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The term Super Group is being tossed around a little loosely
these days. While definitions in the
English language are commonly being watered down or twisted to fit what poses for wit, it doesn’t mean it’s ok. As a
society and as a race (human) we should inspire to be better. To be smarter. Instead it looks like we are seeing the
beginning signs of a society that before long will resemble the movie
Idiocracy. But that’s not what we’re
talking about now is it. We are talking
about what constitutes a “Super” group.
I for one am not going to stay quiet while John Sykes and Brian Downey
are secretly meeting in Dublin.
It was announced this week the Jack Blades along with Deen
Castronovo and Doug Aldrich are currently hunkered down in a recording studio
working on an album for their as yet unnamed Supergroup. This seems to be all 50 year old (or older)
rockers do now days. They slap
together a few guys. Release an
album. Mention they already have another
album done. Tour and release that second
record and then disappear. KXM, Black
Country Communion, Adrenaline Mob and The Winery Dogs. Recent collaborations that lack that “Super”
part of Supergroup. This isn’t about
ability or quality. This is about star
power. Star power is the reason why the name Bret Michaels instantly conjures images of abs and wigs and the name Mike Orlando makes you think of Google. To put it another way. If your biggest claim to fame is being in
Deep Purple after Ian Gillan, then
you can’t be the biggest star in your “Super” group.
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The Highwaymen = Super! |
After thinking about it for roughly 30 seconds I am pretty sure there have been only two Supergroups
that were almost entirely a collection of A listers. The
Highwaymen and The Traveling Wilburys. Maybe Chickenfoot? It really depends on how you grade Michael
Anthony. Them Crooked Vultures comes close with Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones
but with JPJ being so removed from stardom and Josh Homme not exactly a
household name it just falls short.
Still a Supergroup. Just not the "Superest" of groups.
So what is a “Super” group?
For starters it has to have at least one A Lister. It doesn’t have to be an A Lister in all
walks like a Jimmy Page. But in the
genre they are known for or the instrument they play an A Lister. Timing matters as well. Take Contraband
for instance. Assembled at the end of
the Sunset Strip era it contained a who’s who of the time. If they were to do it today it would be a
who’s who of who’s that. But lets keep
moving. So you need one A List
member. And no more than one member can
be an unknown. Those three criteria must
be met to even be considered for Supergroup status. Unless Eric Clapton is in the band. Eric Clapton has made a career about of being in
Supergroups. Because of that any band
that has Clapton is automatically a Supergroup.
We’ll call it the Clapton factor.
With those established commandments we can now go forth and
grade some of the so called “Super” groups to see if they are truly “Super” or
just a collection of musicians. To do
this lets borrow from the education system and use what I’ll call the SPA or
Super Point Average. With 4 being the
maximum SPA one can reach, for a group to be considered “Super” it needs to
have at least a combined cumulative 3.0 SPA among its members. Anything lower just isn’t “Super”. And as long as it doesn’t contain more than
one unknown member, (Damn Yankees) there will be no penalty for said
member. The SPA will be established with
the remaining members. So let’s break a
few down. First some old ones.
Travleing Wilburys
George Harrison: 4.0
Bob Dylan: 4.0
Tom Petty: 4.0
Jeff Lynne: 3.3
Roy Orbison: 4.0
SPA: 3.86
Traveling Wilburys =SUPER!
Damn Yankees
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We're best buddies forever |
Ted Nugent: 4.0
Tommy Shaw: 2.7
Jack Blades: 3.3
Drummer?: 0 (No Penalty)
SPA: 3.3
Damn Yankees = SUPER!
Mr. Big
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Fat girls welcome |
Eric Martin: 1.0
Paul Gilbert: 2.3
Billy Sheehan: 2.7
Pat Torpey: 0 (No penalty)
SPA: 2.0
Mr. Big = Not super
Now some of the newer ones that spawned this whole talking
point.
Velvet Revolver
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We're our own AA meeting |
Scott Weiliand: 3.7
Slash: 4.0
Duff: 3.3
Matt Sorum: 2.0
Dave Kushner: 0 (No Penalty)
SPA: 3.25 = SUPER!
KXM
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This is where we met |
George Lynch: 2.3
Dug Pinnick: 1.3
Ray Luzier: .7
SPA: 1.43
KXM = Not super
Winery Dogs
Richie Kotzen: 1.0
Mike Portnoy: 2.0
Billy Sheehan: 2.0
SPA: 1.67
Winery Dogs = Not super
Unnamed Jack Blades Project
Jack Blades: 1.7
Doug Aldrich: .7
Deen Castronovo: .7
SPA: 1.03
???? = Not super
Eric Clapton sitting on a bench by himself
Eric Clapton sitting on a bench by himself = Super!
Now you may have noticed that both Billy Sheehan and Jack
Blades received lower scores for the current bands than they did for their
earlier work. That’s because not
everyone is Elvis. Elvis was and always
will be a 4.0 on the SPA. Their personal
star power has dropped dramatically in the years between said projects.
So I hope that clears everything up. From here forth there will be no more gray
area regarding the Superness of a group.
Using the criteria set here and applying an SPA you can determine whether
the band you love is Super or not.
Thanks for showing the Highwaymen some love! 4.0's across the board. :D
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