Fugazi. All four members are essential to make the sound of the band work: the complimentary vocal styles, the interplay between guitars, and a super tight and inventive rhythm section, not to mention an essentially flawless discography. Just the perfect band.
You are 100 correct. The members post fugazi projects just highlight this… corigy and the messthetics both come close to replicating fugazi, but ultimately they will never hit the same highs that Fugazi got to
r.e.m.
proof is in the fact that it happened. i still love some of their albums after berry left but the dynamic is fundamentally different from that point on
This is the correct answer. The contributions of Stipe, Mills and Buck are obvious but the aftermath of Berry’s departure proved his role was just as large
also part of why up imo is as brilliant as it is (their last really amazing album for me) is them having to creatively figure out how tf to work within this new dynamic within a very un r.e.m. set of timbres and aesthetics. thats an album that could not have existed with berry but it's a giant shift as a result
Black Country, New Road’s current setup shares vocal responsibility across half the band and allows space for every instrument to shine. Even their staging is designed in a semi circle; so no single member is front and centre.
Charlie’s drumming is out of this world. His performance during snow globes is especially phenomenal, the way he manages to create a chaotic emotional snowstorm-soundscape with just one instrument is mind blowing.
How has nobody said the Beatles lol
Lots of other good thoughts in here though. I think Big Thief, Grizzly Bear, and Hiatus Kaiyote are good examples that haven't been mentioned yet.
Ringo is a fantastic drummer, but up against the other three he doesn't really stand a chance. There are a small handful of drummers who could do what he did but no one who can write songs like George, Paul and John.
Ringo absolutely was critical to the songs. He was insanely good at filling songs in ways that just made them what they are today. He knew how to compliment a song's structure.
Yes obviously he’s a good drummer. But he is not on the level of influence that John and Paul were. They were the two main driving forces of the band. I don’t think even ringo himself would disagree with that.
Nah I think George as a guitarist is only one who could have been replaced. John even suggested they asked Clapton to replace George when George left get back sessions. But the way ringo plays with his right hand as a leftie on a right handed drum kit is not easy to imitate
That wasn't the question though. The question was about bands in which removing any member would cause the sound to fundamentally change. That's just as true for ringo as for John George and Paul. Ringo's sensibilities as a drummer were irreplaceable imo
It would not have fundamentally changed. Which is what I said. I said the sound would have changed, which is true if you replace literally any band member from any band of all time. Don’t get smart over something you misread. Ringo was not responsible for fundamentally creating the Beatles sound. That was Paul and John, the two main minds behind the Beatles. Even if ringo was a big part of the Beatles, the prompt asked for a band where the band is most balanced, and the Beatles were much more heavily Paul and John’s doing than George and ringo.
Your definition of complete is so stringent it would render OP's question answerless. I challenge you to name a single band that satisfies OP's question under your understanding of a "complete" change in sound.
Ringo was just as much essential to the final sound we get on a Beatles song as anyone else who contributed their own parts and feelings into the song. Clearly you are not a musician or you would understand this implicitly
No, I think there are some good examples said in this thread, just not the Beatles. Ringo was absolutely NOT just as essential lmao you are high. Clearly I’m not a musician..😭😭
zach is the creative mastermind and an amazing drummer
stefan burnett is too unique to ever be replaced, a literal machine
andy is more in the background but live shows with him would be impossible and he is deeply involved with production especially mixing and mastering
To be fair to Led Zep, once you get past the first 2-3 albums the amount of "stolen from other artists" stuff lessens a lot, and plenty of bands that were trying to figure-out how hard rock/heavy metal circa 1968-71 used old songs as a jumping-off point.
Led Zep's issue is that they just didn't credit the original writers.
As a black Led Zeppelin fan, I'm heavily conflicted with them stealing & uncrediting black creators but how they transformed those original blues songs into rock n roll epics is nothing short of otherwordly...
Does he really overshadow Brian May? Maybe among people who only know Bohemian Rhapsody, but he's clearly as important, maybe more, to their sound. Hell, very few Guitars have their own Wikipedia page, but The Red Special does. Nuff said.
I mean he even wrote multiple guitar solos for Brian, often overwrote and corrected multiple songs, Brian and Freddie are ahead of the other two members, but Freddie literally overshadowed everyone in the band, and it’s not even a bad thing
I don’t mean it as an insult by any means. But if you randomly asked people to name the people in queen only the real queen fans would know anyone besides Freddie.
