On the eve of TV supergroup Rock Star Supernova‘s Radio City Music Hall show–which, some cursory research revealed, is nowhere near sold out–the New York Post looks at a few reasons for the band’s flameout:
Two of the three supposed superstars – GN’R's Gilby Clarke and Metallica’s Jason Newstead (sic) – were late-inning replacements that put virtually no stamp on the sound of their legendary bands. And while Lee’s spinning drum kit was a Crue legacy, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars were largely responsible for the Crue’s feelgood tunes.
We’re sure that recruiting a bass player from the afterlife didn’t help matters, either (although at this point, bringing on Mars wouldn’t be too different). But there’s another key reason that this not-quite-supergroup didn’t even reach the modest successes of its television predecessor, INXS–that Aussie outfit has an established back catalog, and even though the idea of someone else trying to fill Michael Hutchence’s jeans creeps us out a bit lot, there are still people who want to hear “Never Tear Us Apart” live. That familiarity, which would probably bring in at least a few casual fans, isn’t anywhere to be found in the new-supergroup’s oeuvre–unless they’ve been working on a show-closing version of “Get Naked.”
Supernova Implodes [NYP]
The Post telling a band to ‘check out Pitchfork’ = we are through the looking glass.
Who were the original choices for the guitarist and bassist?
Although I would agree with the Post’s Getlen that Gilby Clarke had little or nothing to do with the Guns ‘n’ Roses legacy, to dismiss Jason Newsted so easily is revisionist at best and ignorant at worst.
Newsted replaced beloved Metallica bass player Cliff Burton upon his tragic death in 1986. Both bassists contributed to three Metallica studio albums, with the sound of Newsted’s three albums with the band – 1988′s …And Justice For All, 1991′s Metallica and 1996′s Load – differing greatly from the band’s first three albums. With Newsted, the band reached a commercial and critical pinnacle enjoyed by few bands, and Newsted toured with Metallica for over a decade. His artistic contributions to the band should not be underestimated.
I suspect, much as the Idolator stated above, that the reason why “Rock Star Supernova” sucks eggs is because it was some corporate exec’s idea of a can’t-fail “supergroup” rather than an organic band like Inxs with chemistry and history. Of course, now that Joey Belladonna has left the band and they need a new vocalist, is “Rock Star: Anthrax” on the television horizon?
The good news for Newstead is that this impending disaster can only lead to a reunion with and older, emotionally introspective Metallica: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdpNMeWX4YE
God I just love that. I don’t care why he did it.
Last ditch effort to create some albums sales and / or sell tix: They were on Regis and Kelly this morning….
I think, amazingly enough, that the buying public may just be wise enough not to swallow a pre-fab supergroup as quickly as they would have about 10 years ago.
Isn’t there some sort of old saying that without a past there is no future?