Top 10 Musical Supergroups

brent johnson and bill bodkin look at some of their favorite musical supergroups …

Before we list the greatest supergroups of all-time, let’s first define what a supergroup is. It isn’t a side-project like Paul McCartney’s Fireman experiment or a duo like Gnarls Barkley. Nor is it a rotating collection of musicians like Gorillaz. Nor is it a group like the great New Pornographers, where the members were previously in semi-successful bands but didn’t find fame until they joined together. A supergroup is a beast: a bunch of famous musicians who bombastically meld their talents for a massive single or a massive album or two — creating something that’s notable for both the sum and whole of its parts.
— Brent Johnson

1. The Traveling Wilburys
Is there even a contest? Dylan, Harrison, Orbison, Petty, the bearded guy who fronted Electric Light Orchestra. Not only did they have the wattage, but they had the songs. It helps when two of your members are responsible for ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ and ‘Something.’

2. Cream
These 1960s British rockers have done something few have: transcended the supergroup label to become a band in their own right. Does anyone even remember what group Jack Bruce belonged to before he joined forces with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker? I don’t. Because ‘White Room,’ ‘Sunshine Of Your Love,’ ‘I Feel Free’ and ‘Badge’ are hardly novelties knocked off by a random collection of stars. They’re classics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRqjpuLFXek

3. Band Aid
Some critics said they were cheesy and self-righteous. I say: The mega-group that Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof put together in 1984 to raise money for starving Africans produced my favorite Christmas song. ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ is a happily bombastic, utterly infectious classic — with Phil Collins gleefully pounding away on drums. Try not to sing along — or well up with emotion — as Sting, Bono and Boy George belt out the final chorus. I feel it every time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5cX_ncZLls

4. Highwaymen
Call them the country Wilburys. Johnny. Willie. Waylon. Kristofferson. The titans of twang got together in the 1980s to record a supremely underrated and haunting Jimmy Webb tune. Just witness how Cash commands the audience when he enters for the final verse. The man was cool.

5. Tinted Windows
Conventional wisdom begs me to put the great Crosby, Stills & Nash here. But you know what? While I may love ‘Woodstock’ and ‘Our House,’ I love even more the random, rag-tag collection of musicians that make up this modern-day supergroup: drummer Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick, bassist Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne, guitarist James Iha of The Smashing Pumpkins, and … wait for it … vocalist Taylor Hanson. Of Hanson. Behold:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJMipg_k8Uw]

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The inspiration for this blog came when Fistful Of Mercy, the Ben Harper/Dani Harrison group, performed with Tom Morello on Conan’s debut week. It was crazy to see one of the modern guitar gods jamming with the son of the legendary Beatle and the icon of modern-day hippie jams. Supergroups are like a musical free lunch — it doesn’t usually happen, but when it does, you savor every second of it. Below are my favorite supergroups, some that have emerged as not just mere one-offs but legit, fulltime bands.
— Bill Bodkin

1. Audioslave
Two of the most devastating blows to the ’90s alternative scene were the disbanding of Rage Against The Machine and Soundgarden. These two mega-bands were abruptly broken up, no farewell tour, no finale album. Then in 2001, the best voice in the business (Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell) joined with one of the best bands in the business (Rage’s Tom Morrello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford) to form Audioslave. Their self-titled debut is still one of the top albums released from the past decade, perfectly merging the gigantic, howling vocals of Cornell with the sick grooves and solos of the former Rage guys. And while their subsequent albums paled in comparison, that debut album is still all killer, no filler.

2. Velvet Revolver
Take the lead singer of one of the seminal alt-rock bands of the ’90s and give him the members of the seminal hard rock bands of the ’80s, and you’ll get a bombastic rock ‘n’ roll supergroup. While Velvet Revolver never produced an amazing body work, they did produce one of the best hard rock songs from the ’00s with “Slither” and one of the best ballads of the same decide in “Fall To Pieces.” The combination of Weiland’s sick vocals with the equally sick guitar work of Slash was pure rock ‘n’ roll heaven — even if it was for only two albums.

3. Me First & The Gimme Gimmes
Punk rock heavyweights Spike Slawson (Swingin’ Utters), Fat Mike Burkett (NOFX), Chris Shiflett (No Use For a Name, now Foo Fighters) and Lagwagon’s Joey Cape and Dave Raun united in 1995 to make one of the ultimate punk-rock supergroups. The band focuses many on high-energy covers from every music genre, ranging from showtunes to ’60s classics to country to, most importantly, a live album performed at a bar mitzvah. That’s punk rock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX_EQHvxTG4

4. The Raconteurs
It’s almost hard to call The Raconteurs a supergroup anymore, as they’re becoming more of an everyday band, especially with The White Stripes going on indefinite hiatus. The band is a blissful sonic union that records never do justice. Having seen them previously at Roseland and Terminal 5 in New York, the band seemingly channels Zeppelin in their live performances — bringing a smoking-hot electric blues jam session to the stage. This is a must-see band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYVNxjeQbfE

5. Them Crooked Vulture
One song alone convinced me that this band should be included on this list and for good reason — “New Fang” is one of the best songs to be released within the last year. The dynamic drumming of Dave Grohl combined with Josh Homme’s underrated vocals and the almost-amazing John Paul Jones on bass captures the essence of the musical supergroup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0-Lujx9Xww

Special Feature “Damnocracy”

In 2006, before they completely submitted to trashy reality TV, VH1 produced the musically based series Supergroup. The show followed Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach, Anthrax’s Scott Ian, Ted Nugent, Biohazard’s Evan Seinfeld (also of Oz fame) and Jason Bonham (son of Zeppelin drummer John Bonham). The band was managed by former Kiss and Bon Jovi manager Doc McGhee and had a limited run as a group. The show was fun and it was fun for metal fans to see all their heroes peform together. Below is the video of one of their best songs, which they performed live in Vegas.