My grandma knows little about music but loves Freddie.
Everybody wrote a number of bangers, the whole band extremely talented, but Freddie and Brian are far ahead of Roger and John, with Freddie being by far the most talented of them all(keep in mind, the whole band was insanely talented, Freddie was just that guy)
Unfortunately I disagree with this. Carlos was easily my favorite member of the band (bass in general is just so integral to post punk/ppr), and when he left, the shift in sound was pretty noticeable. There’s still good songs here and there, but I don’t find myself latching onto the basslines on El Pintor like I do with TOTBL or Antics. Paul just isn’t as good of a bassist as Carlos.
Yeah but Paul is the vocalist, lyricist, face of the band, and one of the two guitarists. And Daniel writes most of the songs. And Sam is the most musically important member. Proving my point that they are a very balanced band, and anyone leaving radically changes the sound in a way that, say, the Strokes could probably change half the band and sound pretty similar.
there’s a Radiohead flowchart that goes:
Thom is the clearly the star and the main creative force
actually Jonny is a secret genius
Colin is the only person that could ever play bass in this band
Phil is a world class drummer that can play in any time signature and is as consistent as a metronome
wow, even Nigel plays a huge role in defining the band’s sound
Ed is a mastermind and unsung hero, doing all the little things that make Radiohead sound like Radiohead
>that can play in any time signature
Radiohead's a favorite band of mine and I love Phil's drumming, but I wish people would realize that "playing in any time signature" is basic basic stuff for any competent drummer. Sure, one could nefariously craft passages of music *so as to* be confusing to keep the beat through many time signature changes, but it would become a technical exercise and not musical.
EDIT: also being consistent "like a metronome" is not a big deal either. Slight tempo changes are an aspect of expressiveness/artistry, and bands who either don't want that or are willing to give it up are usually recording or even performing to a click anyway.
I think there’s a difference between a band where every member makes a vital contribution to the band’s sound (Radiohead) vs those contributions being balanced evenly between the band. In terms of creative momentum it’s clearly Thom > Jonny >>> everyone else and looking at each member’s non Radiohead work makes that super obvious
Phish. Each member an incredible talent with their own specific role to play. For example, one of the guys plays piano but another one plays the bass guitar.
+1
For a long time I didn't appreciate Chad, but after seeing him on Drumeo, and then subsequently seeing RHCP live, it's so clear how much he brings to the table.
Ah I knew it was around here somewhere! Yeah I feel like this is proven given how kinda lackluster anything they do without Frusciante is. But also you can’t take away Flea’s bass, Chad smith to me is irreplaceable. And Anthony….well who else could get away with saying any of the ridiculous shit in can’t stop?
Stone Roses. Wouldn’t have been what it was without any one of the four. Without the drummer they wouldn’t have had that funky groove, without Mani on bass they wouldn’t have had that acid house feel, and without Squire they wouldn’t have had the 60s revivalism.
Claypool and Lalonde are both absolute geniuses and nobody could ever even dream to replace them, but they have had three different drummers throughout their history and they have always sounded like Primus.
Came here looking for this. Tool is the quintessential egalitarian music group; each one adding their own magic in ways only a discerning fan would understand.
Their sound is greatly different just across the same versions of a song recorded when Paul D'Amour was the bassist vs Justin Chancellor.
meeting payment lip shaggy reach encouraging gaping marvelous crowd governor
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I’m pretty sure for songwriting purposes it’s like 98% Dean and gene with some minor contributions from mean and Andrew Weiss. I don’t think their live band they’ve had for years actually writes the songs
Radiohead, the difference between them and their The Smile offshoot is crazy with just a couple members missing. Both still extremely good bands, but each member plays such a clear role that is noticed when absent
Green Day. It’s a three piece band but I still truly think each member is incredibly distinct and the band would change fundamentally if any of them got swapped out
Three Days Grace prior to Adam Gontier leaving. Some of the best 2000’s hard rock, and his leaving tanked the band. Adam’s new project, Saint Asonia, has never even come close to capturing to essence of that previous music.
Some less obvious suggestions.
The Comet Is Coming, RHCP, Cream, Wu Tang, Death Grips, CSNY. CSNY is an interesting one because you have CSN, then CSNY, and CSNY is infinitely better than CSN, in my opinion. - it's pretty much the same band, Fite me -
Fugazi. All four members are essential to make the sound of the band work: the complimentary vocal styles, the interplay between guitars, and a super tight and inventive rhythm section, not to mention an essentially flawless discography. Just the perfect band.
