• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's list?

V

voggmo

Commodore
I'd put em near it, but not quite in top 10. How bout you?

Not neccessarliy in this order, these bands would be a higher on the totem pole. I know, just opinion, but sometimes fun anyways.

Who
Zeppelin
Sabbath
Deep Purple
Queen
Tull
Aerosmith
Rush
Pink Floyd
Van Halen-Kiss get a mention.

VH's 1st album came out 78, hit bigtime 79-80
Kiss a big spectacle & whether you love em or hate em, they did show the rock world how to do show. But that's off thread topic.

I know, someone's gonna say, where's the Eagles & the Stones? On someone else's list I would suppose. Anyway, after my drifting, the question again is where do ELO & Chicago fit into all this?
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

ELO's one of my favorites.

So yes.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

Actually, my list would be pretty much like yours, except swapping out Sabs and Tull for Police and Hawkwind.

As for ELO, they'd be in the top 25. Chicago, I can take or leave.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

^ I like ELO, too. Chicago is pretty "meh" for me, though. The Eagles would also be on my list.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

Hawkwind then Australis? Good choice. Overlooked, but quite good. Dave Brock had some neat guitar tones. Scorps & Mahogany Rush would get good rankings from me as well.

Wings another band I ponder the ranking of. Bad Company never lit my fuse much for whatever reason. I'd rank ELO above em.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

No, they wouldn't. ELO had some good singles but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to an album. Chicago, I turn the station when they come on the radio.

In fact, unless "rock" is defined very narrowly, my top ten would be a lot different. Just for contrast:

The Ramones
The Rolling Stones
Steely Dan
Sly and the Family Stone
Talking Heads
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
The Clash
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
Blondie
Elvis Costello & the Attractions

A close runner-up would be Graham Parker & the Rumour. The Pretenders would have made the list but their debut came out in '79, so I don't really count them with the seventies.

--Justin
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

Neither ELO nor Chicago would be on my list. However, The Eagles would DEFINITELY be on it - and near the top, at that. The Eagles owned the late 70's.

Fleetwood Mac would also be near the top of my list. Aerosmith would be on it...maybe Styx. Definitely Led Zepplin. Maybe the Doobie Brothers.

No Alice Cooper, no Jethro Tull.

Bruce Springsteen, of course - goes without saying in my case since he's my favorite EVER.

Was Three Dog Night in the early 70's? If so, I'd stick them in. :)
 
Last edited:
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

I'd put Zep, F.Mac and the Eagles on top. Elo might scrape into top ten. Alice Cooper would be in there. Steely Dan. The Stones. Pink Floyd, solely based on Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here. Allman Brothers. I'd have to sponsor a wrestling match between Deep Purple, Steppenwolf and Jethro Tull for the final place in the top 10.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

I'd replace Jethro Tull, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple with The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and Journey.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

Short answer "no", long answer "no fucking way, not even close" :p

In no particular order (not even my top 10, just 10 bands better):

Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Deep Purple
Pink Floyd
The Who
The Clash
Talking Heads
Sex Pistols
Queen
Judas Priest
AC/DC
Joy Division
Van Halen
Tom Petty
The Rolling Stones
The Ramones
Rush
David Bowie
The Doors

OK, I think I went over 10. :D
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

I love Chicago, but I play a brass instrument so I'm biased.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

Chicago, up to the mid-70s, had a lot of good stuff (including some really good horn arrangements.) After Chicago VII, things became a lot more hit-and-miss, and after Terry Kath died, forget it, as far as their recorded output went. Still a good live act, though (at least as of a few years ago) and Bobby Lamm apparently does not fucking age -- it's almost eerie. :eek:

Top 10 for the 70s? Top 25, maybe, but Blood Sweat & Tears for the same period was really a better band.

ELO had a few tunes I liked, but they've never been that high on any list for me -- certainly nowhere near Top 10.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

voggmo said:
I'd put em near it, but not quite in top 10. How bout you?

Not neccessarliy in this order, these bands would be a higher on the totem pole. I know, just opinion, but sometimes fun anyways.

Who
Zeppelin
Sabbath
Deep Purple
Queen
Tull
Aerosmith
Rush
Pink Floyd
Van Halen-Kiss get a mention.

VH's 1st album came out 78, hit bigtime 79-80
Kiss a big spectacle & whether you love em or hate em, they did show the rock world how to do show. But that's off thread topic.

I know, someone's gonna say, where's the Eagles & the Stones? On someone else's list I would suppose. Anyway, after my drifting, the question again is where do ELO & Chicago fit into all this?
Click to expand...
Put them at the top, as far as I'm concerned.

