The Year of the “Super Group”: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Attempted Wilburys
by Deltron 3030
People love to throw around the word “super-group” for bands that don’t don’t necessarily deserve the superlative. Audioslave, you were no super-group. You were Rage minus the passionate vocals. Velvet Revolver? You just reminded us how much we missed the non Chinese Democracy version of Guns and Roses. No band since the Traveling Wilburys has truly earned the moniker….till now. 2009 has been a breeding ground for “Super-groups”. Some great. Some not so great. Let’s attempt to cover them all here today:
Monsters of Folk
- Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Desaparecidos,)
- Jim James (My Morning Jacket)
- Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Lullaby for the Working Class)
- M. Ward (She & Him)
What I first dismissed as a gimmick tour of convenience and similar artists ended up actually being a very good band. This is definitely one of those instances when it is OK to say that the band is greater than the sum of its parts. I mean that in the most positive way possible. Nothing here feels forced. There are no quotas of what needs to be covered. No one here is fighting for airtime. It would seem that they cast their egos aside and channeled their inner Wilburys. The jokey “Monsters” moniker and the fact that they rocked out in full Kiss regalia for Halloween tells me that they’re doing this simply for the fun…and it shows on the album. Getting Bright Eyes to have fun. Who knew that was possible?
Chickenfoot (more…)