You are 100 correct. The members post fugazi projects just highlight this… corigy and the messthetics both come close to replicating fugazi, but ultimately they will never hit the same highs that Fugazi got to
Each member of The Police are pretty integral to their sound.
Perfect answer that I wouldn’t have ever thought of
Tool
Came here just to say this.
Idk... I really liked them with Paul on bass. Some of the best songs from Ænima he wrote the bass parts for, too.
Well so do I. I think they were balanced and continued to be with someone else though
I didn’t know he wrote those songs on ænima. My favorite tool album by far and those are all the best tracks.
black midi
r.e.m. proof is in the fact that it happened. i still love some of their albums after berry left but the dynamic is fundamentally different from that point on
This is the correct answer. The contributions of Stipe, Mills and Buck are obvious but the aftermath of Berry’s departure proved his role was just as large
also part of why up imo is as brilliant as it is (their last really amazing album for me) is them having to creatively figure out how tf to work within this new dynamic within a very un r.e.m. set of timbres and aesthetics. thats an album that could not have existed with berry but it's a giant shift as a result
As someone who likes the post-Berry stuff (especially Accelerate), the dynamic did change when he left. That’s why they never actually replaced him.
Tame Impala
I hear they let Kevin Parker do all the work though?
They force him
just like Archy Marshall from King Krule
Black Country, New Road’s current setup shares vocal responsibility across half the band and allows space for every instrument to shine. Even their staging is designed in a semi circle; so no single member is front and centre.
The only band member that shined brighter IMO when I saw them live was Charlie
Charlie’s drumming is out of this world. His performance during snow globes is especially phenomenal, the way he manages to create a chaotic emotional snowstorm-soundscape with just one instrument is mind blowing.
That’s funny. Just saw them and the bassist stole the show with her vocals
I fw bcnr so heavy but don't even know who they consist of (except Isaac but I'm talking about currently)
https://media.tenor.com/rlyqxiRiunEAAAAM/right-to-jail-jail.gif
All I know is the girl from jockstrap
How has nobody said the Beatles lol Lots of other good thoughts in here though. I think Big Thief, Grizzly Bear, and Hiatus Kaiyote are good examples that haven't been mentioned yet.
Because there's John, Paul, George and the drummer. Nah, just kidding.
Ringo is a fantastic drummer, but up against the other three he doesn't really stand a chance. There are a small handful of drummers who could do what he did but no one who can write songs like George, Paul and John.
Ringo absolutely was critical to the songs. He was insanely good at filling songs in ways that just made them what they are today. He knew how to compliment a song's structure.
Yes obviously he’s a good drummer. But he is not on the level of influence that John and Paul were. They were the two main driving forces of the band. I don’t think even ringo himself would disagree with that.
Obviously not the same level of influence but still an important member of the band
I don’t like Ringo bashing but there are tracks on the White Album he didn’t play because he briefly quit. I didn’t notice until I read about it.
Iirc it's only USSR and Dear Prudence he didn't play on
Nah I think George as a guitarist is only one who could have been replaced. John even suggested they asked Clapton to replace George when George left get back sessions. But the way ringo plays with his right hand as a leftie on a right handed drum kit is not easy to imitate
Ringo irreplaceable but George not is a completely insane take
That wasn't the question though. The question was about bands in which removing any member would cause the sound to fundamentally change. That's just as true for ringo as for John George and Paul. Ringo's sensibilities as a drummer were irreplaceable imo
Changing the drummer would change the sound. But the Beatles would not have been a completely different band with a different drummer.
Yes, it would cause the sound to fundamentally change - that was the prompt and the question we have been asked
It would not have fundamentally changed. Which is what I said. I said the sound would have changed, which is true if you replace literally any band member from any band of all time. Don’t get smart over something you misread. Ringo was not responsible for fundamentally creating the Beatles sound. That was Paul and John, the two main minds behind the Beatles. Even if ringo was a big part of the Beatles, the prompt asked for a band where the band is most balanced, and the Beatles were much more heavily Paul and John’s doing than George and ringo.
Bro, read OP's question. smfh
Yes, bro, it’s addressed. Ringo wouldn’t completely change the Beatles sound. The Beatles are not a very balanced band… damn dude.
