Top Hard Rock Artists on Rhapsody Online

Nickelback

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:27:21 -0800

Since the mid-'90s, Alberta's Nickelback (singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger, bassist Mike Kroeger, guitarist Ryan Peake and Daniel Adair, replacing original drummer Brandon Kroeger) have evolved from sounding like a Pearl Jam tribute band to becoming icons of radio-friendly, post-grunge modern rock. Nickelback's popularity first gathered steam with the single "Leader of Men" off their second self-released album, 1998's The State. The song was in heavy rotation on Canadian radio, and soon American label Roadrunner signed them (and reissued The State). They then toured with Creed, and in 2001, Silver Side Up yielded subsequent hits, such as "Someday." In 2005, Nickelback returned with All the Right Reasons, featuring members of ZZ Top and Pantera, which pushed them into contemporary heavy-rock territory and made them one of the decade's biggest bands in alt-rock, thanks to hits like "Photograph" and "Savin' Me." For 2008's Dark Horse, they brought in producer Mutt Lange (Back in Black, Pyromania) to add extra punch to their arena-rock anthems and power ballads. - Eric Shea

Daughtry

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:55 -0800

A fourth-place finish in season five of American Idol didn't dissuade contestant Chris Daughtry from trying to send his rock yawp to the top of the charts. After getting booted from the show, Daughtry rejected an offer to lead alt rock band Fuel so he could form an eponymous outfit in his home state of North Carolina. They were quickly snatched up by the majors and immediately set to work on a record that enlisted the talents of vet producer Howard Benson and Nickleback songsmith Chad Kroeger. The band's first single, "Its Not Over," was released in the fall of 2006, followed by their eponymous full-length debut that same year. - Nate Cavalieri

3 Doors Down

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:53 -0800

Can you raise your lighter high in the stadium and still keep your indie cred? Probably not, but you can combine the catchy hard rock of the Scorpions with the grungy street metal of Nirvana and get 3 Doors Down. Their debut hit, "Kryptonite," was a surprise smash, selling quantities that would make Shania or Britney very happy -- 2000's The Better Life went quadruple platinum in its first year of release, paving the way for still more multimillion sellers. Not bad for a rocking band that escaped from Escatawpa, Miss. (population: 8,000). Their 2008 self-titled album found them expanding their vision of modern rock, mixing heartland harmonies with touches of funk and world music -- but still delivering their music with an urgency as searing as ever. - Nick Dedina

Queen

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:38:15 -0800

Heavy metal gods to some, studio-oriented power pop innovators to others, and purveyors of overblown sports arena anthems to still many more, Queen left a deep and varied legacy at the end of their nearly 20-year career. Despite a 2005 Broadway stage show that was written by guitarist Brian May, which featured the remaining members, the band never really recovered from the tragic loss of singer Freddie Mercury to AIDS in 1991. Combining a fondness for hard rock riffs with a knack for catchy melodies, Queen had forged a unique sound brought to life through elaborate (bordering on excessive) studio production. Of their many hits, 1975's "Bohemian Rhapsody" best exemplifies their range: revved-up guitars, near-prog rock complexity and operatic vocals courtesy of Freddie Mercury and a cast of thousands (all of whom also happened to be named Freddie Mercury). Moving from the glam-inspired sounds of their early days, the British quartet scored late 1970s/early '80s hits as they dabbled in rockabilly ("Crazy Little Thing Called Love"), disco ("Another One Bites the Dust") and New Wave-leaning dance (their 1981 David Bowie collaboration "Under Pressure"). Say what you will, there's much more to Queen than "We Will Rock You." - Will York

Rob Thomas

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:38:14 -0800

What do you do after you've sold a bazillion records with your band? Two words: solo career. Rob Thomas began his career fronting rock stalwarts, Matchbox Twenty. Thomas' soulful vocals and expert songwriting, along with a straightforward rock production put a punctuation mark at the end of the grunge era as they reached multiplatinum success with their debut record. But with his collaboration with Carlos Santana, Thomas showed he was more than just a faceless lead singer of a rock band of the moment. He wrote and sang the song "Smooth" off of Santana's huge Supernatural album. It was the biggest hit of Santana's career and garnered the duo three Grammy awards. Thomas returned to the Matchbox Twenty fold and produced two more middle-of-the-road rock records before he switched gears by releasing his solo debut, 2005's Something To Be. Featuring a brighter more open sound that Matchbox Twenty's efforts, the album included more keyboards and dance production values to highlight Thomas' energetic, neo-soul voice and sultry swagger. Mostly on the strength of the single "Lonely No More," the release debuted as the No. 1 record in the country and launched Thomas as an artist with great commercial and artistic potential. His second album, Cradlesong, appeared in the summer of 2009. - Jon Maples

Kid Rock

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:54 -0800

After spending a decade toiling in obscurity and releasing a handful of albums that went nowhere, Kid Rock — Detroit's self-proclaimed "American Bad Ass" — spiked the title track of his forth album, 1998's Devil without a Cause, with a bold declaration: "I'm going platinum!" With the white trash rap/rock anthem "Bawitdaba" and a star-making performance at Woodstock '99, he delivered on his promise. But within a decade, Rock had made the total transformation into a classic rock singer when his 2007 album Rock N Roll Jesus debuted at Number One.

He was born Robert James Ritchie on Jan. 15, 1971, in Romeo, Michigan, a small, rural town north of the Detroit metro area, where his father owned a Lincoln-Mercury dealership. While growing up, he frequently clashed with his father, whom he blamed for being a workaholic, resulting in Ritchie's leaving home on multiple occasions as a teenager. He experimented with drugs and occasionally sold crack for spending money, but his primary focus was music. Though raised on his parents' classic rock & roll albums (Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Seger, etc.), Ritchie was equally interested in hip-hop. He formed his own break-dance crew, the Furious Funksters, and refined his scratching skills. Before long, he was DJ'ing and rapping at clubs and parties throughout the Detroit area, slowly building a reputation that led to a deal with Jive Records.

His 1990 debut, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, netted Kid Rock an opening spot on an Ice Cube tour and sparked controversy when the FCC threatened to fine a college radio station $23,750 for playing the album's homage to oral sex, "Yo-Da-Lin in the Valley." The fine was eventually dropped and so was Kid Rock; Grits Sandwiches had failed to sell enough to keep Jive's interest. He then signed to the indie label Continuum, which released 1993's The Polyfuze Method and the 1994 heavy metal-leaning EP Fire It Up. Both failed to reach an audience beyond Rock's local Detroit following. Undaunted, Kid Rock borrowed $8,500 from his father to set up his own label, Top Dog, and self-released his third full-length album, Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp, in 1996. The album sold enough for Kid Rock to attract the attention of Atlantic Records.

Devil without a Cause (Number Four, 1999) was slow out of the gate but began a steady climb up the Billboard 200 as rock radio and MTV picked up on the album's hybrid rap/metal singles "I Am the Bullgod" (Number 31 Mainstream Rock) and "Bawitdaba" (Number 10 Modern Rock). A third single, "Cowboy" (which threw dirty Southern rock and country elements into the mix), went to Number Five on the Modern Rock chart and Number 82 on the Hot 100. In 1999 — ten years after his debut album — Kid Rock was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy. (He lost to Christina Aguilera.)

The History of Rock (Number Two, 2000) featured remixed and rerecorded versions of tracks culled from his pre-Atlantic career and a couple of new tracks. He also announced plans to issue various projects by members of his Twisted Brown Trucker Band on his Atlantic-distributed Top Dog label, beginning with Double Wide (2000) by his DJ, Uncle Kracker. An album was also planned for his sidekick, Joe C. (born Joseph Calleja), but the diminutive, 26-year-old rapper, who suffered from the digestive disorder celiac disease, died in his sleep on November 16, 2000.

The following year Rock released Cocky (Number Three, 2001), his official follow-up to Devil Without a Cause, which featured a mix of rap/rock, Southern rock and country-tinged material. That year, he began talking up his love of country music and Southern rock, and appeared with Hank Williams Jr. on an episode of CMT's Crossroads show. Like Devil Without a Cause, though, Cocky's sales were sluggish at first. But by the time he released its biggest single — a duet with Sheryl Crow on the country-rock ballad "Picture" (Number Four, 2003) — the album went on to sell more than four million copies. "Picture," which also reached Number 21 on the Hot Country singles chart, signaled a major change in style for the rap/rocker.

