According to Billboard chart statistics, Chicago is second only to the Beach Boys as the most successful American rock band of all time, in terms of both albums and singles. Judged by album sales, as certified by the R.I.A.A., the band does not rank quite so high, but it is still among the Top Ten best-selling U.S. groups ever.
If such statements of fact surprise, that's because Chicago has been singularly underrated since the beginning of its long career, both because of its musical ambitions (to the musicians, rock is only one of several styles of music to be used and blended, along with classical, jazz, R&B, and pop) and because of its refusal to emphasize celebrity over the music. The result has been that fundamentalist rock critics have consistently failed to appreciate its music and that its media profile has always been low.
At the same time, however, Chicago has succeeded in the ways it intended to. From the beginning of its emergence as a national act, it has been able to fill arenas with satisfied fans. And beyond the impressive sales and chart statistics, its music has endured, played constantly on the radio and instantly familiar to tens of millions. When, in 2002, Chicago's biggest hits were assembled together on the two-disc set The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning and the album debuted in the Top 50, giving the band the distinction of having had chart albums in five consecutive decades, the music industry and some music journalists may have been startled. But the fans who had been supporting Chicago for over 30 years were not.
Not really. Is a question of preference, obviously Pearl Jam has better or more complete musicians over all but as far as being a best band than Nirvana, you also have to take in consideration what they accomplished and how they did it. Pearl Jam sometimes just doesnt sound like rock n roll anymore.
Yes but Ten's record sales lifted until 1992, after Nirvana's breakthrough at the end of 1991. They changed the music direction forever, is not that they were the creators of anything, but they certainly opened a bigger gap so many other bands like your beloved Pearl Jam could breakthrough as well. I mean call it what you want but Nirvana is on the top, you can hate them all that you want it wont change that.
Never said I hate Nirvana at all. Don't love PJ either. Some would argue PJ changed the music direction and allowed for a band like Nirvana to enter the market since they came first. Some in Seattle will tell you Alice and Chains were better than both of them and some will even tell you Mother Love Bone would've been the best had they not suffered tragedy.
couldn't disagree more GS. I like some of the old stuff like everyone else and some of the music still sounds good today, but some of the bands from that era, music sounds old and tired.. I know I will get NES " RX self aclaimed music Critic " to come in here and bash me, but Nirvana's classics still sound as fresh as they did 20 years ago... I think that way with AIC and to a lessor extent Pearl Jam..
I can understand u saying this, assuming the fact u must be in your 50's..... being 40 now and being 20 yo when the whole "SEATTLE SCENE" hit and living in BOSTON (or any major city) the music never, never, never was bigger.....Its apples & oranges to say what you are saying..... Is Manning or Brady any less of a QB just because Montana or Bradshaw were great QB's 20-30 years ago... Ya ZEP, the Who, the Beatles etc. were insanly good but it doesnt take away one bit of what pearl jam, nirvana, soundgarden etc. etc. did..... Let me tell you, from 91 til about 96 EVERYONE & I mean EVERYONE of college age was wearing flannel shirts, doc martin boot, do rags on there heads, shorts with long underwear in winter... from jocks to frat boys to school teachers.... lallapoolooza were like our woodstock......
And to be honest, when this was the biggest point is when the movie & soundtrack came out for the movie SINGLES..... horrilbe, horrible movie but that is when even the girls that woulndnt talk to guys like us loved bands like smashing pumpkimns, scraming trees, alicce in chains etc. etc.
Dude you are right Duuuuude!!!
Green River, TAD, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Afghan Wigs, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Melvins, Love Battery, all bands worth a listen.
I love classic old school rock as much as anyone else but it just sometimes sounds out-dated, you go partying you probably wont listen much of it contrary of the 80's 90's 00's bands. It is what it is.
Green River, TAD, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Afghan Wigs, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Melvins, Love Battery, all bands worth a listen.
I love classic old school rock as much as anyone else but it just sometimes sounds out-dated, you go partying you probably wont listen much of it contrary of the 80's 90's 00's bands. It is what it is.
Its gonna be like this forever..... Things like music & sports are exactly alike... you are rabid out yourmind about favorite band/team etc. when your in your 20's and early 30's... guys will lose friends, spend big big money on jerseys, tickets autographs etc.get in fights in bars, piss of your parents and girlfriend over them... and they will forever be YOUR MEMORIES & YOUR FAVORITE momnets in life and those teams and bands seem like they will always should seem that important to everyone in every generation not just your own... but they are not as important to the other genreations..... nor should they be
the fellas in the 60 had the beatles and stones and the who... the 70's had zepp, sabbath and ac/dc the 80 had the clash and springsteen & I had pearl jam and soundgarden nirvana in the 90's... nobody is gonna tell me that the stones meant more to them than PJ did to me... its just not possible...
