Worst (and best) band reunions

[Gunner Gilby]

I totally agree about RHCP. John seems to come and go as he pleases. He doesn't play anything off One Hot Minute, the Josh albums or most of the early albums. And everyone treats him like a God. I liked the Josh albums. The setlists during his era were awesome. The two new albums with John aren't all that.

[Gordon Comstock]

1 hour ago, Cosmo said:

Red Hot Chili Peppers with John (2020): I like Frusciante but, IMO, what they were releasing with Josh was far better than what they delivered with John since the reunion. It all just sounds uninspired, rushed and on autodrive.

 

I've tried to get into the albums with Josh, but they're just not that good IMO. Unlimited Love might have been a 'safe' comeback record, but Dream Canteen is by far their best album since Stadium Arcadium. I definitely prefer John...

[Rindmelon]

I don't know if you would call it a full reunion as it wasn't fully original lineup but when Janes Addiction came back with the Strays album in 2003 it had some serious bangers like this

 

[ZoSoRose]

I don’t think any of the Chili records since Stadium Arcadium have been incredible. There are good parts, but that 2000s run is their Dark Side- The Wall run imo. So I’m happy John is back because they are basically a legacy band at this point 

[rocknroll41]

Both new RHCP albums hit #1 on the charts and the tour was very successful. So at least from a financial standpoint, the RHCP reunion was not a “failure.”

[Mansin Humanity]

My extremely hot RHCP take is that I liked Josh's backing vocals better than John's

[EvanG]

Josh was the best singer the Chili Peppers have ever had. I love his lead and background vocals on I'm With You specifically.

[username]

9 hours ago, EvanG said:

Josh was the best singer the Chili Peppers have ever had. I love his lead and background vocals on I'm With You specifically.

You're not wrong, but still Anthony's voice is what belongs with the Chili's. Just like John's guitar really. It might sound bad, but every guitarist in the Chili Peppers is just a placeholder for when John kicks his demons out and comes back. That said I saw Josh on stage with Pearl Jam in 2022 and he was stellar. His Purple Rain (where he was on lead vocals) was insane. 
 

And while we're talking about reunions and the Chili's, let's not forget their original reunion with John from 1998. Which was absolutely stellar and delivered Californication, By The Way and Stadium Arcadium. 

[Gunner Gilby]

23 hours ago, ZoSoRose said:

I don’t think any of the Chili records since Stadium Arcadium have been incredible. There are good parts, but that 2000s run is their Dark Side- The Wall run imo. So I’m happy John is back because they are basically a legacy band at this point 

A legacy band that doesn't play almost half their catalogue cos John's a princess. 

[ZoSoRose]

12 hours ago, username said:

You're not wrong, but still Anthony's voice is what belongs with the Chili's. Just like John's guitar really. It might sound bad, but every guitarist in the Chili Peppers is just a placeholder for when John kicks his demons out and comes back. That said I saw Josh on stage with Pearl Jam in 2022 and he was stellar. His Purple Rain (where he was on lead vocals) was insane. 
 

And while we're talking about reunions and the Chili's, let's not forget their original reunion with John from 1998. Which was absolutely stellar and delivered Californication, By The Way and Stadium Arcadium. 

Good post

[EvanG]

I don’t think many people would disagree that John isn’t the best fit. They created a musical language with him and no one can compete with that. Not even a great guitarist like Dave Navarro or an allround musician like Josh Klinghoffer. That doesn’t mean everything they do with John turns into gold and there are some people who prefer the songs they did with Josh over the last two records with John, which are not bad, but sound somewhat uninspiring. 
 

Plus, it’s shitty they ignore I’m With You and The Getaway and are back to ignoring One Hot Minute. At least Josh got them to play Aeroplane.

Edited February 5 by EvanG

[rocknroll41]

13 minutes ago, EvanG said:

I don’t think many people would disagree that John isn’t the best fit. They created a musical language with him and no one can compete with that. Not even a great guitarist like Dave Navarro or an allround musician like Josh Klinghoffer. That doesn’t mean everything they do with John turns into gold and there are some people who prefer the songs they did with Josh over the last two records with John, which are not bad, but sound somewhat uninspiring. 
 

Plus, it’s shitty they ignore I’m With You and The Getaway and are back to ignoring One Hot Minute. At least Josh got them to play Aeroplane.

To be fair, by the time they were touring The Getaway, they already weren’t playing as many I’m With You songs. When I saw them in 2017, the only IWY song they did was Raindance Maggie, if I recall correctly.