When he returned with the self-titled Kid Rock (Number Eight, 2004), his transformation into a classic rocker was complete. The album spawned three Top Forty Mainstream Rock hits—a cover of Bad Company's mid-Seventies rock hit "Feel Like Makin' Love" (Number 33, 2004), "I Am" (Number 28, 2004) and "Jackson, Mississippi" (Number 14, 2004)—as well as the Number 50 Hot Country single "Single Father." After much touring, his rock band Kid Rock & the Twisted Brown Trucker Band released Live Trucker (Number 12, 2006), a performance set whose cover paid homage to Detroit rock legend Bob Seger's 1976 album, Live Bullet. Kid Rock returned the following year with Rock N Roll Jesus (Number One, 2007), which yielded the singles "Amen" (Number 11 Mainstream Rock, Number 27 Modern Rock, 2007) and "So Hott" (Number Two Mainstream Rock, Number 13 Modern Rock, 2007). He has said he will return to his hip-hop roots on his next album, following a side project with Run-DMC's Rev. Run.

Kid Rock's extramusical affairs have often eclipsed his music. In 2001, he began an on-again-off-again relationship with Pamela Anderson, whom he married in 2006 and then promptly divorced five months later. He's been arrested a number of times on assault and battery charges, including a 2005 incident in which he punched a DJ at a strip club, and a pair of 2007 incidents in which he was in a fight in an Atlanta Waffle House, and a more public dust-up when he and Motley Crue drummer (and former Anderson husband) Tommy Lee got into a scuffle at the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony.

Bon Jovi

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:27:18 -0800

Eternally topping the A-list of Jersey-bred pop-metal lady-killers, Bon Jovi dominated American life in the mid-'80s. Their third album, 1986's Slippery When Wet (original, tragically banned cover art = awesome), made them megastars, but they had already won over more than 50,000 pop Hessians with 1984's "Runaway," a melodramatic story-song made unforgettable by a killer chorus and Jon Bon Jovi's absolutely perfect hair in the video. A string of hits between 1986 and 1988 -- "You Give Love a Bad Name," "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive," followed up by "Bad Medicine" and "Lay Your Hands on Me," from New Jersey -- defined the power ballad and resulted in a virtual Bon Jovi sleeper hold on the mainstream psyche. While the grunge explosion rendered them instantly obsolete, Bon Jovi continued to put out records amid side projects for both Jon and guitarist Richie Sambora. In 2000 they returned with Crush, an updated look (no hairspray) and a single that stands today as one of the best on their roster, the soaring "It's My Life." A creative resurgence has since resulted in steady releases, the most recent of which, Lost Highway, appeared in 2007. - Mike McGuirk

Evanescence

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:51 -0800

Some say the devil is in the details. If that's true, the particulars of the Evanescence story add up to an epic allegory involving a Judas-like betrayal of the band's early Christian fanbase during its rise from a little-known Southern goth-metal band with religious underpinnings to a massively successful mainstream band in the secular pop world.

From the beginning, Evanescence was well crafted and well-marketed. Lead singer Amy Lee had the right goth look, from her ghoulish make-up and left-eyebrow piercing to her Victorian-style clothing, corsets and fishnets. Her ex-boyfriend, original guitarist and co-founder Ben Moody, was in a Christian praise and worship band when he met Lee at a church youth camp and was smitten by her voice and piano playing. Still in their early teens, the two formed Evanescence in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1998 and developed a following on the Christian rock circuit. They eventually fleshed out the band's lineup with keyboardist David Hodges, guitarist John LeCompt, bassist Will Boyd and drummer Rocky Gray. After recording a few independently released EPs, which included clearly Christian-themed songs such as "Give Unto Me," the band signed with Wind-Up Records, home to other successful religious-leaning rock acts such as Creed and 12 Stones. With Evanescence's involvement, Wind-Up's early marketing plan included a push to Christian music fans, and the band's 2003 debut album, Fallen, was sold in both Christian and secular music outlets.

That's when the story of Evanescence took a drastic public detour. In April 2003, a month after the release of Fallen, Lee and Moody renounced their association with Christian music in an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine that included profanity. It riled their Christian fans and Wind-Up immediately posted an apologetic letter on the Christian Music Central Website announcing that the band members' statements made it clear they considered Evanescence a secular band and that the aptly titled Fallen would be pulled from Christian retail outlets.

It didn't affect album sales at all. Fallen became a huge success, reaching Number One on Billboard's Top Contemporary Christian chart and Number Three on the Billboard 200. Its singles included "Bring Me to Life" (Number One Modern Rock; Number Five Pop, 2003), "Going Under" (Number Five Modern Rock, 2003) and "My Immortal" (Number Seven, 2004). The album went on to sell more than 15 million copies worldwide and Evanescence won two Grammys including Best New Band. But chatter on Christian Websites polarized the group's religious fans and tensions within Evanescence created a schism among its members. Even before the Entertainment Weekly scandal had broken, keyboardist Hodges left the group because he had mistakenly believed Lee and Moody wanted Evanescence to be part of the Christian music scene. Then, six months after the dust-up, Moody left due to "creative differences" and was replaced by Terry Balsamo of the Florida-based metal band Cold.

In 2004, Evanescence released a live album, Anywhere but Home, which reached Number 39 on the Billboard 200. If it wasn't already clear that Lee was the focal point of the band, the October 2006 release of The Open Door established her dominance once and for all. The album shot to Number One on the Billboard 200 and produced another Top 10 single, "Call Me When You’re Sober,: written about Lee's post-Moody relationship with Seether singer Shaun Morgan. Shortly before The Open Door's release, bassist Will Boyd left and was replaced by Tim McCord of the California metal band Revolution Smile. Six months after the album came out, guitarist John LeCompt announced that Lee had fired him via cell phone and that drummer Rocky Gray had also decided to leave the band. Lee replaced the two musicians, who had been with Evanescence since its Little Rock days, with drummer Will Hunt and guitarist Troy McLawhorn, both of the metal band Dark New Day. That lineup toured through late 2007.

After his departure from Evanescence, Moody underwent treatment for substance abuse problems and then began collaborating with pop stars such as American Idol singers Kelly Clarkson and Daughtry as well as Avril Lavigne, Lindsay Lohan and Celine Dion. As of 2008, his solo debut, tentatively titled Can't Regret What You Don't Remember, had not yet been released. He also has worked on various projects with Hodges, who has remained a vocal member of the Christian music scene.

Van Halen

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:53 -0800

In the late 1970s and on into the '80s, Eddie Van Halen's virtual re-invention of the guitar and David Lee Roth's horny circus performer stage presence were the core of one of Hard Rock's most enduring bands. Eddie's older brother Alex's shimmering hi-hat attack has always been as much a trademark of their shiny, sexy sound as Eddie's hammer-on-crazy solos -- solos that essentially introduced the phrases "ribboning leads" and "guitar pyrotechnics" into the rock vernacular. From their self-titled 1978 debut to the chart-smashing, band-wrecking 1984, each of their records with Roth contains at least one Classic Rock gem, if not an entire side of them. The band's early era was topped off with Fair Warning (1981) -- an uncharacteristically dark record that, through blazing songs of pure, unyielding rock power, reflects the growing tensions between Eddie and Roth at the time. Those same tensions eventually led to a much-debated switch to frizzy-haired "Red Rocker" Sammy Hagar in 1985. While the Hagar years still featured dynamic playing, the dreaded power ballad became a staple of their new, more mature demeanor. Nevertheless, VH continued to sell an unholy number of records on through the mid-1990s, and you practically had to kill yourself in order to avoid hearing their cloying soft drink anthem "Right Now." After further upheaval led to the departure of even Hagar's replacement Gary Cherone, rumors flew that the unfortunately named Bruce Cockburn would take over next. - Mike McGuirk

Matchbox Twenty

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:53 -0800

With a 1996 debut album that catapulted them directly onto the A-list of alternative-rock superstardom, Matchbox Twenty's occasionally muscular take on what Counting Crows started with "Mr. Jones" pretty much defined mainstream music in the late '90s. Three singles from that album -- "Long Day," "Push" and "3AM" -- remain archetypal examples of what is referred to as "adult alternative." Singer and focal point Rob Thomas' growly and impassioned vocals come straight outta the post-grunge school, bolstered by semi-heavy guitars at the chorus and lyrical cues that are impossible to forget (case in point: the "And I will, and I will" refrain in "Push," which is about as tenacious as a hook can possibly be). Second record Mad Season followed in 2000, and despite taking a less rocking approach, it furthered the band's near-dominance of the airwaves. Sales dropped slightly with More Than You Think You Are as everybody started copying Creed, and Matchbox Twenty's particular take on the alternative-rock ballad became somewhat obsolete and the band fell silent. In 2007, they reunited and released a hybrid of new and old material called Exile on Mainstream. - Mike McGuirk

