Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

When should legends retire?


Mickeyboro

Recommended Posts

My formative music years were the mid 80s -mid 90s so groups from this period still resonate more strongly with me than any others. However, whenever I see ads for legacy tours, often featuring just the singer from the original line-up, I wince a tad. I don't want my memory of these tarnished by the images of these people now in their early 60s. I did make the exception of seeing Heaven 17 doing the Penthouse & Pavement tour a decade + ago -  they would've been in their 50s then - because they never gigged back in the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Do they want to let go any more than the musicians do? Sounds like a symbiotic relationship 

If they are both happy fine. I think some bands become like a corporation though with a lot of jobs and people reliant on their existence. I know this weighed heavily on Jerry Garcia. Retirement affects an awful lot of people.

Edited by tegs07
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, mikel said:

BB was Blues, and beyond rock star. And that shape for most of his life. So he doesn't count. 

Robert Smith is still managing to headline festivals and play incredibly good (and lengthy) live shows even whilst looking like an overweight dinner lady after a drug fuelled weekend. I don’t think appearance matters if they can still cut it live.

  • Haha 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, tegs07 said:

Robert Smith is still managing to headline festivals and play incredibly good (and lengthy) live shows even whilst looking like an overweight dinner lady after a drug fuelled weekend. I don’t think appearance matters if they can still cut it live.

Very good shout. Some people should never grow old and fat. Robert Smith is one of them. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A lot of punters just want to say that they have seen The Legend and been in their presence. The standard of the music and overall of performance is not even a secondary consideration. 

 

I find it hard to think of any current Legendary Acts of stadium-filling stature that are still worth watching. The Rolling Stones, The Who, AC/DC, all acts that are trading on past glories that I wouldn't pay £5 to watch in my local park.

 

And as for poor old Phil Collins, when I see the pitiful state he is in nowadays I feel quite upset. He looks like he needs to be in a nursing home more than he needs to be on stage. 

 

 That said,I saw BB King in concert at a fairly small venue in 1986 and he was amazing, still the best live act I have ever seen. The whole performance was a masterclass in musicianship and showmanship. You got the feeling he had done a million professional gigs, and this was one of them. He wasn't trading on his reputation, he was showing everyone how he got that reputation. So I suppose that shows we shouldn't pre-judge.

Edited by Misdee
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Old guys I have seen that were still good live:

 

The Cure

Jimmy Cliff

Buddy Guy

JJ Cale

Ry Cooder

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

 

Would love to see/have seen 

 

Tom Waits 

Leonard Cohen 

 

If you can still play live with conviction why stop, particularly if you need the cash?

Edited by tegs07
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I take no pleasure in including Rod Stewart in this thread.

 

Been a fan of his since the early 70's, especially his stuff with The Faces. Saw him live then and he was truly 

remarkable - one of those singers who occasionally didn't hit the notes bang on but everything else he brought

to the table far eclipsed this. The quality of his voice has been (IMO) slowly going downhill since the 80's, and

was especially grim on his American Songbook stuff. These days it's almost shot, with seemingly no upper or

lower range, just a weird middley warble. Combine that with a rather embarassing 'still got it' stage persona,

and it's just a massive cringe fest. Sorry mate, but you've had a good run. 

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems genre has a bearing on this. Rock, pop etc there's an a certain energy level expectation and in the case of vocals, the inevitable change in range that comes with getting older, whereas most of the jazz legends just seem to get better with age. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, casapete said:

I take no pleasure in including Rod Stewart in this thread.

 

Been a fan of his since the early 70's, especially his stuff with The Faces. Saw him live then and he was truly 

remarkable - one of those singers who occasionally didn't hit the notes bang on but everything else he brought

to the table far eclipsed this. The quality of his voice has been (IMO) slowly going downhill since the 80's, and

was especially grim on his American Songbook stuff. These days it's almost shot, with seemingly no upper or

lower range, just a weird middley warble. Combine that with a rather embarassing 'still got it' stage persona,

and it's just a massive cringe fest. Sorry mate, but you've had a good run. 

 


Like you, Pete, Rod was my entry point to rock. And many of the points you make are valid. American Songbook was thrown out of my house!

 

I have to say, though, that seeing him in Vegas in 2016 I was, despite myself, impressed. He did 90 minutes, the length of a football match, waved the solos round when he could, let his backing singers do a number and avoided songs like Sailing which would have shown him up. By the time we were out of the door he was at the airport preparing for the short hop home. Game management in football-speak.

 

A month later we saw Macca in Portland. Three-hour shows, a different city every night, lead vocals on every song… Different strokes for different folks.

 

At least the likes of Dylan and Ian Hunter don’t have that problem - they never had a voice to lose! 😂

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 17/09/2022 at 13:16, Mickeyboro said:

When should legends hang it up, and who will be the person to tell them? Opinions, please…

 

If someone has inspired and excited people with their music in their heyday and still live and breathes music, who has the right to say "you've lost your edge mate, time to pack it in"?

 

Why should only us average musicians have the right to carry on as long as we enjoy it?

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...