The Smiley Smile Message Board

In light of the G-n-R thread, what other bands do you feel should put differences aside and have all remaining members get together for a tour, album, etc?

I'd like to see Dennis DeYoung rejoin Styx.

None. People who don't want to work together shouldn't. If they do, it seems to me it's just a cash-grab, and the results will more often than not show it. I understand why fans want them to, and I often dream of the same for this or that group. But realistically, in the big picture, it's better to be left with the work they created when actually "together" than to augment it with whatever they do when somewhat artificially regrouping.

We're assuming, of course, that they'd have anything relevant to say to people beyond their fanbases. Either way, it'd be fun to see if Galaxie 500 could pull together for one more album and tour. I used to want to see the Mark II Moody Blues (Hayward, Lodge, Pinder, Thomas, Edge) reunited, but the band members all have wildly varied priorities.

Talking Heads definitely.

Keep the hope alive on the moodies!!! 8)

Unfortunately, the two I'd like to see the most have lost their keyboard players to cancer in recent years.  

Pink Floyd - Even though Richard Wright passed in 2008, I'd love to see a tour with Roger Waters, David Gilmour, and Nick Mason.  Jon Carin has played with the Gilmour lead Floyd, as well as Gilmour and Waters's solo bands, so I think he could fill Richard's shoes.  

Deep Purple (MK 2) - Jon Lord passed in 2012, but I'd love to see Gillan, Glover, Paice, and Blackmore.  Keep Don Airey on keyboards as he's been playing with Purple since Lord retired in 2002.  

There's also..

Journey - They have the entire classic lineup together, except for Steve Perry.  Get Perry back for a massive album and tour.  

Van Halen - I'm talking about Eddie and Alex Van Halen get back with Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar.  I know David Lee Roth is the fan favorite, but the guy's vocals are shot.  Sammy has much more range and can sing the songs from both classic eras.  

Blue Oyster Cult - I'd love to see Al and Joe Bouchard rejoin Don Roeser and Eric Bloom.  Sadly, Allan Lanier is another keyboardist who joined the great beyond.  When Allan was still alive, the classic five did a one off reunion on 10-10-10.

Alice Cooper - Dennis Dunaway, Neal Smith, and Michael Bruce.  Sadly, Glenn Buxton is another one who has left us.  The remaining members of the original group played with Alice when he was inducted in the RNRHOF.  I was hoping for a full tour.  

Good thoughts on Journey and Van Halen.

Sadly, my hopes of Gary Richrath rejoining REO Speedwagon were dashed when he passed away last year.

Didn't Richrath rejoin REO at one point a few years back? 

Luckily, I got to see the brief Van Hagar reunion in 2004 twice.  Great shows, eventhough Eddie was completely wasted at one of them.  Sammy said in his autobiography that if Eddie tied his hair in a bun, then he was in the bag that night.  When I saw then in Hershey, Eddie had his hair tied up, but still played really well. 

I second your suggestion for Dennis DeYoung rejoining Styx.  I saw DeYoung in concert back in 2012, and his voice is still in really good shape.  He basically did a Styx greatest hits show.  Would love to see a tour with him, JY, Tommy, and Chuck again. 

Yeah, most the bands that come to my mind feature at least one dead member.

Sadly, that's the downside of being a classic rock fan. 

One I just thought of where all the members all still alive is Queensryche.

Geoff Tate, Chris DeGarmo, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfeld, and Michael Wilton.

One I thought I'd see but haven't yet is Led Zeppelin (with Jason Bonham, or someone else, on drums). They had the celebrated O2 live thing, but that turned out to be it. Would people like a wider tour or new material from them?

A few newer bands that could more easily get back together that--my previous disapproval of the idea notwithstanding--I'd like to see are:

• Herman Dune. This band had at its core the brothers David-Ivar and Andre, but the latter left around 2006-07, with their fantastic album Giant. The band continued without him, and he became Stanley Brinks. Both entities have had some nice stuff, but it was the yin and yang of the brothers' songs and input that made Giant so good.
• The Fiery Furnaces. I don't think this brother-sister (again with the siblings?) centered band is officially broken up, but they haven't released an album since 2009. Both Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger have pursued solo careers with some nice moments, but it seems to me that Eleanor is too straightforward and Matthew is too bizarre alone. Together? Kind of a Zappa-meets-Who, but with better lyrics than either. I miss them.