Guns N' Roses

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:38:15 -0800

Not since the Sex Pistols, has a band generated more grist for gossip column mills than Guns N' Roses. The sexual exploits of the band's members and their persistent problems with drugs have led to relentless badgering from the music press. As with the Pistols, it is difficult to objectively comment on the merits of GN'R's music, because of the tower of hype obscuring it from view. Suffice it to say that the 1987 album Appetite for Destruction is a benchmark against which few albums in the genre of Heavy Metal (including subsequent GN'R records) can be measured and not deemed inferior. Axl Rose's vitriolic songwriting electrified a generation, and the enigmatic Slash will no doubt continue to be the subject of fawning guitar magazine profiles for decades to come. Though they've taken a beating over the course of their career, few would write off at least the possibility for Guns N' Roses to rise, phoenix-like, from the ashes and reassert their claim to the Heavy Metal throne. - Chad Driscoll

Foo Fighters

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:38:11 -0800

The Foo Fighters were the first and most successful success to emerge from the ashes of Nirvana, but the band's roots were in the years of personal recordings made by leader Dave Grohl. The former Nirvana drummer had played guitar and written songs since he was a Washington, D.C., teenager, while also playing drums in several hardcore bands. At age 17, Grohl became the drummer for the veteran punk act Scream. In 1990 he joined Nirvana, but continued to work on his own material during breaks from the road and studio. After finishing Nirvana's Nevermind, Grohl returned to D.C. to record several tracks, which were released on the cassette-only Pocketwatch. Plans for another cassette release were shelved with Kurt Cobain's 1994 suicide.

Later that year Grohl entered a studio with friend and producer Barrett Jones to record what would become the first Foo Fighters album. Grohl played all the instruments himself (with the exception of the song "X-Static," which featured guitar by Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs). Though he had written and sung just one Nirvana song (the B-side "Marigold"), Grohl demonstrated a flair for pop hooks and driving guitar rock. (The name Foo Fighters came from what American World War II pilots called unidentified fireballs spotted over Germany.) Grohl signed with Capitol and formed a band in time for a 1995 tour, recruiting bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith from the freshly-broken-up Sunny Day Real Estate. Pat Smear, the former Germs guitarist who had joined Nirvana for its final tour, also joined.

Foo Fighters (Number 23) was released in 1995 and spawned the Modern Rock hits "This Is a Call," "I'll Stick Around," and "Big Me." Goldsmith quit during the making of The Colour and the Shape (Number Ten, 1997), the first Foo Fighters album recorded as a band, and was replaced by Taylor Hawkins (Alanis Morissette). The album contained the Modern Rock hits "Monkey Wrench," "My Hero," and "Everlong." Smear quit and was briefly replaced by Franz Stahl (Scream) and then Chris Shiflett (No Use for a Name, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes), solidifying the lineup to date. Grohl relocated to Virginia and recorded There Is Nothing Left to Lose (Number 10, 1999) in his basement; the album included "Learn to Fly" (Number 13, 2000).

In 2001 the group began recording its fourth album in Los Angeles, but stopped before finishing. Grohl took a break from band-leading by getting behind the drums again for Queens of the Stone Age's superb 2002 album Songs for the Deaf. Refreshed, Grohl gathered the Foos back together and re-recorded almost the entire album at his Virginia home studio, released as One by One (Number Three, 2002). The album further consolidated the band's place as the well-loved elder statesmen of alt-rock.

In 2004, Grohl released Probot, the self-titled side project featuring a number of vocalists from heavy metal legends, among them Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), Snake (Voivod), King Diamond, and Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly). Later the same year, the Foos publicly backed John Kerry's presidential campaign, an endeavor Grohl said inspired the title of In Your Honor (Number Two, 2005), a double-CD featuring an acoustic disc and an electric one. It featured the hit "Best of You" (Number 18, 2005), later covered, to Grohl's great delight and surprise, by Prince during his bravura halftime appearance at the 2007 Super Bowl. (Foo Fighters had covered Prince's "Darling Nikki" on the B-side of the 2003 single "Have It All" and performed it live and on the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards with guest star Cee-Lo.) After a stopgap live disc, Skin and Bones (Number 21, 2006), Foo Fighters worked together again with Gil Norton, who'd produced The Colour and the Shape, and recorded the well received Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (Number Three, 2007).

Lifehouse

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:29 -0800

Lifehouse began in 1996 as Blyss, a teenage garage trio haunting their high school's Friday night jam sessions. Seattle transplant Jason Wade, his new L.A. neighbor Sergio Andrade, and latecomer drummer Rick Woolstenhulme honed their post-grunge sound for two years before garnering a deal with DreamWorks and changing their name to Lifehouse. Though the stringed "Breathe" won them that deal and resulted in debut LP No Name Face, "Hanging by a Moment" had more impact, hitting number one on Billboard's Modern Rock charts. The debut went double-platinum, and the obscure Southern California group was suddenly touring internationally with Pearl Jam, Everclear and Matchbox 20. They polished their sound and become more radio-friendly on their sophomore release, Stanley Climbfall, and in 2005 brought Canadian bassist Bryce Soderberg into the fold for their third (self-titled) LP. By album three, the band had solidified their trademark sound, bringing Wade's earnest grunge vocals and songwriting chops to the fore. - Amy Bartlett

Aerosmith

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:54 -0800

White trash kids from suburban Massachusetts, Aerosmith ripped open the '70s rock scene with loud, violent and lurid tunes built on a foundation of riffs lifted directly from the blues in the time-honored tradition of musical colonialists like Led Zeppelin and the Stones. Joe Perry's long-haired riffs perfectly complemented lead singer Steve Tyler's sleazoid Jaggerisms in songs that ran the gamut from Girl Group covers ("Walkin' in the Sand") to angry-robot Bowie funk ("Last Child"). There was a time when paperboys knew the kids to look out for were the ones riding BMX bikes, smoking cigarettes (and who knew what else), and listening to the abrasive, overtly sexual music of Aerosmith. A well-documented descent into drugs threatened to end their careers, but they returned clean, sober and completely digitized in the mid-1980s and achieved a semi-astonishing level of success. Although their new material relies more than ever on the power-ballad and over-produced blooze to get the point across, if you listen close you can still hear Joe Perry's snake-like, boogie monster guitar tearin' it up underneath all the special effects. - Mike McGuirk

Theory Of A Deadman

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:54:58 -0800

The Cinderella story of Theory of a Deadman has the soft-lit charm of a VH1 rockumentary: Lead singer Tyler Connolly slipped Nickelback hunk Chad Kroeger a demo while at an after-show party; he liked it, signed them and made them rock stars in his own likeness. The Canadian band has followed the footsteps of Nickelback very closely, with soaring choruses and albums that seethe with angsty sentimentality. The group issued their self-titled debut in 2002, Gasoline in 2005, and Scars & Souvenirs in 2008. - Nate Cavalieri

Jimi Hendrix

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:55 -0800

Jimi Hendrix was one of rock's few true originals. He was one of the most innovative and influential rock guitarists of the late '60s and perhaps the most important electric guitarist after Charlie Christian. His influence figures prominently in the playing styles of rockers ranging from Robin Trower to Vernon Reid to Stevie Ray Vaughan. A left-hander who took a right-handed Fender Stratocaster and played it upside down, Hendrix pioneered the use of the instrument as an electronic sound source. Players before Hendrix had experimented with feedback and distortion, but he turned those effects and others into a controlled, fluid vocabulary every bit as personal as the blues with which he began. His expressively unconventional, six-string vocabulary has lived on in the work of such guitarists as Adrian Belew, Eddie Van Halen, and Prince. But while he unleashed noise--and such classic hard-rock riffs as "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady," and "Crosstown Traffic"--with uncanny mastery, Hendrix also created such tender ballads as "The Wind Cries Mary," the oft-covered "Little Wing," and "Angel," and haunting blues recordings such as "Red House" and "Voodoo Chile." Although Hendrix did not consider himself a good singer, his vocals were nearly as wide-ranging, intimate, and evocative as his guitar playing.

