. However, Spirit Caravan was his most classic rock oriented project, also sort of southern dirt metal inspired and with totally jaw dropping solo skill of the Hendrix by way of Greg Ginn variety.

I could go on and on. Stonerrock.com is a good palce to start for this sort of stuff, also hellridemusic.com.
posted by The Straightener at 6:40 AM on April 26, 2007

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.

Early Elvis Costello (try This Year's Model for his rockinest effort).

I find the Hives to be the modern-day Kinks or Who; it's not clear to me that there is much critical agreement with that take.
posted by ibmcginty at 6:42 AM on April 26, 2007

I was a huge Rush fan for 7+ years, and Dream Theater makes them sound like progressive easy listening. I recommend either their latest, Octavarium, or Awake if that's too overwhelming for ya. The latest DVD, Score, is pretty great too -- really eye-opening to watch Rudess solo in the first bit of the title track.

For more of a progressive classic rock feel, check out Spock's Beard. Start with V.
posted by LordSludge at 6:48 AM on April 26, 2007

And if you like ibmcginty's suggestion for early Elvis Costello, you might like Apollo Up! too. I do.
posted by booth at 7:01 AM on April 26, 2007

Maybe too far over in the Kiss/Motorhead vein, but I would highly recommend Turbonegro, especially Apocalypse Dudes and Ass Cobra.
posted by look busy at 7:20 AM on April 26, 2007

The Makes Nice is pretty new and pretty awesome.
posted by kendrak at 7:24 AM on April 26, 2007

Guided by Voices
Arcade Fire
The Hold Steady
posted by ludwig_van at 7:42 AM on April 26, 2007

I'll second Paul Weller, also The Hold Steady.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 7:57 AM on April 26, 2007

Forgot about Drunk Horse who are more in the AC/DC and early ZZ Top vein and then Pride Tiger, Priestess and Bad Wizard who are all pretty straight up retro 70s rock.

Last one and I'll stop: Witchcraft are about as authentically classic sounding as you can get.
posted by The Straightener at 8:01 AM on April 26, 2007

You should really check out what Bruce is doing now with things like We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions.
posted by nadawi at 8:07 AM on April 26, 2007

There's a thing about Tool and Queens of the Stone Age. They're not that good. Those two bands a ton of people like, and they're not bad bands, but they're not great either.

Definitely Arcade Fire. (Don't miss the live EP with Bowie.)
Then ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Source Tags and Codes.
Maybe some Interpol and some Decemberists.

On the Metal side, you should see if you like the Power Metal they're coming out with these days. You might not, but give it a try since you like Maiden. Blind Guardian, (get Nightfall in Middle Earth) Sonata Arctica, maybe Iced Earth, and definitely Dragonforce. Dragonforce is about the most metal band ever, or at least the most power metal band ever (as opposed to the most death metal band ever, which is probably some guys I heard about who had someone in the band suicide by gun and put a picture of his bloody body on their album.)
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 8:09 AM on April 26, 2007

Red Sparowes, Isis and Pelican are choice groups for "contemporary prog." Grails are also a sure bet.

In related news, Tarentel and Town and Country do a nice turn on prog from a minimalist acoustic perspective.

If you want a nice psychedelic freakout with grooves, definitely find something by Wooden Shjips.

That is all.

mm
posted by Mmothra at 8:28 AM on April 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Someone upthread recommended Sloan, and I agree. You might also like The Soundtrack of Our Lives. If you can get your hands on some Money Brother, he's worth a listen. Black Mountain/The Pink Mountaintops are good when they're at their best, definite classic rock vibe. Have you heard any 60 Ft. Dolls? They're defunct but great, a band from the UK who thought they were from NJ. You might like Buckcherry, but their production sucks and their albums are spotty. Ditto Turbonegro.
posted by breezeway at 8:45 AM on April 26, 2007

Velvet Crush

The Jam (Paul Weller's band in the late '70s/early '80s) had a lot of Kinks/Who influence.
posted by kirkaracha at 8:54 AM on April 26, 2007

nthing the raconteurs, plus "The Lonesome Crowded West" by Modest Mouse.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 9:17 AM on April 26, 2007

I third Sloan. They sound like The Beatles, The Who, Zed Zepellin, Cheap Trick and Big Star. Start with either One Chord to Another, Navy Blues or Between the Bridges.
posted by Andy Harwood at 9:56 AM on April 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Also, Built to Spill
posted by Andy Harwood at 10:00 AM on April 26, 2007

How about the Smashing Pumpkins ?

