Comments on Not too crazy: Top Ten Artists Suffering The Lindsey Buckingham P...

Haha! Great post xD. To the commenter above, I'd s...

2008-06-25T00:24:00.000-05:00

Haha! Great post xD. To the commenter above, I'd say that George Michael would qualify as someone who was MORE successful as a solo artist :).

Fantastic Topic. I don't disagree with most - but ...

2008-06-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

Fantastic Topic. I don't disagree with most - but Roger Waters' Amused to Death is probably the all time greatest recordings around -really. It is just unbelievable in every sense of the word - An absolute work of art!

Others I would maybe mention. Alison Moyet (Yazoo), Brad Delp (Boston), Bruce Dickinson (with respect) - there are loads

Of opposites - Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy), Jeff Beck (Yardbirds), Steve Vai (Frank Zappa), Robbie Williams, Peter Frampton

Good list! I totally agree with Steve RE: Bob Moul...

2008-04-01T12:25:00.000-05:00

Good list! I totally agree with Steve RE: Bob Mould and Raymond RE: Paul Weller.

And I'm gonna catch hell for adding this guy to the list, but...John Lennon. I'm a huge Beatles fan but his solo stuff just doesn't compare.

And Fergie and JC Chasez? Geniuses? I don't think so...

Hey doll...it's Kari from @! This entry is HYSTERI...

2008-03-31T13:44:00.000-05:00

Hey doll...it's Kari from @! This entry is HYSTERICAL...no wonder it has gotten attention! Love it!

When Zach Morris left Zach Attack he pretty much t...

2008-03-31T13:15:00.000-05:00

When Zach Morris left Zach Attack he pretty much turned out to be a male Madonna so the story goes...

Paul Weller - The Style Council and his solo work ...

2008-03-31T01:51:00.000-05:00

Paul Weller - The Style Council and his solo work pales next to the genius of The Jam.

Pete Townshend - A handful of good solo songs, but with his mates, he changed rock'n'roll forever.

Roger Waters - Suddenly, without Pink Floyd working with him, it became apparent he was a pompous jackass.

Opposites - Busta Rhymes... Leaders Of the New School was decent, but he's at another level on his own.
Tupac - He was in the Digital Underground, who had a couple decent tunes, but did not change the culture of hip-hop like he did.
Neil Young... His solo work soars above CSN&Y and Buffalo Springfield.

re: vs.Incredible brain fart. I didn't even mean t...

2008-03-30T02:49:00.000-05:00

re: vs.

Incredible brain fart. I didn't even mean to put her in that category.
I meant to put her solo career as worse than her Blondie career. As for Heart..can't explain but maybe I was in an 80's mindmelt.

The converse of the Lindsay Buckingham syndrome wo...

2008-03-29T23:13:00.000-05:00

The converse of the Lindsay Buckingham syndrome would be a case where every member of a good, but not great band became phenomenal solo artists after the break-up. Anyone know of an example of this?

Counter example or not? :Brian Eno after leaving R...

2008-03-29T21:37:00.000-05:00

Counter example or not? :Brian Eno after leaving Roxy Music.

I love your concept of TLBP, but I am going to cha...

2008-03-29T13:39:00.000-05:00

I love your concept of TLBP, but I am going to challenge half of your entire list:

• Paul McCartney: When you are one of the Beatles, there is no where to go but down. Oh, and it was John who wanted to leave -- how did his solo career compare to the Fab Four? TLBP!

• Art Garfunkel leaving Simon & Garfunkel wasn't a case of The Lindsey Buckingham paradox, it merely was proof that Paul Simon was the musical genius -- Garfunkel was the one with the beautiful voice. Bad career move on Art's part -- not TLBP.

• Glenn Frey -- close call on this one -- the Eagles were more than Glenn Frey's backup band -- what made them so compelling was the mass of talent there: In addition to Frey, there was Don Henley, Jackson Browne, Joe Walsh, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner.

• Peter Cetera? He was far from being the key musical influence, or genius -- that was Terry Kath, who died accidentally. Lots of talent here, Cetera was one of many who contributed to the band.

• Journey was much more interesting before Steve Perry joined them -- its not like he was the genius behind the music -- and their most intriguing album, Infinity, was written before he joined the band (he sang most of the tracks as a hired gun).

• Jon Anderson of Yes: Another deep deep bench of superstars. Yes did not really find success until Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe joined Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, and Chris Squire. Did anybody thing Anderson was the genius in this band? (No).

• Sting didn't so much as leave the band as he left Rock and roll for something jazzier. And it turned out that he was wildly successful doing so. Not exactly an example of TLBP . .

• Styx: Really, who gives a rats ass?

Thanks, this was a fun list!

I wouldn't put Sting in this category as I think h...

2008-03-29T00:30:00.000-05:00

I wouldn't put Sting in this category as I think he needs his own. I think "The Sting Syndrome" should be: Solo artists who are so unbelievably awful that they make you question the quality of their previous group's effort." So far Sting's the only one I can think of but hey, I've done my part.