Hendrix's studio craft and his virtuosity with both conventional and unconventional guitar sounds have been widely imitated, and his image as the psychedelic voodoo child conjuring uncontrollable forces is a rock archetype. His songs have inspired several tribute albums, and have been recorded by a jazz group (1989's Hendrix Project), the Kronos String Quartet, and avant-garde flutist Robert Dick. Hendrix's musical vision had a profound effect on everybody from Sly Stone to George Clinton to Miles Davis to Prince to OutKast. Hendrix's theatrical performing style--full of unmistakably sexual undulations, and such tricks as playing the guitar behind his back (a tradition that went back at least to bluesman T-Bone Walker) and picking it with his teeth--has never quite been equaled. In the decades since Hendrix's death, pop stars from Rick James and Prince to Lenny Kravitz and Erykah Badu have evoked his look and style.

As a teenager growing up in Seattle, Hendrix taught himself to play guitar by listening to records by blues guitarists Muddy Waters and B.B. King and rockers such as Chuck Berry and Eddie Cochran. He played in high school bands before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1959. Discharged in 1961, Hendrix began working under the pseudonym Jimmy James as a pickup guitarist. By 1964, when he moved to New York, he had played behind Sam Cooke, B.B. King, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Ike and Tina Turner, and Wilson Pickett. In New York he played the club circuit with King Curtis, the Isley Brothers, John Paul Hammond, and Curtis Knight.

In 1965 Hendrix formed his own band, Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, to play Greenwich Village coffeehouses. Chas Chandler of the Animals took him to London in the autumn of 1966 and arranged for the creation of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, with Englishmen Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.

The Experience's first single, "Hey Joe," reached Number Six on the U.K. chart in early 1967, followed shortly by "Purple Haze" and its double-platinum debut album, Are You Experienced? (Number Five, 1967). Hendrix fast became the rage of London's pop society. Though word of the Hendrix phenomenon spread through the U.S., he was not seen in America (and no records were released) until June 1967, when, at Paul McCartney's insistence, the Experience appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival. The performance, which Hendrix climaxed by burning his guitar, was filmed by D.A. Pennebaker for the documentary Monterey Pop.

Hendrix's next albums were major hits (Axis: Bold as Love [Number Three, 1968], Electric Ladyland [Number One, 1968]) and he quickly became a superstar. Stories such as one reporting that the Experience was dropped from the bill of a Monkees tour at the insistence of the Daughters of the American Revolution became part of the Hendrix myth, but he considered himself a musician more than a star. Soon after the start of his second American tour, early in 1968, he renounced the extravagances of his stage act and simply performed his music. A hostile reception led him to conclude that his best music came out in the informal settings of studios and clubs, and he began construction of Electric Lady, his own studio in New York.

Hendrix was eager to experiment with musical ideas, and he jammed with John McLaughlin, Larry Coryell, and members of Traffic, among others. Miles Davis admired his instinctiveness (and, in fact, planned to record with him), and Bob Dylan--whose "Like a Rolling Stone," "All Along the Watchtower," and "Drifter's Escape" Hendrix performed and recorded--later returned the tribute by performing "Watchtower" in the Hendrix mode.

As 1968 came to a close, disagreements arose between manager Chas Chandler and co-manager Michael Jeffrey; Jeffrey, who opposed Hendrix's avant-garde leanings, got the upper hand. Hendrix was also under pressure from Black Power advocates to form an all-black group and play to black audiences. These problems exacerbated already existing tensions within the Experience, and early in 1969 Redding left the group to form Fat Mattress. Hendrix replaced him with an army buddy, Billy Cox. Mitchell stayed on briefly, but by August the Experience was defunct. In summer 1969 the double-platinum Smash Hits (Number Six) was released.

In August 1969, Hendrix appeared at the Woodstock Festival with a large, informal ensemble called the Electric Sky Church, and later that year he put together the all-black Band of Gypsys--with Cox and drummer Buddy Miles (Electric Flag), with whom he had played behind Wilson Pickett. The Band of Gypsys' debut concert at New York's Fillmore East on New Year's Eve 1969 provided the recordings for the group's only album during its existence, Band of Gypsys (Number Five, 1970). (A second album of vintage tracks was released in 1986.) Hendrix walked offstage in the middle of their Madison Square Garden gig; when he performed again some months later it was with Mitchell and Cox, the group that recorded The Cry of Love (Number Three, 1971), Hendrix's last self-authorized album. With them he played at the Isle of Wight Festival, his last concert, in August 1970, a recording of which would see release in 2002. A month later he was dead. The cause of death was given in a coroner's report as inhalation of vomit following barbiturate intoxication. Suicide was not ruled out, but evidence pointed to an accident.

In the years since his death, the Hendrix legend has lived on through various media. Randi Hansen (who appeared in the video for Devo's 1984 cover of "Are You Experienced?") became the best known of a bunch of full-time Hendrix impersonators, even re-forming the Band of Gypsys with bassist Tony Saunders and Buddy Miles--who, briefly in the late '80s, was replaced by Mitch Mitchell.

Well over a dozen books have been written about Hendrix, including tones by both Redding and Mitchell; the most authoritative bio was generally considered to be David Henderson's 'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky, while Charles R. Cross's Room Full of Mirrors delves deepest into Hendrix's early years in Seattle. And virtually every note Hendrix ever allowed to be recorded has been marketed on over 100 albums, some of which mine his years as a pickup guitarist, various bootlegs and legitimate live concerts and jam sessions, and even taped interviews and conversations. A controversial series produced by Alan Douglas, who recorded over 1,000 hours of Hendrix alone at the Electric Lady studio in the last year of his life, garnered attention through the mid-'90s. With the consent of the Hendrix estate, Douglas edited the tapes, erased some tracks, and dubbed in others, with mixed results. Radio One collected energetic live-in-the-studio performances by Hendrix and the Experience recorded for British radio in 1967; the later BBC Sessions mined the same material more thoroughly.

In 1990 the first of several Hendrix tribute albums, If Six Was Nine, was released. Former Free/Bad Company/Firm vocalist Paul Rodgers released another tribute (The Hendrix Set, 1993) and appeared on the all-star Stone Free, which featured Hendrix covers from musicians ranging from Eric Clapton to Buddy Guy to the Cure to Ice-T to classical violinist Nigel Kennedy.

In 1991 Hendrix's ex-girlfriend Kathy Etchingham, along with Mitch Mitchell and his wife Dee, began prodding Scotland Yard to reopen an investigation into their friend's death. England's attorney general finally agreed to the request in 1993; in early 1994 Scotland Yard announced it had found no evidence to bother pursuing the case any further. In 1993 an audio-visual exhibit of Hendrix's work called "JimI Hendrix: On the Road Again" toured college campuses and art galleries in the U.S., to enthusiastic--and predominately young--audiences.

In 1994 a 24-year-old Swede named James Henrik Daniel Sundquist claimed to have been conceived by the guitarist and Eva Sundquist during a 1969 Stockholm sojourn. Sundquist legally challenged Hendrix's father, James "Al" Hendrix, as the sole heir to the Jimi Hendrix estate, which was estimated to be worth at least $30 million. A year earlier, Al Hendrix, who in the mid-'70s had signed away the rights to portions of his son's work to various international conglomerates, had claimed that he'd been misled. With the financial aid of Paul Allen, the billionaire Hendrix fan who'd cofounded Microsoft with Bill Gates, he filed a federal lawsuit against those conglomerates and against the holding companies and lawyers connected to the estate. In 1995 he regained complete control of his son's estate, which included Jimi Hendrix's finished and unreleased recordings, as well as his musical compositions. This evolved into a series of CD reissues that were remastered from the original tapes. Having re-released CDs of the guitarist's entire catalogue, the Hendrix estate, under the Experience Hendrix imprint of MCA, also issued the album on which Hendrix was working at the time of his death, First Rays of the New Rising Sun (Number 49, 1997). South Saturn Delta (Number 51, 1997) delved further into the archives. Experience Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix (Number 133, 1998) followed, as did the double-CD BBC Sessions (Number 50, 1998), the Band of Gypsys-era Live at the Fillmore East (Number 65, 1999), Live at Woodstock (Number 90, 1999), and, in 2000, the four-CD/eight-LP Jimi Hendrix Experience box set. (Several other live discs were made available through an online imprint, Dagger Records.) Meanwhile Paul Allen amassed his cash to fund a modest Jimi Hendrix museum, which eventually blossomed into the $100 million Experience Music Project. Eight years in the making, the high-tech, interactive rock & roll museum - complete with a Jimi Hendrix Gallery - opened at the Seattle Center in 2000.