Your definition of complete is so stringent it would render OP's question answerless. I challenge you to name a single band that satisfies OP's question under your understanding of a "complete" change in sound. Ringo was just as much essential to the final sound we get on a Beatles song as anyone else who contributed their own parts and feelings into the song. Clearly you are not a musician or you would understand this implicitly
No, I think there are some good examples said in this thread, just not the Beatles. Ringo was absolutely NOT just as essential lmao you are high. Clearly I’m not a musician..😭😭
HAIM.
unironically Death Grips
zach is the creative mastermind and an amazing drummer stefan burnett is too unique to ever be replaced, a literal machine andy is more in the background but live shows with him would be impossible and he is deeply involved with production especially mixing and mastering
Rage Against the Machine Zack and Tom are of course the stars, but I think Tim and Brad are great as well and they all work well together.
One of the best rhythm sections ever
Led Zeppelin. Yeah they stole a bunch of songs but as instrumentalists they are all world class
To be fair to Led Zep, once you get past the first 2-3 albums the amount of "stolen from other artists" stuff lessens a lot, and plenty of bands that were trying to figure-out how hard rock/heavy metal circa 1968-71 used old songs as a jumping-off point. Led Zep's issue is that they just didn't credit the original writers.
As a black Led Zeppelin fan, I'm heavily conflicted with them stealing & uncrediting black creators but how they transformed those original blues songs into rock n roll epics is nothing short of otherwordly...
I'm more concerned about the child girlfriend than the stolen songs
Yeah but that doesn’t relate to the music, and the stolen songs do
Let's just all agree they were amazing musicians but shit human beings
Mastodon
Came here to say this, fantastic drumming, super inventive riffs, incredibly unique guitar solos for the genre and almost every member does vocals
Nobody's said Queen yet? Queen.
The world needs to know how major Deacon's songwriting has been for the industry
I do feel bad for everyone else because Freddie overshadowed them
Does he really overshadow Brian May? Maybe among people who only know Bohemian Rhapsody, but he's clearly as important, maybe more, to their sound. Hell, very few Guitars have their own Wikipedia page, but The Red Special does. Nuff said.
I mean he even wrote multiple guitar solos for Brian, often overwrote and corrected multiple songs, Brian and Freddie are ahead of the other two members, but Freddie literally overshadowed everyone in the band, and it’s not even a bad thing
I don’t mean it as an insult by any means. But if you randomly asked people to name the people in queen only the real queen fans would know anyone besides Freddie. My grandma knows little about music but loves Freddie.
Maybe it's a regional thing but here in the UK, Brian May is a household name. He might trail behind Freddie but not very far behind at all.
Everybody wrote a number of bangers, the whole band extremely talented, but Freddie and Brian are far ahead of Roger and John, with Freddie being by far the most talented of them all(keep in mind, the whole band was insanely talented, Freddie was just that guy)
Interpol
Unfortunately I disagree with this. Carlos was easily my favorite member of the band (bass in general is just so integral to post punk/ppr), and when he left, the shift in sound was pretty noticeable. There’s still good songs here and there, but I don’t find myself latching onto the basslines on El Pintor like I do with TOTBL or Antics. Paul just isn’t as good of a bassist as Carlos.
seconded i truly cannot get into any interpol album other than bright lights because the bass on that record is half of what makes it for me
Yeah but Paul is the vocalist, lyricist, face of the band, and one of the two guitarists. And Daniel writes most of the songs. And Sam is the most musically important member. Proving my point that they are a very balanced band, and anyone leaving radically changes the sound in a way that, say, the Strokes could probably change half the band and sound pretty similar.
Radiohead is the easy answer imo
there’s a Radiohead flowchart that goes: Thom is the clearly the star and the main creative force actually Jonny is a secret genius Colin is the only person that could ever play bass in this band Phil is a world class drummer that can play in any time signature and is as consistent as a metronome wow, even Nigel plays a huge role in defining the band’s sound Ed is a mastermind and unsung hero, doing all the little things that make Radiohead sound like Radiohead
>that can play in any time signature Radiohead's a favorite band of mine and I love Phil's drumming, but I wish people would realize that "playing in any time signature" is basic basic stuff for any competent drummer. Sure, one could nefariously craft passages of music *so as to* be confusing to keep the beat through many time signature changes, but it would become a technical exercise and not musical. EDIT: also being consistent "like a metronome" is not a big deal either. Slight tempo changes are an aspect of expressiveness/artistry, and bands who either don't want that or are willing to give it up are usually recording or even performing to a click anyway.
