Even if Velvet Revolver hasn’t found a new lead singer yet, this has turned out to be a banner year for supergroups – the rock and roll equivalent of the all-star team. In the past few months music fans been inundated with so many it’s getting hard to keep track. Fortunately, we’ve come up with a guide for keeping the current crop straight because, well, we wouldn’t want anyone to get their Conor Oberst in their Crooked Vultures.
TINTED WINDOWS
WHO’S WHO? Taylor Hanson from former teen-pop stars Hanson, James Iha from Smashing Pumpkins on guitar, Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne on bass, and Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick on drums.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? A power-pop dream. The mulit-generational band draws inspiration from classic ‘70s records by the likes of the Knack, Raspberries and Buzzcocks, but its self-titled debut isn’t a mere throwback. “The record is not vintage in its production,” Hanson tells us. “It sounds modern but musically we just wanted good songs with that wall of guitar.”
CHECK THEM OUT: http://www.myspace.com/tintedwindows
THEM CROOKED VULTURES
WHO’S WHO? Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age on guitar and vocals, John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin on bass, and Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters on drums.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? Based on a few audio clips that have made it online and the band’s post-Lollapalooza show at Chicago’s Metro for 1100 close friends, the band’s sound leans more toward QOTSA’s propulsive metal than any of the other player’s outfits but that doesn’t mean this isn’t something special. In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, critic Jim DeRogatis writes, “As obsessive rock fans who grew up worshipping Jimmy Page and John Bonham, Homme and Grohl seemed thrilled to be standing onstage with one of their heroes, and they pushed themselves to new heights to prove that they deserved the honor.”
CHECK THEM OUT: http://themcrookedvultures.com/
CHICKENFOOT
WHO’S WHO? Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony from Van Halen fame on vocals and bass, respectively, Joe Satriani on – what else? – guitar and Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers on drums.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? There’s no room for Radiohead-style experimentation here.A true amalgamation of their individual resumes, the group’s self-titled debut is a straight-ahead collection produced by Led Zeppelin engineer Andy Johns -- highlighted by big dumb hard rock songs like “Sexy Little Thing” and “Oh Yeah” – and Hagar is totally fine with that. “Chickenfoot is going to be way too successful for credibility,” he said. “It sounds too much like a hit."
CHECK THEM OUT:
http://www.myspace.com/thechickenfoot
MONSTERS OF FOLK
WHO’S WHO? A gaggle of revered indie-rock singer-songwriters that includes Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes, Jim James from My Morning Jacket, and M. Ward.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? Coming together for Bright Eyes’ 2004 tour behind the synth-heavy Digital Ash in a Digital Urn album, this collective’s sound is a little more full-bodied than you might initially expect. Based on the three songs available on its MySpace, the group covers everything from backwoods ballads (“The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me”) to bleak electro- pop (“Dear God [Sincerely M.O.F.]).” The full-length should be a doozy.
CHECK THEM OUT:
http://www.myspace.com/monstersoffolk
THE DEAD WEATHER
WHO’S WHO? Jack White from the White Stripes on drums, Alison Mosshart, the lead singer of the Kills on vocals, Dean Fertita from Queens of the Stone Age on guitar, and Jack Lawrence from the Raconteurs on bass.
WHAT DO THEY SOUND LIKE? It seems like anything Jack White touches is deemed a supergroup even if the rest of the members’ credentials don’t quite stack up. At least this band makes enough of a racket on its excellently titled debut album, “Horehound,” to rank among the others. The New York Times writes, “The band’s music has the charm of something put together quickly. It is created collaboratively but bears Mr. White’s influence.” That’s never a bad thing.
CHECK THEM OUT: http://thedeadweather.com/