Rock Reunions And Supergroups

Over the past decade we have seen a wide variety of rock reunions and super-groups form. Some met with a nothing but cheering crowds while others fell flat on their faces their time in the sun long gone. Check out a list of what worked and what didn't.

SOUNDGARDEN/AUDIOSLAVE

Upon their breakup Soundgarden one of the most influential bands of the grunge Chris Cornell tried branching out creating his own brand of music with little success. Later he joined together with members of then defunct Rage Against The Machine to create Audioslave.

With their debut album Audioslave were riding high and it seemed for a short time that Cornell had found a permanent spot with the band. After a couple more albums however it became clear that Audioslave had lost it's mojo and Cornell returned to his solo career, again with little success. He even tried to release a record using Timbaland known for his rap/hip hop song writing and producing. The album gained recognition only for it's record breaking speed of dropping off the charts.

Having alienated his core fan base Cornell finally agreed to a reunion with Soundgarden. They went on tour selling out arenas across the globe and released a couple retrospective albums. Soundgarden are currently working ona studio album which undoubtedly will be met with success and serious record sales.

THE PIXIES

Never truly reaching the mainstream success at the time their records released the Pixies throughout the 1990s had gained an incredible following. When they reunited for a world tour they broke records on the speed tickets were ravenously purchased. The sold out world tour generated a resurgence in record sales and they are now finally discussing the release of a new studio album.

ALICE IN CHAINS

After the death of Layne Staley in 2002 it seemed unlikely that a reunion could happen for Alice In Chains however after finding a vocalist with very similar vocal range they did it. Having listened to their newest album I can say it is incredible. The songs are classic Alice In Chains and you could swear they are channeling Layne from the grave.

DINOSAUR JR.

Another incredibly underrated band from the 1980s and 1990s. Having achieved modest mainstream recognition J. Mascis retired the name in the late 90s. By the mid 2000s however they returned featuring all three original members. Their sound gaining more attention then ever before, their newest albums soundingjust as great as when they left off.

STONE TEMPLE PILOTS

After many years the Stone Temple Pilots returned with a new album. Although I admit at first I had hopes they would return with a good album I didn't enjoy more than just the opening single. They really haven't released much worth listening to since Tiny Music, their 3rd album.

BUSH

I liked Bush in the 90's despite everyone's saying they were just a puppet band ripping off the grunge movement. I wasn't so much of a fan of their Golden State Album and I felt they were fading even on the Science Of Things but I had hopes they would offer something good with their new album. I really enjoyed the first single, "The Sound Of Winter" however other than a few other songs the album really isn't that great. It also isn't really Bush without Nigel Pulsford's great guitar work.

BLACK SABBATH

Having attended Ozzfest 2001 I saw firsthand the reunited Black Sabbath as they performed Snowblind among other great songs and there is no denying Ozzy and Black Sabbath go together.

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS

After Billy Corgan reformed the Pumpkins even with half the band missing I was hoping they would get back to business. Instead he messed around with his fans playing hour long songs of nothing or only newer watered down slow songs and released albums of really sub par material. After Jimmy Chamberlain left he moved forward with more less than Pumpkins material. I still have hope for him only because I own so many albums, EPs and rare songs from SP to think they could never release another good song.

ARMY OF ANYONE

Although not perfect this band a combination on Richard Patrick (the frontman of Filter) and the remaining members of the Stone Temple Pilots were one of the better "Super-groups." I still listen to a handful of songs from their album although I fell Patrick should be concentrating his efforts more on Filter these days.