I was thinking the other day about my top five one album rock bands. These bands are more impressive and rarer than one-hit wonders, as even one-hit wonders are usually guaranteed a second chance to recreate their magic. One album bands are like comets that disappear as quickly as they arrive.
Before I get into my list, certain rules apply, of course.
1) There can not be another album with the band's name released. This disqualifies bands such as Days of the New, whose members split to form Tantric.
2) Can not be an all-star power group. This disqualifies Temple of the Dog, Mad Season, Les Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, or Rebel Meets Rebel.
3) Can't be an off-shoot of another band or a side project, such as Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies.
4) Must be broken up for at least five years. Because sometimes hell freezes over and bands get back together (an Eagles reference!).
Without further ado:
5) American Minor
In 2005, this southern rock-sounding throwback band released a self-titled album. Then they vanished.
4) Union Underground
Probably the most commercial band on this list, The Union Underground were an amalgamation of several bands, to include Alice and Chains, Powerman 5000, Nirvana, and The Beatles. They sang music to drive fast to about drugs and rock 'n' roll. In 2000, they released An Education in Rebellion. They were formulaic, but they followed a great formula. Then they disappeared. In 2002, they released the theme song for WWE Raw. "Across the Nation" would be the Raw theme until 2006. The Union Underground were never heard from again.
3) Full Devil Jacket
I first saw Full Devil Jacket in an Orlando bar in 1999 opening for Marvelous 3. Impressed by this Bush/Sevendust mash-up, I picked up their sampler EP and waited for over a year for major release. They released a self-titled album in 2000 and I saw them two more times, once in Tallahassee and again in Orlando. Sometime during their tour, however, their lead singer nearly died of an overdose and quit the band. One of their guitarists surfaced in Saliva for a few years, but otherwise they were done.
(Update: Full Devil Jacket reunited in 2014 and released a new album.)
2) Silvertide
Silvertide were another throwback band with a 70's southern rock vibe. They were a bit more sexy and rocking than American Minor, sort of like Aerosmith to Tom Petty. They released Show and Tell in 2004, toured with major names like Motley Crue, and then broke up. According to Wikipedia, the guitarist and lead singer have formed another band. That might be a possible pick-up.
1) Mother Love Bone
The "mother" of all one album bands, Mother Love Bone were among the first of the 1990s Seattle grunge bands to have a release on a major label. Unfortunately, days before Apple's 1990 release date, lead singer Andrew Wood died of a drug overdose. Although the band would release a compilation album in 1992, it was mostly to capitalize on the new found fame of guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament, who had found a home in a band called Pearl Jam. Thoughts?
Before I get into my list, certain rules apply, of course.
1) There can not be another album with the band's name released. This disqualifies bands such as Days of the New, whose members split to form Tantric.
2) Can not be an all-star power group. This disqualifies Temple of the Dog, Mad Season, Les Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, or Rebel Meets Rebel.
3) Can't be an off-shoot of another band or a side project, such as Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies.
4) Must be broken up for at least five years. Because sometimes hell freezes over and bands get back together (an Eagles reference!).
Without further ado:
5) American Minor
In 2005, this southern rock-sounding throwback band released a self-titled album. Then they vanished.
4) Union Underground
Probably the most commercial band on this list, The Union Underground were an amalgamation of several bands, to include Alice and Chains, Powerman 5000, Nirvana, and The Beatles. They sang music to drive fast to about drugs and rock 'n' roll. In 2000, they released An Education in Rebellion. They were formulaic, but they followed a great formula. Then they disappeared. In 2002, they released the theme song for WWE Raw. "Across the Nation" would be the Raw theme until 2006. The Union Underground were never heard from again.
3) Full Devil Jacket
I first saw Full Devil Jacket in an Orlando bar in 1999 opening for Marvelous 3. Impressed by this Bush/Sevendust mash-up, I picked up their sampler EP and waited for over a year for major release. They released a self-titled album in 2000 and I saw them two more times, once in Tallahassee and again in Orlando. Sometime during their tour, however, their lead singer nearly died of an overdose and quit the band. One of their guitarists surfaced in Saliva for a few years, but otherwise they were done.
(Update: Full Devil Jacket reunited in 2014 and released a new album.)
2) Silvertide
Silvertide were another throwback band with a 70's southern rock vibe. They were a bit more sexy and rocking than American Minor, sort of like Aerosmith to Tom Petty. They released Show and Tell in 2004, toured with major names like Motley Crue, and then broke up. According to Wikipedia, the guitarist and lead singer have formed another band. That might be a possible pick-up.
1) Mother Love Bone
The "mother" of all one album bands, Mother Love Bone were among the first of the 1990s Seattle grunge bands to have a release on a major label. Unfortunately, days before Apple's 1990 release date, lead singer Andrew Wood died of a drug overdose. Although the band would release a compilation album in 1992, it was mostly to capitalize on the new found fame of guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament, who had found a home in a band called Pearl Jam. Thoughts?
