Rock artists may choose to leave a band and pursue a solo career for any number of reasons. Sometimes, the decision is out of their hands. The band disintegrates. Sure, they might form another band, but maybe they want to try things on their own. Sometimes it works out both artistically and commercially. Today, we're going to talk about the times it doesn't.
As is usually the case when thinking about the history of rock and roll, the Beatles are a good place to start. After their breakup, they chose different paths. None left music, but I’ve always found it interesting that the two most dominant voices – John and Paul – felt more at home fronting new bands.
Sure, the two former songwriting partners were the clear leaders of the Plastic Ono Band and Wings, but they were, at least to a degree, bands.
Meanwhile, the two more subdued voices – George and Ringo – launched very successful careers as solo artists. They would both surround themselves with bands of a sort, but look at the albums. Their names stand alone.
5 rockers who were better in bands
I got to thinking about this recently when I was in the middle of a mammoth Rock and Roll Hall of Fame story. When you scroll through so many names of successful musicians and try to rank their candidacies for the RRHOF, you sometimes run into this issue.
In theory, voters consider a band or a solo act – not an artist’s combined career. That’s why Ozzy is in twice – once with Black Sabbath and once on his own.
Now, rockers leave bands all the time and bounce around the musical landscape. Sometimes it is to go solo. Rick Springfield did it when he left Zoot 56 years ago. Geordie Greep did about five minutes ago when Black Midi broke up. Sometimes it works commercially, but not artistically. That’s what we’re on about today.
The following five artists were once part of successful bands. They left, or the band broke up, and they went solo. They had success as solo acts. Often – great success, at least in terms of record sales.
But I don’t think their work was better. Even if they did actually do really good stuff on their own. They were still better, and more consistent, when they were part of a group.
We’ll test this by mentioning two songs – one really good one from their group days, and another really bad one from their solo years. Every meaningful artist who has been around more than a few minutes has released failed material. That comes with the territory. So we’re not going to simply pick a song like Neil Young’s “There’s a World” and proclaim that he sucked on his own.
No one has ever liked “There’s a World.” It’s an anomaly. It certainly wasn’t a hit.
So we’re looking for solo hits that signal a diminution of an artist’s craft. And we’ll leave the Beatles out of this one. That’s a little too easy. Just assume that John and Paul hover over this little story like patron saints of the “not as good as they used be.”
Eric Carmen – Hungry Eyes
When he was fronting the Raspberries, Carmen wrote a sang one of the true gems of early-‘70s power pop. “Go All the Way” combined soft romantic seduction with some power chords and soaring harmonies. It was glorious.
When he left, Carmen had very good success for a time, producing singles that dove headfirst into that softer, treacly side of things. “Hungry Eyes,” which hit Number 4 in 1987, was the worst offender.
His first solo hit – “All By Myself” – in 1975, was a pretty whiny affair but at least it had drama. “Hungry Eyes,” with its tinkly synths and meaningless sax solo, is an amazingly tepid song about hunger. Carmen could have used a little of the Raspberries' energy to wake things up.
Rod Stewart – “Tonight’s the Night”
I wrote a loving tribute to Rod Stewart recently, so I feel like I really ought to mention that there was a time when Rod the Mod was basically Rod the Icky. While cranking out plenty of quality rockers and powerful ballads, Rod was also prone to … well, uncomfortable moments.
The man who had blasted “Stay With Me” with the Faces, in which he lays things out very plainly for a woman who we can assume understands the ways of the world, morphs into the seducer of virgins. French virgins, for some reason.
I’m not a fan of “Hot Legs” or “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” but at least those had a tongue-in-cheek quality. “Tonight’s the Night” is painfully sincere. Sing-songy music as the backdrop for getting a young girl drunk and taking things to their conclusion even if she seems uncertain.
If it were just the creepy lyrics, I wouldn’t hate this as much. But the music – once again with a wandering sax solo standing in for the stamp of classiness – is equally painful. Of course, this song went to Number 1. Discuss amongst yourselves.
Phil Collins – “Another Day in Paradise”
I liked Peter Gabriel a lot. Still do. I still think of Genesis as a Peter Gabriel band despite the extreme success they experienced after Gabriel left and Collins assumed lead vocals.
I’m usually just giving a one-song example of what these artists did when they were in a band, but in this case, I’ll point to the opening two songs from Genesis – the titanic “Mama” and the cool funk of “That’s All” – to illustrate what Collins was capable of.
Then he went solo and became one of the biggest recording artists in the world. Personally, I would trade his entire 1980s solo discography for one of several Genesis albums. I find “In the Air Tonight” pretentious, but at least it has that drum break. “Against All Odds?” “One More Night?” “A Groovy Kind of Love?” All Number 1 hits. Never cared for any of them.
But “Another Day in Paradise,” the last of his chart-toppers, holds a special place. It is musically monotonous. And it is such a pretty production that though you know it is a sad song, you may never even realize it is about homelessness. The energy, the edginess, the drama and the fun of all those Genesis songs are long gone. Phil found his formula for success and it milked his music dry.
Steve Winwood – “Roll With It”
I admit it. I’m grading on a curve here. I suppose there’s nothing particularly wrong with “Roll With It.” But when you hold it up to the kind of music Winwood had done with Traffic, it all seems so negligible. “Dear Mr. Fantasy” uses the restrained potential energy in that tenor to glorious effect.
“Roll With It” was a massive hit. It was Number 1 for a month. It was nominated for the major Grammys. But I can say this with some certainty. I have heard Junior Walker’s “(I’m a) Road Runner” dozens and dozens of times since I last came across “Roll With It.”
That’s the song Winwood used as inspiration (all made legal in the song credits), which came out in the late ‘60s, two decades before Winwood’s song. The older song has stood the test of time. “Roll With It,” along with most of Winwood’s solo output, has not.
Michael McDonald – “Sweet Freedom”
This is probably a little unfair. I think McDonald is a talented musician, but I don’t like the impact he had on the Doobie Brothers. Still, the band did some fine work after he assumed lead vocals. And he helped out Steely Dan on some of their best recordings.
He sings on “Bad Sneakers” with Steely Dan, and I think the Doobies' “Takin’ It to the Streets” is a fine song. That came on his first turn as their frontman, and things would get progressively softer and jazzier as time went on.
By the time he became a solo act, McDonald showed little of either Steely Dan or the Doobie Brothers. “Sweet Freedom,” from the Running Scared soundtrack, features most of the worst of ‘80s pop. The mechanical drums and soulless synths are bad enough. But the game is really up when he hits the chorus.
The song has a standard build, with restrained vocals in the verse that then seem to rise up to a big chorus. But that chorus is decidedly small. Soft harmonies with that insistent robotic drum never letting up. It builds… to nothing. It was a top 10 hit in 1986. He never had another top 40 record.
Add us as a preferred source on Google