Goo Goo Dolls

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:51 -0800

Often compared to the Replacements and Cheap Trick, the Goo Goo Dolls' tattered, anthemic beginnings were documented on Metal Blade Records -- home to such other "alt rockers" as D.R.I., GWAR, and Fates Warning. Perennial headbangers, their noisy forays embraced the excesses of Sonic Youth and Oh My Gawd!-era Flaming Lips as much as they harnessed the raw punk energy of the Replacements. The 'Mats references don't really start to make sense until the fourth and fifth albums, when their songwriting developed past three chords-and-some-noise songs to eventually include string sections and over-rehearsed dynamics (see Superstar Car Wash). Their sixth album, A Boy Named Goo, offered the megahit "Name," a song so sweetly infectious and clean it seemed to deny any previous knowledge of metal. Now comfortably marketed to the 'burbs rather than the seedy, beer-soaked parts of town they once ruled, a VH-1 Behind the Music special about the band would probably seem more like an episode of the X-Files than a documentary. The band followed-up their breakthrough album with 1998's Dizzy Up the Girl, scoring the Goo Goo Dolls another round of chart hits with "Slide" and "Iris," a monster power ballad written for the City of Angels soundtrack. A result of the band's over-the-top success was that frontman Johnny Rzeznik ended up spending a great deal of time in Los Angeles; eventually moving there. In 2002, they released the rather glossy Gutterflower marking the first hiccup for the band. Rzeznik, who was having trouble adjusting to living in Los Angeles and fame in general, found himself divorced, uninspired by his new surroundings and with relative commercial bomb on his hands. In July, 2004, the Goo Goo Dolls played a Fourth of July concert for their fans. The free concert was held in the band's hometown of Buffalo, New York, and captured the magic of the band perfectly -- even the unseasonable rain couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd that day. Fittingly, the Goos released Live in Buffalo shortly thereafter. The experience restored Rzeznik's spirits and once again, the singer found himself packing his belongings and moving across country. In the transition, the band's label released What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce, a somewhat wishy-washy compilation of remixes and early tracks. Once back in Buffalo, the beleagured singer's creative juices started flowing once again. He and bandmate Robbie Takac rekindled their songwriting partnership, which had fallen by the wayside after SuperstarCarWash was released. The result was 2006's return to form, Let Love In, an inspired effort produced by Glen Ballard. - Linda Ryan

Seether

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:07:25 -0800

Bearing plenty of sonic similarities to neo-radio metal big shots Nickelback (albeit with more crunch) and a knack for choruses almost as catchy as main influence Nirvana, Seether formed in South Africa in 1999. Wind-Up Records signed them within a year of their storming the charts in their homeland; released their debut, Disclaimer, in 2002; and sent them out on a series of lengthy tours. A remix of that album, Disclaimer II, turned up in 2004, and Karma and Effect followed in 2005. In 2007, the quintet released Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces. They play metal-pop with some tasty guitars and ties to the heydays of grunge that seem to grow stronger with each release. Even singer Shaun Morgan's lyrics reflect the introspection of those times, using his struggles with substances and his former relationship with Evanescence singer Amy Lee as subject matter for some of their better songs (see their first single, "Fine Again"). - Mike McGuirk

Breaking Benjamin

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:51 -0800

Breaking Benjamin formed in northern Pennsylvania in 2000, when members of the Universal-signed alt metal act Lifer split to start the band with singer and primary songwriter Ben Burnley. In the ensuing years, they toured with Evanescence, released a pair of records on the Hollywood imprint, got sued by their former drummer and collaborated with former Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan. 2006 saw the release of their third album, Phobia, which became a quick success on active rock radio thanks to the single "The Diary of Jane." - Mike McGuirk

Blue October

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:07:25 -0800

This alternative rock band from Texas came together in the late '90s. Formed by vocalist/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld with his brother (and drummer) Jeremy, the current lineup includes Matt Noveskey on bass lead guitarist, CB Hudson (who replaced original guitarist Brant Coulter) and violinist Ryan Delahoussaye. A multi-instrumentalist, Delahoussaye also plays viola, mandolin and keyboards and was one of Blue October's original members along with the brothers Furstenfeld. Two years after releasing a well-regarded debut, The Answers, in their hometown of Houston without any label support or management, Blue October were signed to Universal Records. But that relationship was short-lived. After unleashing 2000's Consent to Treatment they were dropped -- only to be re-signed by the label a few years later, following the enormous success of their single "Calling You," which was also featured on the American Weddingsoundtrack. On their strength of their live shows and enthusiastic audiences, Dallas independent label Brando came calling, putting out their live CD (with DVD), Argue With A Tree, followed by another studio effort, History for Sale. Universal ended up signing them up for a fourth studio effort, 2006's Foiled, and reissued History. Even though they are now back with a major label, Blue October still consider themselves an indie band because of their DIY beginnings, and their huge loyal fan base. - Michele K-Tel

Rush

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:59 -0800

The legendary Canadian power trio largely responsible for the term "math rock," Rush started out as a Buddy Holly-covering bar band before morphing into the Black Sabbath-oriented metal band of their self-titled 1974 debut. The band's style changed radically with the arrival of uber-drummer and main lyricist Neil Peart for the next and all subsequent records. Peart's influence helped Rush combine supernatural technical ability, mythical imagery and skin-tight body-suits for a futuristic blend of prog and hard rock. Their popularity swelled throughout the '70s, finally exploding in 1981 and 1982 with Permanent Waves and Signals, albums that yielded radio hits with "Tom Sawyer" and "New World Man," thus cementing Rush's place as the premier prog band of the decade. Things began to slow down starting with Grace Under Pressure and by 2000 they had pretty much fallen off the radar, despite continuing to draw huge crowds on tour. With 2002's Vapor Trails, they dispensed with the freaky keyboard sounds of their heyday and became a solid-rocking band, a style they adopted through Snakes & Arrows which came out in 2007. - Mike McGuirk

The Offspring

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:31 -0800

The Offspring got their start much like any other Southern California band in the wake of that region's first punk explosion, playing songs that were lacking some of the first wave's abrasiveness but were musically more adept. The Offspring made their first appearance in 1989 with a self-titled release (on the Nemesis label) that featured many of their trademark sonic elements: crunchy guitars wrapped up in power chords and occasional surf riffs, with vocal stylings that hover between yells and grunts. In '90, the band signed to California indie label Epitaph. With the '94 Smash LP, and the accompanying single "Come Out and Play," the group became the biggest-selling indie artist of all time. Since then, the group have had consistent success with alternative radio, most recently with the single "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)." Since that single hit the charts in 1998, the Offspring have steadily released albums, with Conspiracy of One and Splinter appearing in 2000 and 2003, respectively, and Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace following in 2008. - Mike McGuirk

Creed

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:27:21 -0800

Floridian superstars Creed play punchy, Grunge-inflected rock. Big, open acoustic chords, rock-solid drums with sophisticated accents and singer Scott Stapps' powerful, earnest voice drive epic verses with introspective lyrics. Also watch for thunderous, sometimes beautifully melodic choruses.

Papa Roach

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:55 -0800

Great big guitars and steadfast, drumstick-twirling breaks fronted by an angry rapper/cusser -- that's Papa Roach in a nutshell. If you miss the genre-smashing hybrid of Faith No More's breakout record, these guys will be happy to fill the void. Regardless of whether you consider the fact to be positive or negative, Papa Roach took the nu-metal world by storm in 2000 with the massive hit single "Last Resort." The album that single came off of, Infest, sold about a gajillion copies, making Papa Roach a household name practically overnight. Their 2002 follow-up, Lovehatetragedy, didn't break any records, but the band managed to hold onto a respectable following. "Getting Away With Murder," their first new single in two years, was released in July 2004, and led off their album of the same name. Papa Roach's fourth album, The Paramour Sessions, came out in fall of '06. - Mike McGuirk

Stone Temple Pilots

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:59 -0800

Though plagued by unaccepting critics over their career, Stone Temple Pilots have continued to win fans, selling more than 20 million albums and grabbing a Grammy in the process. Among the early harbingers of grunge, STP draw from influences such as Led Zeppelin and Black Flag to create their own influential sound. - Jessy Terry

No Doubt

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:13:50 -0800

Surfing high on the Ska Punk wave which raged in the 1990s, No Doubt found their ticket to ride in a watered-down, polished combination of 3rd Wave Ska and punk-pop. With success on the horizon, they quickly moved into more radio-friendly pop territory, launching a career that moved beyond alternative music festivals. As image-perfect as Disneyland, which sat in their backyard, No Doubt embraced a sound and look that countered the aggressive and raw aspects of grunge and punk. What little ska sound they had became buried under tightly crafted new wave currents. The group's appeal skyrocketed with the attention-grabbing centerpiece and vocalist, Gwen Stefani. In both sound and image, Stefani stood out like a forest fire in a snowstorm. Her lofty voice soared over easily digestible, bouncy guitars and took front stage both aurally and visually. Stefani went on to worldwide fame after the band went on hiatus in 2003. - Mark Murrmann