I agree that it was cool of them to bring back Aeroplane around that time, though, and it’d be nice if John played at least one Josh song out of respect. I think John is a much better fit for the band chemistry-wise, but I do miss all of Josh’s teases of the deep cuts.

Edited February 5 by rocknroll41

[EvanG]

6 minutes ago, rocknroll41 said:

To be fair, by the time they were touring The Getaway, they already weren’t playing as many I’m With You songs. When I saw them in 2017, the only IWY song they did was Raindance Maggie, if I recall correctly.

I agree that it was cool of them to bring back Aeroplane around that time, though, and it’d be nice if John played at least one Josh song out of respect. I think John is a much better fit for the band chemistry-wise, but I do miss all of Josh’s teases of the deep cuts.

Yeah, I think most nights they only did one song off of I’m With You, but at least they mixed it up. Raindance Maggie, Look Around, Ethiopia, Factory Of Faith and Did I Let You Know all got rotated during the The Getaway tour. Shame they never did Monarchy Of Roses anymore. I love that song.

[rocknroll41]

13 minutes ago, EvanG said:

Yeah, I think most nights they only did one song off of I’m With You, but at least they mixed it up. Raindance Maggie, Look Around, Ethiopia, Factory Of Faith and Did I Let You Know all got rotated during the The Getaway tour. Shame they never did Monarchy Of Roses anymore. I love that song.

Exactly. I bet if Josh never got fired, the only Getaway songs they’d be playing still now are Dark Necessities and Goodbye Angels anyways, and maybe others like Dreams of a Samurai and Encore on occasion.

Edited February 5 by rocknroll41

[Powerage5]

On 2/4/2024 at 2:21 PM, Cosmo said:

The best, IMO:

- Judas Priest with Rob Halford (2003): There is no Priest without Halford. IMO, the Ripper years were really dull and forgetable. Since Rob came back, the new material has been hit and miss, but Firepower was the most solid veteran band release I've ever heard, IMO, and Invincible Shield seems promising.

- Maiden with Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith (1999): Not a fan of Blaze Bayley. The X Factor had some good tracks but he wasn't very good live, especially singing the Bruce material. Bruce and Adrian came back, and Maiden immediately got back in great shape, consistently releasing solid albums and tracks since then, and with Bruce showing amazing vocals live.

- Black Sabbath (2012): This is, IMO, the most triumphant and important reunion in the history of heavy metal. I really wish Bill Ward was also a part of it, though. But man, seeing these three guys together live is a memory I'm carrying with me til I die. The best concert I've ever been to. 

 

The Worst, IMO:

- KISS with Ace and Peter (1996): Peter was completely out of shape, he could barely play KISS's most famous songs live, and the setlist had to be the same for three straight tours because of that. Psycho Killer was a complete fakeass reunion, and it all really fucked up what could have been a genuine reunion.

- Red Hot Chili Peppers with John (2020): I like Frusciante but, IMO, what they were releasing with Josh was far better than what they delivered with John since the reunion. It all just sounds uninspired, rushed and on autodrive.

 

 

In Blaze's defense, he can sing the Bruce songs really well...when he's allowed to do so in a key that suits him. He'll occasionally do Bruce era songs during solo shows, and they do sound quite good. But Steve was (And likely still is) adamant that Maiden does not tune down. Period. So Blaze, who physically could not reach the upper parts of Bruce's range, was left yelping hopelessly trying to hit notes that he simply could not. They released an handful of live b-sides with Blaze during that era, and I simply cannot believe they were okay with that stuff being released officially - there's one particular one of The Evil That Men Do that was just...atrocious. Like many of the other issues with the band during that era, it falls on Steve yet most of the time Blaze is the one that carries the blame. 

Also, I actually love Blaze's versions of Afraid To Shoot Strangers - much better than Bruce's renditions in the 90's:

 

[PatrickS77]

On 2/2/2024 at 4:46 PM, ZoSoRose said:

I am not a big Motley Crue fan. In fact, I think they are kind of lame, now. Their big break- up stunt and grand- finale tour has been pretty funny and clearly disingenuous considering they got back together. I have been following their activity very lightly because there seems to be some interesting drama. 

Vince Neal sounds and looks awful, they are accused of mimicking their instruments on- stage, they reunite shamelessly and then kick an original member out when they are all in their 60s and 70s... way to tarnish a longtime career! I have nothing against cash- grabbing reunion tours, but at least do it right without drama. 

