Noel Gallagher Names Beatles, Stones, Who Among Top 10 Bands Of All Time
Despite having claimed to not know how to send text messages or e-mail, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher is maintaining something of a road journal on Oasis’ web site as the band kicks off their tour for the upcoming Dig Out Your Soul LP.
In his latest entry, Noel says he and his co-horts have once again started kicking around the Top 10 Bands of All-Time discussion. Gallagher even offers up his own list and shockingly he did not include Oasis on it. He’s gotten a tad modest in his advancing years.
I don’t think I could generate a Top 10 list of my own. I’d overthink it and agonize over it and start disagreeing with it the moment I published it. Since I don’t have the ability to make a list of my own, let’s look at Noel’s and discuss it.
1: The Beatles
2: The Rolling Stones
3: The Who
4: Sex Pistols
5: The Kinks
6: The La’s
7: Pink Floyd
8: The Bee Gees
9: The Specials
10: (Peter Green’s) Fleetwood Mac
That which is understood need not be explained. Anyone is going to put The Beatles and The Stones in the #1 and 2 hole on any of these kind of lists. It’s inevitable, a no-brainer.
I’ve never really given the Sex Pistols much of a look. History can sometimes be unkind to a band. As revered as they are for what they were, there is something cartoonish about them all these years removed. I’ve listened to several of their songs and I kind of get it, but it’s not for me. Punk rock just isn’t me. I’ve come around and really like The Ramones. I own London Calling. Both the Ramones and Clash had more hooks and a better sense of melody than the precious little I’ve heard from the Pistols. I know neither hooks nor melody are considered building blocks of punk so I’m not putting the Pistols down. I just don’t think they’ll ever mean to me what they did to folks who were “there.”
The Kinks are a recent discovery for me and I still don’t feel like I’ve really given them their due. I own The Kinks Chronicles, which I’ve listened to a few times but haven’t really digested nor have I gone and investigated specific albums. I like some of the cuts from Chronicles and a few other songs from their famous ouvere. I can’t argue with their inclusion as they’ve been influential on so many bands I like — Oasis being one of them — but they wouldn’t be on my list right now.
Pink Floyd is welll known to me. They might not make my Top 10, but they’d close. I won’t knock anyone who includes them.
I know there are a lot of people who swear by those early, pre-disco Bee Gees records. I’ve never had interest to investigate them, pretty well despising that ’70s sound that’s been beaten into my head. If I one day had too much money on hand I’d consider investing in a compilation of those earliest singles to hear if there is anything there for me. Maybe. I can say with 100% assurance they wouldn’t make it to my Top 10 list.
The La’s and The Specials are also unknown to me. I don’t know that I’d heard of The Specials. I’ve heard of The La’s, but haven’t heard anything by them that I can recall at the moment. I’ll make a mental note to research them both.
I don’t know the Peter Green era of Fleetwood Mac well, either. I’m quite familiar with the Lindsey Buckingham-Stevie Nicks version and I like many of those songs. The Peter Green era was the band’s blues heyday. I need to investigate that period, too.
That leaves me with The Who. I feel about them like I do Pink Floyd in that I can’t fault anyone who puts them in their Top 10, but I don’t. I’ve never “gotten” The Who. Let me emphasize something: me not getting them isn’t the same as calling them crap or dismissing them. I’m sure they’re great. Like The Kinks, they’ve influenced too many bands I care about to be nothing. I just haven’t ever gotten them myself.
All right… so that’s enough of me. Let’s hear from you. What do you think of Noel’s list. Do you have a list of your own, or at least a nominee you feel worthy of inclusion? Let’s hash it out then. Do it.
Filed under: Tags: Oasis, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Beatles
Ballsy list. I admire his honesty.
Where’s U2?
Agreed.
I’m a bit surprised U2 didn’t make the list anywhere, but it seems Noel has gone towards the bands that influenced him in constructing the list.
The La’s are very cool. You know them and don’t know it, I bet. “There She Goes” – trust me, you’ve heard it a billion times. However, you may be more familiar with the Sixpence None The Richer cover. Regardless, the rest of their material is much harder edged than this incredibly catchy song, but it is such a great album – very late-60s retro-garage stuff.