Hinder

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:42:43 -0800

Joining the ranks of Breaking Benjamin and Nickleback in the ever-evolving-but-poorly-named active rock arena is Oklahoma City quintet Hinder. The band originally came together around the college campus in OKC, when lead singer Austin Winkler was playing for a cover act. A few years, a self-released CD and many gigs later, Hinder was being eagerly courted by the majors, and they finally settled on Universal to release their official debut, 2006's Extreme Behavior. Without much hype and much to the coastal states' surprise, the hard-partying band became one of 2006's biggest success stories thanks to the cynical, sentimental power ballad "Lips of an Angel." - Jonathan Zwickel

Godsmack

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:09:53 -0800

Boston lumpen-rockers of note have made a career out of flogging the last bit of life out of Alice In Chains' workhorse grunge formula: fierce guitar riffage, over-the-top crooning and heavy bass lines that sink through the rock sludge like Liquid Plumber. By taking heavy metal chops and precision beats and hammering them together with "'roid rage," Godsmack have created the state-of-the-art jock rock for the new millennium. The band signed to Universal Records in 1998 and almost immediately scored with the single "Whatever," from their self-titled debut. A spot on the Ozzfest tour followed, as well as their follow-up record, Awake, which cemented their place near the top of the post-grunge heavy music heap. In 2002, they were nominated for a Grammy for "Best Instrumental Rock performance" for the song "Vampires." Godsmack continues to headline tours and put out records, the most recently, an acoustic reworking of some of their older songs, came out in 2003 and was titled The Other Side. - Chad Driscoll

Heart

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:51 -0800

On Heart's 1976 debut, Dreamboat Annie, Ann and Nancy Wilson rocked as no other female act had since Janis Joplin. The record is all the more amazing for its diversity, demonstrating that the sisters were equally at home in the folky confines of Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell as they were in the heavy blues environs of Led Zeppelin. Nowhere is the influence of the latter more prevalent than on the Little Queen single "Barracuda," with its instantly recognizable "Achilles' Last Stand" riff and bated-beat dynamic. In the '80s, the Wilsons re-styled themselves as power balladeers, and 1985's Heart was wildly successful, restoring credibility to the band just when it seemed to be on it way out. Songs like "What About Love?" and "These Dreams" introduced Heart to a new generation. The sisters returned to touring in the early 2000s and released Alive In Seattle, focusing on their classic '70s material, in 2003. Jupiter's Darling appeared in 2004 and found the band revisiting the hard rock/folk-rock hybrid that made them famous in the '70s. - Chad Driscoll

Foreigner

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:03:36 -0800

From 1977 to 1982, Foreigner was a hit-making machine, selling a bazillion records while creating power ballads and shiny hard rock tunes that may forever live in our collective consciousness. Their most obvious counterpart is Journey -- both bands possessed overtly dramatic and distinctive lead vocalists, while also featuring guitar masterminds who played second fiddle to said singers. And like the boys from the Bay Area, Foreigner were on the track to the big bucks beginning with their eponymous debut album, which featured the hit tracks "Feels Like the First Time" and "Cold As Ice." Straightforward classic rock was further refined on Double Vision (1978), while Head Games (1979) offered some welcome sleaze with the song "Dirty White Boy" and the silly, sexist album art. On Agent Provocateur (1984) the band dished out their most well-known power ballad, the gospel-ized "I Want to Know What Love Is." Singer Lou Gramm left the band to pursue a solo career shortly after but returned in 1992 and recorded the album Mr. Moonlight. Gramm left the band again in 2002 and a replacement was found for touring purposes only. By this time sole original member Mick Jones was surrounded by Jason Bonham, Kelly Hansen, Jeff Jacobs, Jeff Pilson and Thom Gimbel. - Will Lerner

KISS

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:55 -0800

Scene: interior of house. Dad reading newspaper on recliner. Mother crocheting on couch. Television is on, Mary Tyler Moore is heard dimly in the background. A young man of about fifteen walks through front door carrying a plastic bag. He says nothing to his parents, walks down the hall into his bedroom. Posters of rock stars like KISS, Alice Cooper and Queen are on his wall. He shuts the door, sits on his bed, takes a record out of the bag. It is KISS Alive!. He removes vinyl from the sleeve, puts record on turntable and stares in awe at the maniacal, rapturous, cartoonish hard rockers on the cover. "Deuce" blasts out of the speakers, and the boy is transported to an arena where it's all happening.

Scene: Concert stage. Paul, Gene, Ace and Peter are there, bashing away at their instruments, the crowd is screaming with delight, smoke is pouring from the stage, explosions are going off. The boy finds himself with a guitar around his neck and in makeup similar to the others; he is called the Hawk. He finds he can play his guitar like a champ, and is soon beating out those bar chords while Paul sings, Ace plays lead, and Gene and Peter hold down the rhythm section. The teenager feels warm liquid hit his torso; he realizes that Gene has just spit blood on him. They smile at each other.

Scene: the boy is back in his room, eyes closed, playing air guitar while "Hotter Than Hell" blares from his stereo. His mother is banging on the door. We hear her shout, "Turn it down, godammit!!!" The boy doesn't hear her. He's in hard rock paradise. - Will Lerner

Avenged Sevenfold

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:50 -0800

Avenged Sevenfold are a Huntington Beach, CA phenomenon. They apply soaring, pop-punk harmonies to raging power metal licks with chugging hardcore breakdowns. At the start of their career in 1999, it seemed fans of Bad Religion and Iron Maiden finally had something to agree on, but these metalcore stalwarts-turned-mainstream-rock-stars upped the ante on their signature sound, combining a more eclectic range of influences in the hard rock arena, and flipping the ratio of guttural growls to clean singing to include more of the latter and less of the former. In 2005, this new approach saw the release and success of City of Evil -- the band's major label debut, and platinum-selling record. Continuing to conquer the Billboard Charts, A7X returned in 2007 with their self-produced, self-titled hard rock tome containing political outcries and an ode to Pantera. - Jen Guyre

Collective Soul

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:59 -0800

Collective Soul is a thinking man's AOR band combining the grit of post-Seattle rock with melodic vocals and occasionally Hip-Hop-flavored percussion. They've enjoyed no small amount of success with the 25-30 age group interested in serious "alternative" music and continue to release world-conscious music in the passionate vein of Zooropa-era U2. Frontman and main contributor Ed Roland shows a strong Natalie Merchant influence, especially when he dances. - Mike McGuirk

Third Eye Blind

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:48 -0800

One of the leaders in the slew of modern bands releasing lyrically-driven, post-Nirvana rock that incorporates a variety of styles to create one of their own. Third Eye Blind's combination of rock guitars, Beatles harmonies and emotionally charged vocals has been scoring hits since they burst on the scene in 1997 with "Semi-Charmed Life." They fall in the same category as Foo Fighters and Everclear, with smart, post-grunge pop that appeals to adult audiences as well as college-aged kids. Since the 1990s, their material has shown off a more muscle-bound unit than before. - Mike McGuirk

David Cook

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:56 -0800

David Cook, American Idol's season seven winner, has come a long way since languishing in obscurity with a Midwestern rock outfit name Axium. Cook started the Missouri-based group while a junior in high school, giving him his first taste of the spotlight that would bathe him after his Idol win over fresh-faced runner-up David Archuleta. Born in Houston and raised in Missouri, Cook has a big, versatile voice, which helped him sail though the competition singing songs by acts as widely disparate as Dolly Parton, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Our Lady Peace, though his ease in donning an electric guitar and crooning a post-grunge hook clearly shows his inclination for the latter. His first single, the sentimental rocker "The Time of My Life" (notably different from the Dirty Dancing theme) was released in May of 2008 and is expected on his debut full length, which will call in the talents of OneRepublic songwriter Ryan Tedder. - Nate Cavalieri

Alanis Morissette

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:22:58 -0800

A former child television and pop star in her native Canada, 19-year-old Alanis Morissette established herself as a very different sort of star with "You Oughta Know," Jagged Little Pill's first single. Backed by Flea and Dave Navarro, Morissette's wail of a woman scorned blends obsession, rage, blunt sexuality, and raw pain into a mob hit of a pop song and may be the best kiss-off song since "Positively 4th Street." Elsewhere on Pill, Morissette's confessional lyrics are as gawky, awkward, and self-important as their subject, adolescence. "You Oughta Know" is Jagged Little Pill's arresting standout, but the entire album — from "Ironic," "You Learn," to "Hand in My Pocket" has aged extremely well.

