The Ultimate Rock Band

The ultimate rock band, a colossal rock band that would be the out right epitome of rock greatness, oozing class and finesse from each and every band member.  Yes, a fantasy band line up made of the most accomplished of legendary rock stars, each a virtuoso in their own right.

Envision that, and that would be thee ultimate rock band.

 But of course in reality having the most accomplished band members doesn't guarantee the making of great music. The many failed attempts by great rock stars to make great super groups, that ended up becoming the butt of  many critics' jokes, clearly underlines the fact that having many big names doesn't always spell success.   Just look at groups like Slashs' Snake pit, better yet, Sammy Hagar and Chad Smith's  ChickenFoot. ChickenFoot had an array of legendary rock stars, the likes of Joe Satriani; who is by the way an incredible guitarist, Chad Smith; who is also a great drummer, and Michael Anthony; the bassist from Van Halen. This band had the names but still ended up failing to make great music, and of course were jokingly called chicken sh*t for this endeavor.

The dream band line up would be a five member band lineup, with a bassist, drummer, rhythm guitarist, lead guitarist and a Vocalist. Ideally the band would have the finest bassist; a true master of the instrument, the best drummer; a drummer of god-like status. It would also have the finest rhythm guitarist; one who can toy around with a simple lick and turn it into an incredibly catchy riff, a lead guitar like none other, and a front man whose voice and showmanship set him apart from the rest.

The ultimate band line up would have;

Drummer: John Bonham(Led Zeppelin)

Drum legend: John Bonham

 John Bonham aka " Bonzo," may have died at a young age, but when it comes to rock drumming, its hard to look past this beastly drumming. His speed, power, technique and incredible bass drum are still revered by many to such an extent that none has ever been able to match his tenacity and flair when it comes to rock drumming. John Bonham boasts and array of incredible drumming moments, which include the awesome drum intro that starts Led zeppelin’s song “ Rock n Roll,” the drum solo on the instrumental, “moby dick,”  his incredible drum riff, that drives the song, “when the levee breaks,”  as well as other astounding moments.

He may be no Buddy Rich, but his drum work has and still inspires many drummers to this day. Of course, there are other incredible rock drummers like Rush’s Neil Peart, The Who’s Keith Moon, and Cream’s Ginger Baker, all of whom are accomplished rock drummers, but none of these great drummers compare to John Bonham.

Bassist: John Entwistle(The Who)

Thunder fingers: John Entwistle

With a name like ThunderFingers, there’s little room to wonder why John Entwistle is the finest bass player to ever walk this earth. His bass playing didn't just standout on a number of The Who songs, it laid down the law for rock bass playing. His 12 string bass and his incredible bass work have inspired countless bassist and When you look at his incredible bass playing on The Who’s “my generation,” you can’t help but worship his incredible bass playing.

 It was actually not easy to choose Entwistle ahead of Rush’s Geddy Lee, because Lee is also an insanely talented bassists and of course the fact that he plays multiple instruments, as well as singing lead for Rush, make him a very tantalizing choice. These two aren’t the only great bassists out there, there’s also Primus’ Les Claypool, The Beatles’ Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones , The Redhot Chilli Peppers' Flea and other great bassists.

  Rhythm Guitarist: Keith Richards(The Rolling stones)

Riff machine: Keith Richards

I won't talk about Keith Richards’ excessive drug use and all those other small things that might deter us from appreciating the fact that he plays a mean rhythm guitar. When it comes to most bands, the band's rhythm section is usually the drummer and bassist. This applies to almost every band except the Rolling Stones, for the Stones, Keith Richards was the basis of the bands rhythm section. When it comes to riff, only Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page can hope to usurp Keith to the title of riff master.

 Keith's body of riffs is beyond any thing out there, with incredible riffs on songs like,  i cant get no (satisfaction), bitch, start me up, beast of burden, Jumping Jack flash, and brown sugar, Kieth Richards lays down the law when it comes to playing rhythm. 

Lead Guitarist:Jimi Hendrix(The Jimi Hendrix Experience) 

Voodoo child: Jimi Hendrix

 If playing the guitar was a Tv drama or a novel, Jimi Hendrix would be the protagonist of the story. Of course it would make little sense to have a band of the greatest rock stars without the guitar's ultimate user. 
If at all Jimi hadn’t existed, I'd have to chosen a lead guitarist from these great guitarists; Duane Allman, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, and Eddie Van Halen . All of these gentlemen are incredible lead guitarists, but of course none of them compare to Jimi Hendrix, he is only just the greatest ever. Jimi's heavy bluesy guitar style inspired countless other great guitarist like Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel as well as Stevie Ray Vaughan himself. 

With the guitar in his hands, Jimi could do all sorts of things with it, like using it to play the Star Spangled Banner. Jimi could also play it with his teeth, which if i may say, isn't a menial task. In short, Jimi was and still is the Ultimate guitar player, his guitar work on songs like, voodoo child, All along the watchtower, Purple haze, Hey Joe, machine Gun, Little wing and fire is nothing short of sublime.

Front Man: Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin)

Rock god: Robert Plant.

Of course in a previous blog, I talked about how good a front man Robert Plant is, and yes, there are other incredible front men like Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, and Freddie Mercury, but none of these great singers can out sing and out perform the rock god himself. Robert Plant is quite simply the greatest front man ever. Just read about this great front man and others in the blog, The Greatest Front Men in Rock music history.

Alternatively 

 I could have gone with a band line up having Queen’s inspirational front man, Freddie Mercury, Rush’s Geddy Lee on bass, Stevie Ray Vaughan playing Lead guitar, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page playing rhythm guitar and Rush’s Neil Peart on the drums.

Or

I could also have gone with the rolling stones’ Mick Jagger on lead vocals, The Who’s Keith Moon on the drums, The Allman Brothers’ incredible guitarist Duane Allman playing Lead guitar, the Who’s Pete Townsend playing rhythm and The Beatles Paul McCartney on the bass.

The reality is, the greatest instrumentalists don’t always gel together to make great music. The band might have great names and personel whose skill and talent are unmatched, but there’s just no guarantee that they’ll have had made great music. If it was just a contest of each individual's pedigree, ability and skill, no band could match the combination of Jimi Hendrix, John Entwistle, John Bonham, Robert Plant and Keith Richards, but i guess we'll never know.

The ultimate band line up, (L-R); Jimi Hendrix, John Entwistle, John Bonham, Robert Plant, and Keith Richards

 Share your ultimate band line up in the comments area or tweet me @instantiate2roy