Beastie Boys and Led Zeppelin, all time favorites. I can't answer only one as I came up on both. listening to one (beastie boys) led me to the other (led zeppelin) through sampling and lyric references. seen Beastie Boys about 13 times live, and Page/Plant twice.
YOU'RE SUB-PAR! Far removed perhaps, but Money and profit does not equal quality necessarily. I prefer his solo body of work to the Pixies if only for the amount and variety of it. Teenager of the Year is up there with any Pixies album, and there is a lot of really great work in his solo catalog. It is not all for everyone, as he explores quite a bit without a notion to appease the "PLAY MONKEY GONE TO HEAVEN" crowd or worry about mass sales. A lot of his solo stuff (especially with the Catholics) is recorded straight to two track, which makes for some impressive and raw recordings. As the solo stuff progresses, it does by Pixies standards get more tame (no pun intended) on some albums exploring some Americana sounds and even doing an album with session musicians in Nashville (Lots of steel guitar) and if you follow it through, so much of it offers such a wealth of great songs, he shows his ability to write in any style, and play with anyone. He shows he can write songs in styles other than that for which he's known, styles that are often very cliché, and make them incredibly original. He truly is a great songwriter and performer. This Pixies stint they've been back on is great, but for us fans that followed him around post pixies, we miss seeing a Frank Black Solo show these days. If you've never heard any FB and the Catholics, and you're a Pixies fan you should look into that stint. There is a lot of great stuff in there. If you haven't heard ANY of his solo work, just go in order. The first one is very good ("Frank Black") and does have some Joey Santiago on it (and Eric Drew Feldman) , but the second one is better and doesn't. I have my favorites and I have my least favorites, but all of them have something to offer. Dude is awesome.
Have to separate artist from band- here's both of my #1s sharing the same stage: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BisS5JxeUW0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is a good one, I had a BIG chevelle phase. Letter From A Thief, Jars, Sleep Apnea, Vitamin R are amongst my favorite songs.
The only reason fans gravitate to his solo work, including with the Catholics, is because it feeds a more repetitively concentrated, and relatable "raw" styling that some fans (the ones that think everything after Doolittle "sucked") equate to quality, or genuine "artistry"... when that isn't always the case... If anything his solo work is less varied or diverse than his work with the Pixies... and some selections come off as highly derivative... and not nearly as creative/imaginitive... And as "raw" as fans herald his solo work... It lacks the genuine passionate fire of Pixies' "raw"... Like I said, I don't think it's horrible music... or the worst solo work I've ever heard... It just pales in comparison to his work as a member of the Pixies... I believe Thom York said it best, "That's not right! The Pixies opening for us is like the Beatles opening for us!" It's not such a terrible slight... I disagree... and you could say the same for Pixies music in general... hence their lack of mainstream American success... I wasn't evaluating Charles' career... just his solo work... Obviously Pixies' songs aren't what they are without Charles... There's no need to make arguments towards his merit as songwriter or artist... Charles' contributions to the 'alternative' genre, and rock music in general are not and should not be put into question...