I'd like to see a Led Zeppelin tour, but that would be the most expensive concert ticket on the planet. 

I'm not so sure about new material.  Plant, in his solo career, has gotten so far away from what Zeppelin did, I'm not sure if he could write songs like that with Page and JP Jones again. 

I think if they would get back together, they would take a page from the book of The Police.  One reunion tour.  No new material.  Solid set of classics.  That's it.  If you missed out, sorry. 

It seems like there's talk about it every few years or so, but maybe one day, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, and Phil Collins will put the progressive version of Genesis back together. 

I think new material from Zep could be really interesting, actually. No doubt that Plant isn't doing what you'd call "classic Zep," but I am of the opinion that people ought not stick to their classic sounds as they age, decade after decade. And his rootsy approach is certainly something that Page has always been interested in, as well. JPJ can do anything (he's one of the most underrated guys in the history of rock, I think). Again, that would all be predicated on them all wanting to really do something, not just toss one off together.

In basically every case, I don't think I'd be very interested in any band getting back together just for a tour--probably because I'm less and less of a live show kind of guy.

I'm all for artists progressing, as long as they don't completely get away from their signature sound (*cough* Bon Jovi *cough*).  I think had Zeppelin stayed together, it would've been a natural progression instead of a jarring change after a 37 year gap between albums. 

I like the folksy / acoustic side of Zeppelin, but it would be a Zeppelin album without some heavy numbers. 

Ideally, I'd like an album and tour (ie. Beach Boys 2012), but as a 35 year old, I missed out on many bands the first time around.  So, if they toured on their back catalog, I'm alright with it.  I saw The Police in Baltimore in 2007, and loved every minute of it. 

Yeah, don't get me wrong: you're talking to a 39-year-old hypocrite. I saw Page & Plant in the '95-96 school year (can't recall which year it fell into, though, just sophomore year of college), I've seen Prince several times, I've seen Paul Simon, I've seen BW half a dozen times, with a particular glee for the Marks and Jardine tour a couple years ago. I've bemoaned missing out on Queen more often than anyone wants to hear about. So when the older acts whose primes predated my concert-going years, I've tended to get out to see them.

I think it's just that as I age, I can't get that jazzed for any show anymore, particularly the heavier stuff that I liked far more in younger days, anyway.

I don't even know if reunions are a good idea to begin with. Sure, there's the initial excitement when it's announced, even if it's just for one concert, one album or one tour. Inevitably, if we enjoy the concert, album or tour, then we want them to do one more. And we get all ticked off if they break up again.

Genesis
XTC
Raspberries
10CC
The Beach Boys
Roxy Music

Spinal Tap
The Rutles
and the Smiths.

I saw Queen + Paul Rodgers back in 2006.   Great show.  I kinda regret not seeing them with Adam Lambert as the setlist was even better. 

I'd give anything to see a reunited Led Zeppelin in concert. It would be interesting if Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Steve Winwood got together as Blind Faith at least once. I'd love to see the Allman Brothers with all surviving members, including Dickey Betts. I'd like to see Dennis Edwards reunite with Otis Williams in a Temptations group. The Beach Boys, obviously. One of my ultimate "bucket list" dreams is to see the original Appetite For Destruction lineup of Guns 'N' Roses. Followed by a concert or tour of the Use Your Illusion era lineup with Matt Sorum. The Chinese Democracy era can kiss my ass.  ;D

I think the original BOC  did a one off that had to be rescheduled because of Hurricane Sandy (10/12) --  and took place a bit after.  I missed it for that reason.  One of my favorite bands.

The Jam

One I forgot is Grand Funk Railroad. 

Don Brewer and Mel Schaker are currently touring as Grand Funk Railroad, while Mark Farner tours solo.  I'd love to see the three get back together again.

Three Dog Night:
With the passing of Corey Wells, Danny Hutton needs Chuck Negron. He is now touring with a replacement for Corey Wells.

The Eagles:
Henley and Frey should bury the hatchet with Don Felder. The Felder/Walsh combo is one of the top lead guitar teams ever (maybe eclipsed by Allman/Betts, Rossington/Collins and Haynes/Trucks). Plus they should make him work for all the money they payed him for screwing him.

