[kj] comebacks / reunions (re: Jane's Addiction Reformation)

[TB]

"Michael Halsted" wrote:


> The two reformations that I really enjoyed:
>
> WIRE (especially live - remarkable.)
> Mission of Burma (sonically it almost seemed like they were never gone)

I really enjoyed the Bauhaus reunion shows, notably the 1998 tour. The show 
I caught at the Hollywood Palladium that tour was a huge surprise as far as 
how good the band was. It was a shame they couldn't keep it together long 
enough to record a new album. The current 2005-06 reunion has been ok but 
Peter Murphy has really been showing his age physically and it remains to be 
seen if anything further will come of it as far as a studio album.

The Cult's 1999 - 2000 reunion and studio album were pretty decent as well. 
I thought the "Beyond Good And Evil" album was really solid and it was a 
shame the band fell apart mostly due to their record labels' ineptitude. The 
current reunion/reformation is alright but they're getting more and more to 
be an oldies band with little drive to do anything new.

Other reunions that imo, have been fairly successful on an artistic level 
(even if you don't like the bands) include The Black Crows, Judas Priest, 
Iron Maiden and Concrete Blonde. A few that have produced decent results as 
far as live shows even though they've been mostly oldies- based cash grabs 
include Bruce Springsteen (with the E Street Band), The Eagles, Fleetwood 
Mac, Cream and Black Sabbath (at least the '96-'97 shows). However, on the 
bottom rung of the ladder, my picks for worst, most disastrous and 
ill-advised reunions or bastardizations of the respective band's legacy have 
to be the Sammy Hagar/Van Halen 2004 tour/reunion, The Doors with Ian 
Astbury, and the almost unknown Lords of the New Church debacle in 2001-'02. 
I won't even see or listen to current incarnations of Queen, Thin Lizzy or 
Creedence Clearwater Revival simply because the respective frontman were 
such a huge part of their bands.

Bands I'd like to see give it another shot include Love and Rockets, The 
Jesus and Mary Chain, Talking Heads and The J Geils Band. I am looking 
forward to the upcoming Smashing Pumpkins reunion. On the other hand, much 
as I loved the David Lee Roth era Van Halen, a Roth-fronted reunion would be 
a sad, laughable affair at this point in their careers.

T.B.