remember... these are in alphabetical order. i'm not saying acdc is the BEST of the "other" greatest bands... they're just the one that came first. of course... i might be inclined to support those who want to say that acdc are the BEST of the "other" greatest bands. just not the ones who say that acdc with brian johnson are the BEST of the "other" greatest bands.

& a quick acknowledgement & apology to black sabbath. the original lineup (ozzy osbourne, tony iommi, bill ward, geezer butler) is one of the great bands of all time... but as other people are starting to find out... trimming a "best bands" list down even to 30 means that a few get left out. & sabbath is one of those bands. not intentionally... but i'll point out where the band went after ronnie james dio left. ever heard "the headless cross"? exactly.

eventually, the more intuitive of you will notice a lack of metallica on this list too...

anyways, i digress. here's 6-10:

6. cream
formed, 1966 in london.
debut: fresh cream, 1966
final show: november, 1968 at the royal albert hall
classic lineup: eric clapton, guitar; jack bruce, bass; ginger baker, drums.
debate: is this the greatest collection of talent in music history?
breakthrough album: fresh cream
definitive album: wheels of fire
my fave album: fresh cream
last GREAT album: wheels of fire
last GOOD album: goodbye (their last album, released less than three years after they formed)
best known song: sunshine of your love
best song: spoonful
little known connections: eric clapton, who first hit international fame in this group, had played in john mayall's legendary bluesbreakers & was the first in the string of legendary guitarists to pass through the yardbirds (jeff beck, jimmy page & ron wood being the others). bruce & baker first met playing in graham bond's organization. they had also sessioned in british invasion groups like manfred mann. ginger baker's most recent gig is in the super-unknown masters of reality.

7. the cure
formed, 1976 in crawley, england
debut: three imaginary boys, 1979
frontman: robert smith
classic lineup: robert smith, guitar; mathieu hartley, keys; simon gallup, bass; lol tollhurst, drums.
debate: could they cheer up a little?
breakthrough album: faith
definitive album: pornography
my fave album: disintegration
last GREAT album: disintegration
last GOOD album: wild mood swings
best known song: close to me
best song: killing an arab
little known connections: robert smith's work with siouxsie & the banshees is well known to any self-respecting cure fan. but few have heard the only album by the glove (blue sunshine, 1983), a side venture of smith & banshee bassist steve severin.

8. miles davis group
formed, 1969
debut: in a silent way, 1969
frontman: miles davis
lineup: miles davis, trumpet; herbie hancock, wayne shorter, tony williams, chick corea, dave holland, joe zawinul, john mclaughlin, lenny white, bennie maupin, jack dejohnette, billy cobham
debate: say... why CAN'T jazz musicians play rock?
breakthrough album: in a silent way
definitive album: bitches brew
my fave album: a tribute to jack johnson
OK... this doesnt' really count as a "rock band" per se. miles davis had been re-inventing jazz for nearly 20 years by the time he bought into the fledgling jazz-rock sound created by drummer tony williams for HIS band, lifetime. but as the last truly GREAT jazz band... this one spawned most of the jazz bands that came along through the 1970s & 80s. corea & holland formed circle in 1970, before corea went on to return to forever in 1972; shorter & zawinul founded weather report in 1971...

9. deep purple
formed, 1968 in hertford, england (originally called roundabout)
debut: shades of deep purple, 1968
frontman: richie blackmore
classic lineup: ian gillan, vocals; richie blackmore, guitar; jon lord, organ; roger glover, bass; ian paice, drums
drunk & dead young: tommy bolin, who replaced blackmore on guitar in 1974 & died of a drug overdose in 1976, age 25.
breakthrough album: deep purple in rock
debate: blackmore vs. gillan
definitive album: made in japan
my fave album: machine head
best known song: smoke on the water
best song: highway star
back from the dead: perfect strangers, 1984
little known connections: blackmore split from his group in 1974 to form rainbow w/ ronnie james dio, who was himself leaving black sabbath where he had replaced ozzy osbourne. david coverdale, who came in in 1973 to replace ian gillan, went on to form whitesnake in 1977.

10. the doors
formed, 1965 in los angeles
debut: the doors, 1967
frontman: jim morrison
classic lineup: jim morrison, vocals; ray manzarek, keys; robby kreiger, guitar; john densmore, drums.
drunk & dead young: jim morrison, age 27.
breakthrough album: the doors
defninitive album: the doors
my fave album: l.a. woman
best known song: light my fire
best song: when the music's over
props to me: i'm the only person i know who owns BOTH of the records that the doors released as a trio after morrison's death. whoopty-doo, indeed!

incensed yet? just wait... 11-15 are next!!