And... like diana, I was going to suggest Neko Case. Her solo work is great. New Pornographers are a bore. Same goes for Jenny Lewis and Riko Kiley. (Though I don't know why diana's listing Blondie as a member of Heart... That's news to me.)

While I don't share the same taste in music I thou...

2008-03-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

While I don't share the same taste in music I thought this was an interesting post.

Beth Gibbons-Portishead
Method Man- Wu-Tang Clan (several other members did/do have great solo careers but not him)
Brian Wilson -Beach Boys

I imagine the opposites have many examples that are just too obvious to see initially.

Morissey- The Smiths
Michael Jackson- Jackson 5 (does this even count?)
Neko Case- The New Pornographers
Bjork-Sugarcubes
Blondie-Heart
Lauryn Hill- The Fugees
Gwen Stefani-No Doubt (?, I don't listen to either)

[... stumbled up this concept on the blog Not Too ...

2008-03-28T18:08:00.000-05:00

[... stumbled up this concept on the blog Not Too Crazy, and think that the concept is a very sound one, even if I can't agree with every example offered up ...]

Oof. Tough call on Tim Finn. A lot of people I kno...

2008-03-28T17:57:00.000-05:00

Oof. Tough call on Tim Finn. A lot of people I know consider his work a lot more genuine than Neil's regardless of whether he get's the commercial appeal or not.

Also Sting's Soul Cages was an amazing album, and while his other solo albums were patchy there's still moments of genius there. Of late though a lot of his work has been decidedly throw away.

Mike Doughty.

2008-03-28T16:49:00.000-05:00

Mike Doughty.

Blah blah blah on which band/artist, etc.But congr...

2008-03-28T15:32:00.000-05:00

Blah blah blah on which band/artist, etc.

But congrats on getting the Kottke mention! And your idea is very creative.

Kudos.

I have to really disagree with Sting. I like Stin...

2008-03-28T14:46:00.000-05:00

I have to really disagree with Sting. I like Sting's solo work more than his work with The Police. "Russians," "Fragile," "Fortress" are three of my all-time favorite songs.

I also personally love almost everything McCartney did after the Beatles, particularly the stuff with "Wings."

And to the person who mentioned George Michael...uh, no. He'd be a good example of the opposite affect. His solo work is much better than anything Wham! ever did.

I offer up Freddie Mercury. Queen was brilliant. Freddie's solo stuff was just "meh."

I don't think Ozzy belongs on the list. He had a g...

2008-03-28T14:33:00.000-05:00

I don't think Ozzy belongs on the list. He had a good bit of success in the 80's, even if his new stuff is guano.

I think mynxzilla is really talking about solo car...

2008-03-28T14:23:00.000-05:00

I think mynxzilla is really talking about solo career artistic failure, without measuring commercial success either way. I mean, Sting and Paul McCartney sold a lot of solo records, right? And there are tons of successful bands whose members have just faded away afterwards.

A couple of other suggestions in that vein, then: Jimmy Page (post Led Zeppelin) and Ozzy Osbourne (post Black Sabbath). And maybe Benny and Bjorn from Abba.

I'd say Peter Gabriel is perhaps the best *counter-example*: he gained more critical, commercial, and many would say artistic success, and has been more influential, after Genesis than he ever did before.

Peter Gabriel has had far greater success (commerc...

2008-03-28T13:47:00.000-05:00

Peter Gabriel has had far greater success (commercially, at least) as a solo artist than he did (or likely ever would've) as a member of Genesis.

David Lee Roth and Slammin' Sammy are both good examples of the Buckingham Syndrome. They both had a couple of hits since leaving Van Halen, but nothing like the success they had with the band.

trey anastasiodavid lee rothjohn calepeter gabriel...

2008-03-28T13:28:00.000-05:00

trey anastasio
david lee roth
john cale
peter gabriel
dave mustain

first five that came to mind

Every individual member of Pink Floyd (esp. Roger ...

2008-03-28T12:18:00.000-05:00

Every individual member of Pink Floyd (esp. Roger Waters and Dave Gilmore), They all went on to make relatively decent music, all of which paled in comparison to what they did as a band.

i thought cause i was hungover this stuff sounded ...

2008-03-28T11:52:00.000-05:00

i thought cause i was hungover this stuff sounded bad, but now im thinking its just bad.

Trey Anastasio. Beyonce is the opposite of this, ...

2008-03-28T10:57:00.000-05:00

Trey Anastasio.

Beyonce is the opposite of this, if you consider Destiny's Child a band. Oooh, Fergie, too.

This post reads like I have the worst taste in music ever.

Uh- Shouldn't this be called a "syndrome"? A parad...

2008-03-28T10:35:00.000-05:00

Uh- Shouldn't this be called a "syndrome"? A paradox is a statement. A syndrome is an affliction. The Lindsey Buckingham Syndrome. Lindsey may FACE a paradox - in that he's a total control freak - and that the best recordings are almost always a group effort - which necessitates yielding control. Lindsey faces a paradox. But when you spread it like a viurs - to other musicians. It's a syndrome. I rest my case.