Three years later, Morissette and Ballard teamed up again to create Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Although just as lyrically dense as its predecessor, it suffers from relative indirectness. In songs like "Front Row," Morissette offers paragraphs of inscrutable lyrics such as "I'd like you to be schooled and in awe as though you were kissed by God full on the lips." The single "Thank U" and hard rocker "Baba" allow rare moments of Morissette's emotional punch to shine though her lyrical spew.

Besides marking her first tiny step away from Ballard, MTV Unplugged is a premature live disc with little to recommend it. In addition to songs from her first two releases, Morissette pads the set with three new songs and a pointless cover of the Police's "King of Pain." Under Rug Swept (Number One, Top 200)represents Morissette finally taking full control of her muse by writing and producing the entire disc. Less dense than the sonic tapestries she created with Ballard, Under Rug Swept nonetheless finds Morissette with more than enough musical intelligence — from thick guitars and hip-hop beats to Middle Eastern flourishes — to go it alone, though her lyrics still read like binge entries in a therapy diary. On "Hands Clean," even her posse turns out to contain an "inner posse." But no matter how ridiculous her lyrics may seem, Morissette's increasingly expressive singing is strengthened by her genuine belief in each and every word. As prolific as she is verbose, she also released Feast on Scraps (2002), containing a DVD of a performance from the Under Rug Swept tour and an outtakes audio disc. That same year Morissette made a cameo on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, during which she and Larry David discussed urination.

So-Called Chaos (2004, Number Five), Morissette seemed more self-absorberd than ever . On "This Grudge" she goes back to the relationship that has haunted all her adult work, although this time even she realizes that it's "this grudge that's grown old." Still, she dutifully adds the detritus up to "14 years 30 minutes 15 seconds I've held this grudge/11 songs 4 full journals, thoughts of punishment I've expended." Yet, at the end of the song Morissette is still no closer to moving on. And so, stuck in a rut, So-Called Chaos becomes the sound of Morissette spinning her wheels by revisiting her old themes of verbose insecurity, self-discovery, and empowerment while allowing her music to stagnate under a pop sheen that -- like a nervous tick -- recycles the techno touches and Middle Eastern flourishes of earlier efforts .

Two peripheral releases followed: 2005's Jagged Little Pill Acoustic (Number 50, Top 200), a stripped-down version of her breakthrough album, and Alanis Morissette: The Collection (Number 51, Top 200), the latter yielding a minor hit with a cover of Seal's "Crazy." But the singer's comeback hit turned out to be a somber cover of Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps," which was released as a YouTube clip in 2007. Though never released as a single, the video garnered more than 12 million views in its first year.

Her first studio album in four years, 2008's Flavors of Entanglement (Number Eight, Top 200) followed on the heels of a broken engagement to actor Ryan Reynolds. Co-written and produced by Guy Sigsworth (Björk), the album surrounds Morissette's introspective lyrics with electronic beats, Eastern percussion and orchestral arrangements.

Sugar Ray

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:13:51 -0800

Sugar Ray owe a great debt to the powers that make their fusion of styles so darn catchy. Somehow, the union of hardcore Speed Metal with growling vocals, the sunny, feel-good songs with shimmering acoustic guitar, grungy guitar-driven rock and DJ Homicide's groovy beats make a unified sound all their own. Fueled by the popularity of their ubiquitous first single "Fly" and singer Mark McGrath's pin-up looks -- the five-piece SoCal band seem likely to beat Warhol's "fifteen minutes of fame" prediction. - Kali Holloway

Pat Benatar

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:51 -0800

Pat Benatar hit the late '70s rock scene like a teeth-and-spandex tornado. The original Long Island Lolita, Benatar was an impressive belter with a band that brought New Wave-tinged Power Pop to the American mainstream. While her first chart-toppers -- such as "Heartbreaker" and "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" -- remain her best, Benatar's popularity held strong through the mid-'80s, when she took on synth pop leanings. This direction, though popular, eventually made her original audience forget why they liked her music in the first place. The sultry True Love (1991) showed that classic R&B and urban blues are where her passion really lies, but she has since returned to rock instead of further exploring these genres. Joan Jett may be everyone's favorite riot grrrl godmother, but it was Benatar who first showed the general public that rock 'n' roll isn't just a man's world. - Nick Dedina

Robert Plant

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:52 -0800

After Led Zeppelin grounded its blimp in 1980, Robert Plant could have taken the easy stairway to continued stardom, but he has continued to take chances that have paid off -- much like Scientology texts, his solo albums have consistently, if quietly, sold quite well. The orgiastic blues screech that Plant perfected for a generation of operatic Metal belters seems to have taken a toll on his voice; as a result, he now sings more and wails less. The Principle of Moments (1983) is his most integrated effort, but Fate of Nations (1993) saw Plant gracefully carrying folky protest signs. He is now back with old bandmate Jimmy Page, but some wish he would have maintained the Honeydrippers -- a sophisticated 1950s rock side project -- going. This one-off 1984 EP saw Plant paying homage to his heroes and proving that the latest crop of swing revivalists are really just rock 'n' rollers at heart. - Nick Dedina

Flyleaf

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:52 -0800

Flyleaf is a hard-rocking alternative band from Temple, Texas. Bolstering the powerful vocals of singer Lacey Mosley with guitars on top of guitars and a thumping rhythm section, the band resurrects the angst of the grunge years, often simultaneously echoing such disparate influences as Soundgarden, the Cranberries (in that band's heavier moments) and the tight structures of Veruca Salt. - Mike McGuirk

Audioslave

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:25 -0800

Audioslave combine three former members of Rage Against The Machine with ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. Despite early talk that the group might retain the RATM name and some stop-start activity prior to releasing their debut, the band emerged as a newly named unit in 2002 with a sound that substituted Cornell's powerful introspection for Rage's political fury. Though it's hard to hear their debut as much more than a collaboration between two forceful personalities, the dynamic does offer major fist-pumping power and has lead to subsequent albums. Out of Exile appeared in 2005, mostly conforming to the band's established modern hard rock pattern. 2006's Revelations, however, took a rootsier approach. First single "Original Fire" shakes and rattles with an almost bluesy swagger, marking a new direction for the supergroup. No tour in support of the album led to some fan speculation of a breakup...and that's exactly what happened. Rage Against the Machine reunited in 2007 and Chris Cornell eased back into a solo career. - Jon Pruett

A Perfect Circle

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:38:15 -0800

The most obvious criticism of A Perfect Circle is that they're not Tool. Anyone who comes to this Maynard James Keenan side project looking for a booster shot of venom to tide them over until the next Tool album will begin to feel the hot flashes and nausea of withdrawal almost immediately. Not surprisingly, "Judith," the most Tool-sounding song on Mer de Noms, was also the first to be promoted, but don't be misled -- A Perfect Circle are much closer in sensibility to the Smashing Pumpkins than Tool. Songs such as "The Hollow" and "Thinking of You" show Keenan to be capable of sensitivity, longing, even instances of vulnerability. His sinuous voice still sneers on occasion, but is more inclined to coil gently or soar ecstatically. On "Orestes" he sounds like a man liberated, however briefly, from a defeated world. Even without the presence of strings (!) and the gorgeous textures achieved by vocal overdubbing, there's something phenomenal happening here that fans won't find on a Tool album. This is someone's attempt to rescue a little sweetness and light from an encroaching darkness -- and it's an attempt that succeeds over and over again. - Chad Driscoll

Switchfoot

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:52:17 -0800

Beginning with brothers Jonathan and Tim Foreman and their buddy Chad Butler, Switchfoot's leap from beach town garage band to international phenomenon seemed almost instantaneous. A homemade demo found its way to the hands of Christian rock forefather Charlie Peacock, after which it quickly morphed into their 1997 debut The Legend of Chin. After the success of their debut and follow-up record, the band added keyboardist Jerome Fontamillas in 2000 and recorded a third CD. That album, Learning to Breathe, served as their bridge to the mainstream with several tracks (including the huge hit "Dare You to Move") landing on the soundtrack on Mandy Moore's 2002 blockbuster A Walk to Remember. Frontman Jon Foreman even recorded a duet with the film's star. From there it was only a short hop to Sony's roster for their first mainstream label release, Beautiful Letdown, which hit No. 1 on the Christian charts and No. 16 on Billboard's Top-200, much in thanks to the break-out hit "Meant to Live." They threw one more log on the fire -- adding touring buddy and guitarist Andrew Shirley -- for their 2005 release, Nothing Is Sound, which yielded "Stars," a song that contained one of the most fetching hooks in their history. So what's with the name? Switchfoot is a surfing term meant to convey changing one's foot position on the board, thus gaining a new perspective. For the band, this concept is more than just a token homage to their years growing up surfing together in San Diego, Calif.; it's purposefully illustrative of their goals in music and in life. In their sound, they mix it up to avoid fitting into any preconceived genre style. In their life, their lyrics speak of challenging one's perspectives toward the self and the world and ultimately taking these questions to God. But according to their official bio (written by the band): "Being Switchfoot is all about putting a different foot forward, risking to change or be changed." - Amy Bartlett

