What Direction Would They Have Taken?

[KingLouieLouie]

As most of know/have discussed several times before what a band would have been like if "sudden" strategy didn't abruptly put an end to a band's development/over-all career (especially when they were at the outset of their fame....(Sublime and Snot immediately come to mind), during the height of their fame...(Jimi Hendrix, Alice-in-Chains, Nirvana, and The Doors, Cream.....etc). and then bands who were at their somewhat beyond their prime, bu still had a lot to offer (Queen, The Beatles (if they didnt break-up), The Who (Moon didnt die), Led Zeppelin..etc).....

Case in point...Alice-in-Chains..... I've often wondered/pondered what direction they would have taken if Layne didnt succumb to his addiction..... It is especially intriguing if you listen to the last 4 songs they recorded together...

"Get Born Again"

"Fear The Voices"

"Lying Season"

"Died"

Then one could factor in that they were considering a studio version of "Killer Is Me" and perhaps some of the songs on both of Jerry Cantrell's solo albums provide some glimpse to a certain extent (imagine Layne's vocals on "My Song", "Leave Me Alone", "Anger Rising", and "Cut You In"..... That potentially would have been their best material since "Dirt"....

Anyways... what other bands throughout the history of music would you be interested/care to speculate on what direction they would have taken?

 

[Chaplin]

It would have been interesting to see where Soundgarden would have went had they stayed together. They actually were moving into the more mellow grunge scene but were faced with a lot of criticism--you wonder if they would have gone back to their roots, like Pearl Jam did, or continue on the path they were on, like what Metallica appears to be doing.

And of course, what would music as a whole be like if Jimi hadn't died so prematurely?

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Definitely an excellent choice there..... I can even take it one step further by wondering what would have happened if Ben Shepherd didnt replace Hiro Yamamoto before they recorded "Badmotorfinger"...It seems his contrioutions on that and the future albums really dramatically altered the over-all landscape of their sound.....

"Down On The Upside" was an enigma since it was somewhat an extension of "SuperUnkown", but on some trakcs like "Ty Cobb" and "No Attention" had a harder sound that could have easily appeared on "Louder Than Love".... Then again... the final 4 tracks did have a much "softer" feel to it.....

I guess another band would be Red Hot Chili Peppers... Would they have maintained their more hardcore funk/punk influence if Hillel never o.d.'ed....

Nirvana...The beginning of."You Know You're Right" has a slight Tool influence to it....Makes you wonder if they were going to evolve more from their basic three chord progression....

 

[Brandon_Webb]

I would be jamming to new RATM music...

 

[vince56]

I would've loved to see Metallica in the 90s with Cliff Burton still on bass. Tragic.

I also would've loved to see Megadeth stick together when it was Mustaine, Ellefson, Friedman, and Menza. Those 4 guys kicked serious ass when they were together.

 

[thirty-two]

The Moffatts (prolly haven't heard of em.. canadian band with only two or three songs that hit US airwaves)

They were getting away from the pop/rock sound and entering a more stone temple pilots/radiohead type vibe.

Apparently they are getting back together sans one of the group members, so I'm kinda excited about that.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

I guess the classic case would be Buddy Holly ("The Day The Music Died")....
I've anointed him before as "The King of Rock-n-Roll", however, I know several have disputed my claim since his life was abruptly cut short....

Anyways, it appeared on his later recordings that he was beginning to incorporate string arrangements to his songs, and with how much of a visionary he was...I bet he would have invented a completely different genre of his own that wouldnt have consisted of his early "Rockabilly" roots whatsoever...

 

[CardLogic]

I guess the classic case would be Buddy Holly ("The Day The Music Died")....
I've anointed him before as "The King of Rock-n-Roll", however, I know several have disputed my claim since his life was abruptly cut short....

Anyways, it appeared on his later recordings that he was beginning to incorporate string arrangements to his songs, and with how much of a visionary he was...I bet he would have invented a completely different genre of his own that wouldnt have consisted of his early "Rockabilly" roots whatsoever...

Good call KLL. Buddy Holly was truly a music visionary... never satisfied with what was.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Good call KLL. Buddy Holly was truly a music visionary... never satisfied with what was.

Yeah.. major irony I mentioned him siince today is the 46th anniversary of "The Day The Music Died"......

To me....both Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry deserve the title of "King of Rock-n-Roll" over Elvis..... In regards to Buddy....he was probably the best singer to effectively (if at all) to use double-tracked multi-layered vocals and later began to broaden his landscape by incorporating string instruments into his music (which probably no other band did expertly well until the Beach Boys experimented with them on "Pet Sound")....

Just listen to his later recordings like "True Love Ways' or "It Doesnt Matter Anymorre"...or even prior to that "Everyday" with the superb use of xylophone or "Well Alright" with how he used varying pitches/dynamics of acoustic guitar playing..... Just really ahead of his time and influenced so many throughout time...and what is so unbelievable.....w/in less than 2-years....and with probably one of the best catalogues of music ever recorded....