I think a lot of hard rock bands are overpraised. Give me bands with strong rock credentials and a talent for great "pop" records. Queen and ELO were among the best at that.

The Raspberries are recognized today as a pioneering "power-pop" band of the 70's. I would recommend their recent CD release, Live on Sunset Strip.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

Alidar Jarok said:
Short answer "no", long answer "no fucking way, not even close" :p

In no particular order (not even my top 10, just 10 bands better):

Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Deep Purple
Pink Floyd
The Who-best in the 60s-by 74 they had lost the fire
The Clash-half output in 80s
Talking Heads-80s
Sex Pistols
Queen
Judas Priest-:wtf:
AC/DC-best stuff in early 80s
Joy Division-???? did they exist in 70s?
Van Halen-barely qualified for a band in the 70s
Tom Petty-Eighties kind of guy
The Rolling Stones
The Ramones
Rush-eighties, mostly
David Bowie-maybe for his career over 4 decades(but Ziggy was 70s!)
The Doors -60s

OK, I think I went over 10. :D
Click to expand...


edited your list.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

No. There were just too many fantastic groups from that era that ELO and Boston aren't even close to the top, IMO. In no particular order...

Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Deep Purple
Pink Floyd
Aerosmith
The Clash
Talking Heads
Sex Pistols
Queen
AC/DC
Van Halen
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
The Rolling Stones
The Ramones
Rush
David Bowie
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Heart
Fleetwood Mac
The Eagles
Journey
Styx
Cheap Trick
Steely Dan
Nazareth
Blue Oyster Cult
The Cars
Foreigner
Genesis
Pat Benetar
the Police
the Pretenders
Scorpions

...all these artists rank above ELO which ranks above Chicago in my book.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

ELO maybe, but not Chicago. I do like Chicago, but they wouldn't rank anywhere close to my top 10. ELO would make the lower reaches of the list, along with the following:

Queen
Blondie
Rush
Genesis
The Rolling Stones
Fleetwood Mac
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
The Police
Yes
Sparks

GM
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

OK, these quotes will probably be messed up.

Mistral said:
The Who-best in the 60s-by 74 they had lost the fire
Click to expand...

Well, Who's Next is great, but I'll give you that.

The Clash-half output in 80s
Click to expand...

Well, 77 is the year punk broke. That's the later half of the 70s, but it's still the 70s. The Clash were still going in the 80s, but they have great 70s albums too (if I judged them just by their 70s stuff, I'd still put them on the list).

Talking Heads-80s
Click to expand...

Talking Heads 77 and Fear of Music are great albums. They're a late 70s band, but I'd still put them 70s.

Sex Pistols
Queen
Judas Priest-:wtf:
Click to expand...

What's wrong with Judas Priest? They're one of the most influential metal bands ever.

AC/DC-best stuff in early 80s
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you like Brian Johnson better than Bon Scott? Back in Black is indeed amazing (and 80s), but Highway to Hell's great and so is a lot of Scott's other work.

Joy Division-???? did they exist in 70s?
Click to expand...

1976 to 1980. They're definitely not an 80s band. Unknown Pleasures was released in 1979.

Van Halen-barely qualified for a band in the 70s
Click to expand...

I'll tell you what, I'll give you this one as well :)

Tom Petty-Eighties kind of guy
Click to expand...

what if I added "And the Heartbreakers"? He has great songs in the 70s as well as the 80s.

The Rolling Stones
The Ramones
Rush-eighties, mostly
Click to expand...

Well, they played throughout the entire 70s.

David Bowie-maybe for his career over 4 decades(but Ziggy was 70s!)
Click to expand...

Is this a disagreement or you just wanted me to call him Ziggy Stardust? David Bowie kicks ass.

The Doors -60s
Click to expand...

Woops, you're right on that one.

I still stand by:

Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath
Deep Purple
Pink Floyd
The Clash
Talking Heads
Sex Pistols
Queen
Judas Priest
AC/DC
Joy Division
Rolling Stones
Ramones
David Bowie

Granted, all I did was organize my iTunes by year and wrote down any band that I really liked during those years. There are bands that are undoubtably influential, but I don't have a lot of their music (Blue Oyster Cult and Deep Purple come to mind), so I didn't mention them.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

Wings & BOC not getting ANY action so far. Foghat either. Steely Dan & Ramones are good ads though.
 
Re: Would Chicago or ELO fit in your top 10 rock bands of the 70's lis

The Clash
The Sex Pistols
The Jam
The Who
Joy Division
ELO
Bowie
The Kinks
The Rolling Stones
Led Zep
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top