Buckcherry

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:05:26 -0800

Buckcherry made a name for themselves in 1999 with the infamous semi-hit single, "Lit Up," which was a very explicit ode to the joys of cocaine use, from their self-titled debut. The band's aggressive aesthetic was not exactly embraced by everyone, but the fact is, in those times of the post-grunge era, emotional garbage was clogging the radio and Buckcherry's strict adherence to old school hard rock moves may have hardly been fashionable, but at least they were genuine. The band's follow-up album, Time Bomb did not sell well. Not surprisingly, the Buckcherry brand of retro hard rock, steeped in AC/DC, early Aerosmith and Guns N' Roses, became somewhat fashionable again, with the rise of the Darkness, the formation of post G'N'R and Motley Crue-spawned supergroups (Velvet Revolver, Brides of Destruction), as well as a rash of underground hipster bands all playing loud, abrasive cock rock. This prompted the band to record a third album, 15, which featured the characteristically anti-social lead single, "Crazy Bitch." - Mike McGuirk

Puddle Of Mudd

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:13:51 -0800

This hugely popular alt-metal four piece owes a great debt to the dark mood metal of Alice In Chains and Tool. The group's aggressive, no-frills approach has won them many fans who value the type of earnestness mixed with self-deprecating Cobain-isms heard on their big hits, "Control" and "She Hates Me." - Jon Pruett

Live

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:53 -0800

Live are so serious that if you went up to singer Ed Kowalczyk and said, "Excuse me, but how do you pronounce your last name?" he might punch you in the neck. Either that or he'd sit you down and speak to you of Krishna and Vishnu. Their debut album Mental Jewelry saw them carrying the torch of idealistic and spiritually minded rock a la U2. The rhythms were punchy without being straight-up Hard Rock, and the dynamics were relatively subtle. But it was Throwing Copper (1994) that revealed their transformation into one of the most popular Post-Grunge bands out there. The guitars were heavier, the rhythms pounded more and danced less, and Kowalczyk was still the passionate, good-God-what's-wrong-with-the-world kind of guy that he'd always been. The janglier moments, such as the hit "Selling the Drama," called to mind R.E.M. -- or at least R.E.M. jamming with Nirvana. They haven't changed their recipe since, as they continue to churn out heaping gobs of the world's most serious music. - Will Lerner

Bush

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:50:58 -0800

When Nirvana closed up shop in 1994, Britain's Bush was quick to seize an opportunity in a suddenly vacant market. Singer/guitarist Gavin Rossdale's howl echoes that of the late Kurt Cobain, yet something about Bush's craft screams "We Are the Champions," instead of "Loser." And they certainly were, on our side of the Atlantic, anyway. Their debut, 1994's Sixteen Stone, became a huge smash, beginning with the MTV-approved lead single, "Everything Zen." Despite their Steve Albini-produced second album, the critics hated them, accusing them of being pre-fab Nirvana also-rans. But the fans loved Bush, attending the band's sold-out tours by the thousands and supporting three more studio albums, plus a greatest-hits collection, an album of remixes and 2005's Zen X Four, which compiled their top videos and acoustic and live versions of their career hits. Lead guitarist Nigel Pulsford left to spend more time with his family in 2002, and the rest of the band decided to take a break to pursue other projects. Pretty boy Rossdale has, naturally, kept busiest, forming the band Institute in 2004, settling into family life with wife Gwen Stefani and working on a solo album. - Rachel Devitt

My Morning Jacket

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:07:22 -0800

Think about all the indie rock guys who affect Neil Young-inspired vocals: there's J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr., David Baker from Mercury Rev, Wayne Coyne from Flaming Lips, and even Dean Wareham from Galaxie 500/Luna. My Morning Jacket leader Jim James doesn't affect anything. He may sing somewhat like Neil Young, but he also kind of talks like Neil Young. All those aforementioned indie icons have totally different speaking voices that don't match up with their singing voices. My Morning Jacket are the real deal. They're from Louisville, Kentucky. So rather than being indie rockers approaching a southern thing, they're southern boys approaching an indie thing, which is not only totally endearing but completely authentic. Their music seems to effortlessly traverse uncharted territory, from twangy rock to dream pop, touched with a little reggae and even some disco influences. And they sure do like the reverb. Gobs of reverb. They slather it like ranch dressing all over the damn place, but it totally works. Rather than sounding like geeky shoegazers with a foot pedal fetish, they cast out lines of atmosphere; in fact My Morning Jacket's songs breathe worlds of atmosphere. The band was formed with ample help from James' cousin Johnny Quaid, a guitar player who seems to have grown up on 'ludes and Slowdive records. Rounded out with a versatile rhythm section comprised of Two-Tone Tommy and J. Glenn on bass and drums, the band's original lineup was a powerful quartet. Their first album, The Tennessee Fire, came out on Darla Records in 1999, but it was 2001's At Dawn that propelled them into indie darlingdom with their pastoral yet rather astral "The Way That He Sings," the perfect hybrid between indie and twangy. For this album, the drumming duties were handled by KC Guetig and they added Danny Cash on keyboards. Eerie melodies weave in and out of At Dawn as guitars and drums crash down like sonic avalanches, only to rise like a harmonious phoenix by the end of the album. Drummer Patrick Hallahan replaced Guetig by the time My Morning Jacket was ready to tour At Dawn in the States; then Cash and Quaid left the band when It Still Moves, their first major label album, was released. Carl Broemel took over guitar duties and Bo Koster was added as the band's keyboard player, just in time to record 2005's Z with John Leckie, who produced (among many things) the first Stone Roses album. - Eric Shea

Lenny Kravitz

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:56 -0800

Kravitz loves his heroes so much, he mimics them to perfection, expertly recreating late '60s Acid Rock and mid-'70s soul and Funk. His songs can be tight Funk workouts or free-form, hard-edged psychedelia.

Janis Joplin

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:52 -0800

In one of her trademark tunes, "Piece of My Heart," Janis Joplin proclaimed, "I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough," and she went on to prove it in her life, playing by men's rules and exercising her rather varied appetites -- musical and otherwise -- whenever the spirit moved her. Perhaps that allowed her to feel things that few white women would admit to, let alone express.

A fifth generation Texan, born in the deep water anchorage town of Port Arthur, Joplin always had one of her tiny high-heels firmly placed on the open road. A noisy and wildly talented harbinger of the burgeoning cultural revolution, she turned her back on small town life and hitchhiked to San Francisco with the equally atavistic impresario Chet Helms. With Helms' help, she hooked up with bluesy folk rock combo Big Brother and the Holding Company, sharpening their rather soft psychedelic edges and transforming the group into a firebrand outfit that would make a huge mark on the 1960s' musical landscape.

Joplin took her cues from the blues greats, grafting the sensual rhythms of Bessie Smith and the defiance of Willie Mae Thornton to a pulsating rock beat. The world noticed what the wild-haired chanteuse was up to when Big Brother performed at 1967's Monterey Pop Festival, bringing her rare and bombastic talent to that infamous stage and holding her own with Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Big Brother's second album, 1968's Cheap Thrills, found Joplin helping to midwife a new mode of musical expression for "chick" singers. Being a refined looker who could actually carry a tune (think Mary Hopkin, Marianne Faithfull) was no longer enough once Janis started belting with authority from her heart and deepest soul.

Unfortunately, her massive talent did not bring the peace and self-acceptance she craved. She used to bemoan her sense of isolation, remarking sadly, "Every night I make love to 25,000, but I go home alone." Ironically, she was adored by millions but had apparently lost her capacity to recognize real love when it was offered. She tried to fill the void with drugs and alcohol, and ultimately died of a heroin overdose on October 4, 1970. She looms as large in death as she did in life, encouraging subsequent generations to feel without holding back. Joplin left behind a small but tremendous legacy, including two albums with Big Brother, and two solo albums (I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Bules Again, Mama!, recorded with the Kozmic Blues Band, and Pearl, with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, which came out a month after her death). - Jaan Uhelszki