Definitely Journey, just because Steve Perry being on the sidelines for the last 20 years is one of the biggest tragedies in the history of Rock & Roll, that guy's voice is 1 of a kind and each year that goes by we have less of a chance of ever hearing him do something spectacular again. 

I have to agree, though, with the people above who mentioned that if they don't want to work together it's understandable, I don't work and don't want to work with people I know for 40 years either, there's a time for everything and even the Beatles could only keep it together for 8 or 9 years. 

All of them. They aren't getting any younger - as today's event clearly indicates.

Without question - 10cc - the original quartet, and those first four albums, were near perfection. Other than that... Poco (with Cotton, Schmit and Young), Chicago (with Cetera) and those Moodies...
Fortunately, one of my reunion hopes came to fruition when Joe Willliams reunited with them Toto boys and a made a damn fine album together again...

There was talk of a Moody Blues reunion for their 50th last year, but I don't think anything came of it. 

I heard that Sammy Hagar tweeted happy birthday greetings to Eddie Van Halen, and Eddie tweeted back thank you.  Maybe a Van Hagar reunion???  After all, Dave's vocals are pretty shot. 

Although Pinder seems on good terms with Ray, Justin and John it seems the issue is between him and Graeme Edge... or so I hear...
Also wish Genesis would get back together with Hackett. Sacrilege to say to many, but I can survive without Gabriel, but the four piece that made Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering would be fantastic...

Phil Collins keeps saying "never say never" when it comes to Genesis.  Although if anything happens, I doubt Hackett or Gabriel would be involved.

But, you never know. 

I'm surprised the Kinks ain't been mentioned. I'm a huge fan but don't really want to see a reunion. I'm not a fan of reunions. Ray has done a couple of fine solo albums, I'd be up for a few more. I didn't even get excited for the Bb's reunion, liked TWGMTR though. I'm more than happy with BW's solo career and certainly don't clamour for another reunion. Sorry. I also loved walking into Clarksdale by Plant and Page and I would be happy to see them work together again without the weight of a Zep reunion.

Speaking of a Kinks' reunion, this was interesting; just happened a little over a month ago: https://youtu.be/V6mL7s_FIA4

How about Supertramp.

Even better, Dire Straits!

Guns N' Roses
Monkees
Suede
Frank Ocean
Soundgarden
Swans

Forgot Iggy Pop and Josh Homme...can't these two just get along already?

Your list confuses me. Is there a joke I'm not getting? (Frank Ocean?)

The Kinks should definitely do it - most of the core members are still alive, and let's face it, whether it is Ray touring solo, or Dave solo, most of the stuff they play onstage is Kinks material, so why not do it together?

The ORIGINAL Journey - Gregg Rolie, Neal Schon, George Tickner, Ross Valory, and Aynsley Dunbar
Flock of Seagulls
I already saw Neutral Milk Hotel on their 2014 reunion tour, but another reunion in a few years would be nice (Let's let Jeff Mangum be a recluse again for couple years before we bother him.)

The White Stripes. The Kinks, Dire Straits & every band with brothers. They must reunite & forget the feuds.

That's funny.  I just heard the song "Brothers in Arms" yesterday and thought it would be great to see a Dire Straits reunion.  I think they got together as The Straits without Mark Knopler a few years back, but that didn't go anywhere. 

There was talk of a Moody Blues 50th anniversary tour last year, but nothing came of it. 

Jellyfish.

Agreed. You don't want to wait too long, as CCR did. Would have been cool to see Tom and John on stage together one last time. C'mon Mark and David, Ray and Dave, bury the hatchet, give the people what they want!

I used to put the Beach Boys on the list, but  no longer. Too toxic.

Well, they already did it - although, for me, there was a big hole without Carl.

Yeah, I meant post 2012.

I know what you mean sans-Carl, but that tour was magical musically, and the best they sounded since the 70s.

David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman...and other former Byrds

Not too many other than those mentioned still alive.  Gene Clark, Michael Clarke,  Gram Parsons, Clarence White, Skip Battin, and Kevin Kelley have all passed.  Gene Parsons and John York are  still with us (according to Wikipedia) so we would have a rhythm section.

Gene Parsons btw wrote one of my favorite Byrds tunes -- "Gunga Din" from "Ballad of Easy Rider."