The Foo Fighters ?
posted by Giant luck at 10:10 AM on April 26, 2007

Dinosaur Jr were super-awesome and they had alot of classic rock influences for an 80s alternative band. The Volcano Suns were even better but their albums are hard to find.
posted by Andy Harwood at 10:17 AM on April 26, 2007

Danava is a kind of small band in Portland that my friend turned me on to when we were visiting San Francisco. They remind me alot of a psychadelic Sabbath.

I'm also heartily seconding Mastodon. They are amazingly good.

Have you tried Pandora? I find that it's exceptionally good at recommending music that I like that surprises me. Because they make comparisons with songs that are musically similar before making comparisons with songs that are in a similar genre or from a similar time.
posted by pazazygeek at 10:29 AM on April 26, 2007

The Mars Volta. When I listen to them I hear lots of Rush and Led Zeppelin. From the Amazon editorial because it encapsulates the sound well:

"[their music is an] amorphous musical head-trip that brews psychedelia, trance, hard-rock and free-jazz into a daunting new whole".

This is the only new music I have really, really liked in the past 10 years.
posted by tdischino at 12:28 PM on April 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Tenacious D. Sure, they're tounge-in-cheek, but they worship at the same altar as you (and I, to some extent. I'm 41 and classic rock accounts for about half my collection).

Of the rec's above me, I'll add a vote to BMRC, Spock's Beard, and the White Stripes.

Oh, and for fun check out the Finnish Idol winner Ari Koivunen singing Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, Scorpions, etc.
posted by fings at 12:59 PM on April 26, 2007

(as opposed to the most death metal band ever, which is probably some guys I heard about who had someone in the band suicide by gun and put a picture of his bloody body on their album.)

That's Mayhem (the album with the famous photo was a bootleg called "Dawn of the Black Hearts"). They're black metal, not death metal, though.

On topic: check out Slough Feg and Reverend Bizarre. The former has a weird sort of sci-fi-celtic-boardgame slant on traditional metal, and the latter is impeccable Sabbath-influenced doom metal. And this is from the 80s rather than modern, but chances are you'll love it anyway: Cirith Ungol. Few metal bands were ever as epic or as unjustly ignored...
posted by vorfeed at 2:42 PM on April 26, 2007

White Stripes (and The Raconteurs) and Kings of Leon (love the new album!)
posted by i_am_a_Jedi at 3:04 PM on April 26, 2007

I can't believe no one's said Muse yet. Not that they're to my taste, but...
posted by methylsalicylate at 6:38 AM on April 27, 2007

I can't recommend The Sword highly enough. They're like Sabbath with an extra testicle. Very similar styles of heavy guitar work and muted-sounding vocals. From a Spin review:

"The best band I saw [at SXSW 2005] was called The Sword, this metal band from Austin. They're sort of like Black Sabbath Vol. 4, sort of like early Prong, sort of like Iron Maiden... You know how Indians used to hunt buffalo by forcing them off a cliff, and they'd fall to the rocks? That's kind of what they sound like. Kind of like a bunch of bison being pushed over a cliff."
-Chuck Klosterman
posted by The GoBotSodomizer at 10:50 AM on April 27, 2007

k im late in on this one, but I'm partial to a band called Stratovarius - may be a bit formulaic, but they rock!
posted by queenofthegeeks at 8:19 PM on May 2, 2007

I'm about to change your life - I've just recently discovered The Wildhearts. Where the hell have I been?
posted by philad at 12:04 AM on July 7, 2007

Link didn't work - one more time.
posted by philad at 12:07 AM on July 7, 2007