Give me the best of these rock bands

[spock]

So I've been following music for many many moons, mostly beginning in the early 60's and continuing through the 80's when career and family left me less inclined to follow music as closely, and in the process I've seen everyone from Tiny Tim to Jimi Hendrix in concert. Still, as amazing as it may seem to some after making that statement, there are a few groups that I literally know very little about, and maybe even stranger when I admit that I really don't know why. Maybe they never came through my neck of the woods to play concerts or weren't what my college buddies or post college friends were into or whatever.

Anyway, I'd really like to fill in some musical gaps and was hoping those of you more versed in the groups I'm curious about could suggest the best of the best among their works. I don't need an exhaustive discography, just a short Greatest Hits list that will help me decide if I want to proceed further into an exploration of their work, or discover it's really not my cup of tea after all.

So here are the bands, in no particular order. Again, give me what you consider to be their 3 defining works.

1. The Grateful Dead ( yeah I know - I'm the only one on the planet who is not a Deadhead, but I honestly couldn't name 3 songs that they were known for, although I think they may have had a song named Truckin"?)

2. U2 (could not name a song they did)

3. Bon Jovi (same)

4. Ozzy Ozborne (same)

[TeleBluesMan]

GD songs - Uncle John's Band, Box Of Rain, Casey Jones
GD albums - Workingman's Dead, American Beauty, Europe 72

[Scott O]

U2 had some great albums. The Joshua Tree; Achtung Baby; and then for #3 either War or The Unforgettable Fire. Let's hear what you think.

[robj144]

Dead:



U2:



Bon Jovi:



Ozzy:

[HodgdonExtreme]

^nice choices

I'd add:

Grateful dead - Truckin'
U2 - All I want is you
Ozzy/Black Sabbath - changes

OP: sound's like you quit following about the time I started following music - the 90s was a cool musical era. Let us know if you want or need some suggestions of that stuff!

[reeve21]

[Mandobart]

Good Dead songs that most don’t think about. These are the tunes that got me into bluegrass:
- Brown Eyed Women
- He’s Gone
- I Know You Rider (cover)
- Friend of the Devil
- Dire Wolf
Their funky stuff can be found on “Shakedown Street”. Their most acid-folk-rock stuff is on “Live Dead”. Saint Steven and Dark Star are truly great.

[Dru Edwards]

Ozzy (solo): I'm a big fan and he has had some fantastic guitarists.

- Crazy Train - his most popular radio song. RIP Randy Rhoads
- Bark at the Moon - Jake E Lee
- Mama I'm Coming Home (great 12 string song) - Zakk Wylde

[TJE"]

It's obviously a matter of taste but I would say U2's Achtung Baby is my favourite album of theirs, it is certainly quite different from their previous material.

[Bob Womack]

1. The Grateful Dead - Said one Deadhead to another at a GD concert when all the drugs ran out, "Say! This music sucks!"

2. U2 - After "Pride in the Name of Love" (an excellent song) it all sounded the same.*

3. Bon Jovi - Baybee, baybee, baybee don't go. With hair.

4. Ozzy Ozborne- "Crazy Train" says it all. Poorly.

Okay, I know I've alienated a bunch of people. It seemed the thing to do at the time.

Bob

* This opinion got me labelled a heretic on a Praise & Worship forum. Saavy?

[buddyhu]

The “best” Dead has always been live.

If you go to YouTube and search “Guitar Teacher Reacts Grateful Dead”, you will find some videos that talk about some very good Dead recordings and videos. If you don’t want to listen to the guy’s commentary and is analysis of what is going on (Mixolydian, transition notes, emphasis on descending tones, etc) you might be able to find the videos elsewhere in the YouTube library.

Does there music “suck”. Stephen Stills purportedly called them “ the best garage band in the world”, supposedly as a compliment. They are definitely a “warts and all” band. The antithesis of a band like Steely Dan.

[rokdog49]

I don’t know about defining works and I’m not a huge fan of any of these bands but...

U2 “One” I like the emotion and lyrics
Bon Jovi. “Dead or Alive”. Great composition, twelve string intro is cool and the too short guitar solo is off the charts.
Grateful Dead “Truckin”. Mellow, laid back and listenable.
Black Sabbath “Iron Man” just because it’s the epitome of the “head banging”
type of stuff.

[Dog Shape Cloud]

U2's best song is With or Without You, of course, but I've always thought War is their best album, striking the nicest balance of anger and musicality—Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year's Day, Like a Song, Two Hearts Beat as One...

Honorable mention to Silver and Gold, a decent kind of song:

Broken back to the ceiling
Broken nose to the floor
I scream at the silence
It's crawling, crawls under the door
There's a rope around my neck
And there's a trigger in your gun
Jesus, say something!
I am someone, I am someone

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

I don’t know about defining works and I’m not a huge fan of any of these bands but...

U2 “One” I like the emotion and lyrics
Bon Jovi. “Dead or Alive”. Great composition, twelve string intro is cool and the too short guitar solo is off the charts.
Grateful Dead “Truckin”. Mellow, laid back and listenable.
Black Sabbath “Iron Man” just because it’s the epitome of the “head banging”
type of stuff.

+1. I learned that song back in '88. Still a great tune to play.

Bon Jovi: Slippery When Wet album. In addition to Wanted Dead or Alive it also has radio favorites Livin' on a Prayer and You Give Love a Bad Name.

[hairpuller]

Never could stand "With or Without You", but U2's "One" is a stellar tune.

Don't know any Dead songs, except for that "Truckin'" song which is almost listenable.

Bon Jovi...Yuck

scott