It got me thinking that this has to be one of the lamest reunions that have happened. I am glad the GNR reunion did not go that route. I would have thought it would have, but aside from a few minor hiccups, it has essentially been a huge money- making success with low drama. 

What other reunions have sucked or have been underwhelming? What have been some of the stronger ones?

Bad reunions-

KISS- KISS falls into the good and bad category for reunions. I wish I could have seen that first reunion tour in 1996, actually. The band actually sounded killer on that tour and the 1996 tour is probably oned of the best examples of a nostalgia- reunion- tour done right. The sets, sounds, and sites all looked like they came out of 1975. The issue comes after when they fell back into their old ways... hard. A middling tudio album with Peter and Ace only involved on a track or two, and then Peter and Ace turning into a brief revolving door until it imploded again. Obviously, the reunion's success led to Gene and Paul dressing up hired hands like Ace and Peter. It is a good thing the reunion happened. It let a lot of new fans see the real deal (I was too young as I was born at the end of '91) and let old fans relive the glory days. They just couldn't keep it together. 

 

What are some other good reunion examples?

Kiss in 1996 and 1999 definitely was a great reunion. Got to see them then. Also Twisted Sister was an amazing reunion. As was Faith no More. And Europe. Also The Bangles, shame they haven't been properly touring in Europe since 15 years. Along with Black Sabbath in '99 and '05, Aerosmith, System of a down and The Jacksons in New York in 2001 I'm happy with my reunions.

[PatrickS77]

On 2/2/2024 at 5:02 PM, Rindmelon said:

For the worst i'd have to say Queen. Not saying that Adam Lambert guy doesn't have pipes, he is clearly very talented. But how do you replace Freddie? you can't, John Deacon had the right idea not being involved I think.

Yeah. I wouldn't really call that a reunion either. Not a big fan of Lambert, but he enables May and Taylor to continue to tour playing Queen songs and also do songs Paul Rodgers didn't do, so I'm all for that and call it a success too.

[Graeme]

I saw the Rumours line-up of Fleetwood Mac (Fleetwood, both McVies, Buckingham and Nicks) back in 2015, and it was one of the best rock shows I've ever seen. One of those ones where you're not even sure where to look because everyone on stage is a superstar and it feels like every song they play is a "Fuck yeah, I love this song!" moment.

I'd agree on the Eagles, it's certainly not raw or spontaneous, but the musicianship, performance and setlist were all excellent. 

I'd give a shoutout to Manchester indie legends, James. I saw what was supposed to be their final tour in 2001, when I was a kid. They were my first favourite band and it was my first show. It felt bittersweet in a lot of ways because I was so excited about getting to see them, and then it was over and for years it seemed like I'd never see them again. They reunited in 2008 and since then they've just been relentlessly creative, defying the mantra of age meaning you run out of inspiration. They've expanded their sound, they've kept their core intact while also adding new members who've brought a real joyous energy, their live shows are euphoric... I've now seen them six or seven times and they never just shut up and play the hits, they're always mining out obscure b-sides and pushing new material. I can't criticise the other bands I've mentioned for doing the opposite, but it's really refreshing to see a band more than 40 years into their career still enjoying being creative and unpredictable.

[EvanG]

On 2/2/2024 at 5:02 PM, Rindmelon said:

For the worst i'd have to say Queen. Not saying that Adam Lambert guy doesn't have pipes, he is clearly very talented. But how do you replace Freddie? you can't, John Deacon had the right idea not being involved I think. 

That's not what they're trying to do, though. Everyone knows Freddie is irreplaceable. That is why they call it ''Queen + Adam Lambert''. They are celebrating the music of Queen with two original members and a great singer who can honour the songs without imitating or pretending to be Freddie, which wouldn't be possible anyway.

[Rindmelon]

3 minutes ago, EvanG said:

That's not what they're trying to do, though. Everyone knows Freddie is irreplaceable. That is why they call it ''Queen + Adam Lambert''. They are celebrating the music of Queen with two original members and a great singer who can honour the songs without imitating or pretending to be Freddie, which wouldn't be possible anyway.

Yes the Queen + thing was pointed out to me two weeks ago when I posted that.

[EvanG]

1 minute ago, Rindmelon said:

Yes the Queen + thing was pointed out to me two weeks ago when I posted that.

I didn't read it until now and I was surprised anyone would think they are trying to replace Freddie.