Kind of a closed-minded list he has, isn’t it? I mean, for the most part, it’s all the same kind of stuff. Half of the list is just “British 60s rock” basically, the other half almost sounds like he threw them in there because he didn’t want to list the other 5 “British 60s rock” bands he was going to list. My first reaction was simply “Boring.”
Well, if you’re going to be honest about who those top bands are, you start off with “boring” names like the Beatles, Stones, and in some people’s mind The Who. The music is anything but boring, but calling the Beatles and Stones the best ever doesn’t get you a lot of attention.
They certainly seem to have stayed within the sphere of their influences. The most glaring omission is The Jam. Gallagher is completely up Weller’s ass.
where’s Slash????!!!!!!
(sorry)
Nah, it’s a boring, predictable list. I could point to practically any reasonably musically with-it over-35 coworker at my company and they would rattle off all of those names as their favorites, too. Musicians are supposed to be a little more eclectic in their tastes than this. This list is basically saying “Hey, we sound just like this list.” It’s just a boring list. EVERYONE says their favorite bands are The Beatles, Stones, Kinks, and Who. ALWAYS those four. Totally safe, nothing daring, unusual, etc. I bet he actually listens to way more interesting stuff than this.
“Sphere of influences” or “bands whose songs we rewrote”?
I was thought Madness were a much cooler ska band than the Specials. So I’d take them out and put in a certain band from Jersey with this Boss guy who writes and sings all the songs. But that’s just me…
I’d probably dump the Gibbs too.
-Glen
Springsteen would have to be on my list, and I don’t like ska so I’d dump them both. I might, if I get a few hours this weekend, try and make a rough cut, draft of my list.
Who says artists are supposed to listen to more eclectic bands? And just because they’re eclectic doesn’t mean they’re better. There are a ton of bands I love that I’d never submit as a Top 10 of all time. I’d choose bands that have some legend and resume to them, even if that turned out to be a bit boring. I don’t know, though.
As for Noel, he’s not the world’s most curious person. I’m sure he listens to some other stuff, but I bet he sticks with “the standards.” I still can’t believe he left off Weller.
my list:
1. The Beatles
2. Rolling Stones
3. Led Zeppelin
4. The Who
5. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
6. Pink Floyd
7. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
8. U2
9. Cream
10. Bee Gees
Eh, Noel’s list looks more like a “general world-population’s choice for top-10 best bands ever” list rather than a personal list to me. It’s just extremely generic. Since Donald dived in, here’s mine, in no particular order because I don’t like ordering these things:
King Crimson
Rush
Neil Finn/Crowded House
Aimee Mann
Marillion
The Who
James
XTC
Wilco
Peter Gabriel
And I would have to insist on including “runners up” like Elvis Costello, Bill Frisell, the Police, and probably a dozen more. Funny enough, I’m not even sure the Beatles would rank among even those! Love ‘em, but don’t listen to them but once in a great while. (Side prediction: news of remasters will happen on Tuesday next week during Apple’s new Ipod event . . . I’m betting they’re hitting Itunes first, followed by CDs later.)
Peter and Aimee Mann get struck for not being bands. You can put The Police in there. This list doesn’t take solo artists into account.
I’ve started to see some traction on The Beatles rumors. I can’t wait for the audiofiles to start bitching about what emerges. I would love for them to get it right. Those albums need to be properly remastered and packaged.
Well, that’s just stupid. They have to be multi-member bands? I’m not playing then.
I want to hear the Beatles completely remixed along the lines of Love. That sounds amazing. I don’t care if it farts all over the legacy of the original albums. It was beautifully handled and that’s what the albums need today. The Beatles freaks are going to hate whatever comes out anyway and keep listening to their Dr. Ebbets bootleg vinyl transfers. Nothing will suffice for this bunch but 100% faithful restorations of the original releases, which is just not going to happen. I’ll be thrilled if we get something truly shocking out of the Beatles remasters.
The one rumor that I saw that has me thinking this might finally be the Apple event that it happens at was a journalist who turned down going to it was highly urged by some Apple rep not to miss this one due to a very special guest and a very big announcement. I just can’t imagine that “new shaped Nanos!” is that big of an announcement.
Apple retards like me think everything that comes out their mouth is a big event.
There is a different between bands and solo artists. It may seem arbitrary but what about this entire discussion isn’t?
Do you get how hilarious it is that Noel refuses to say “My ten favorite bands” and instead declares them the ten best bands?
Arrogant and proud of it!