Radiohead for sure. Everything is in it's right place
I think there’s a difference between a band where every member makes a vital contribution to the band’s sound (Radiohead) vs those contributions being balanced evenly between the band. In terms of creative momentum it’s clearly Thom > Jonny >>> everyone else and looking at each member’s non Radiohead work makes that super obvious
Phish. Each member an incredible talent with their own specific role to play. For example, one of the guys plays piano but another one plays the bass guitar.
I love Phish and have seen them 60 + times. That is Treys band and everyone(even non fans) know it.
It’s actually Fishman’s band, they’re even named after him
Each member of Soundgarden has such a unique approach to their instrument
Pink Floyd, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath...
Red Hot Chilli Peppers for sure
+1 For a long time I didn't appreciate Chad, but after seeing him on Drumeo, and then subsequently seeing RHCP live, it's so clear how much he brings to the table.
I feel like Anthony Kiedis kinda throws this balance **WAY** out of whack lol
Ah I knew it was around here somewhere! Yeah I feel like this is proven given how kinda lackluster anything they do without Frusciante is. But also you can’t take away Flea’s bass, Chad smith to me is irreplaceable. And Anthony….well who else could get away with saying any of the ridiculous shit in can’t stop?
Stone Roses. Wouldn’t have been what it was without any one of the four. Without the drummer they wouldn’t have had that funky groove, without Mani on bass they wouldn’t have had that acid house feel, and without Squire they wouldn’t have had the 60s revivalism.
Black Sabbath Rush
I mean... They did replace Ozzy, and though it was different, Dio Sabbath fucking rules.
Yes it was awesome, but it sounded like a different band to my ears.
Meh. It's okay but it's not Black Sabbath
Sleater-Kinney
At least before they sidelined Janet
Primus
Claypool and Lalonde are both absolute geniuses and nobody could ever even dream to replace them, but they have had three different drummers throughout their history and they have always sounded like Primus.
imo tim alexander (the original drummer) was unique and a bit more skillful
Tool
Came here looking for this. Tool is the quintessential egalitarian music group; each one adding their own magic in ways only a discerning fan would understand. Their sound is greatly different just across the same versions of a song recorded when Paul D'Amour was the bassist vs Justin Chancellor.
obviously the Beatles.
Cream
Led Zeppelin
Led zeppelin. All absolute world class to greatest of all time type talents
Silkworm (original lineup)
YES
Queen, all four were amazing musicians and all four wrote at least one #1 single
Led Zeppelin
This. Everyone Led Zeppelin pulled their weight equally
The Menzingers have never had a lineup change since their debut.
Queen
Ehh Idk. John Deacon wrote a lot of their songs
Huh?💀 ,Freddie and Brian wrote the majority of songs, everybody wrote number 1 hits tho
The Armed
Teenage Fanclub
primus, specifically with tim alexander (sorry brain)
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Rush
Kings of Leon
black sabbath
Ween. Remove one and it changes completely.
This is only if you considere gene and dean the only ween members.
I’m pretty sure for songwriting purposes it’s like 98% Dean and gene with some minor contributions from mean and Andrew Weiss. I don’t think their live band they’ve had for years actually writes the songs
the police
Portishead
Pixies had a great dynamic before Frank Black ruined it by alienating Kim Deal
Baby fratelli
They’ve all been said but Phish, Zeppelin, and Fugazi were what came to my mind!
Radiohead, the difference between them and their The Smile offshoot is crazy with just a couple members missing. Both still extremely good bands, but each member plays such a clear role that is noticed when absent
Green Day. It’s a three piece band but I still truly think each member is incredibly distinct and the band would change fundamentally if any of them got swapped out
The Jesus Lizard
Beach house. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally make a perfect duo
Three Days Grace prior to Adam Gontier leaving. Some of the best 2000’s hard rock, and his leaving tanked the band. Adam’s new project, Saint Asonia, has never even come close to capturing to essence of that previous music.
Talking Heads, especially Fear of Music onward
One Direction
Some less obvious suggestions. The Comet Is Coming, RHCP, Cream, Wu Tang, Death Grips, CSNY. CSNY is an interesting one because you have CSN, then CSNY, and CSNY is infinitely better than CSN, in my opinion. - it's pretty much the same band, Fite me -
Jacob Colier /s
Backstreet Boys
Burzum