Who do you consider to be the most individually talented group?

Emerson Lake & Palmer

 

As mentioned, either Miles Davis' First Great Quintet, the KIND OF BLUE band, or the Second Great Quintet. You could spend a worthwhile lifetime listening only to albums made by the artists comprising any of those three bands.

 

Unlike a lot of you, particularly the ones responding to a question like this, I have problems when the question includes the words 'most' and 'talented', and also doesn't specify what type of music we're talking about. There are plenty of trios that had a lot of individual talent in both rock and jazz. Cream, a number of Bill Evans groups, Cecil Taylor Unit with Jimmy Lyons and Andrew Cyrille. Many of examples of all the musicians in those groups leading their own band. Then there are the 'supergroups' like Blind Faith, Crosby Stills Nash +/- Young, etc. If you're talking great talent scouts there is definitely Miles Davis, although to nitpick the Kind of Blue album has two different pianists, and John Mayall. The Mayall group that gave birth to Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac is a good choice. Zappa had a lot of individually talented musicians many times. To mention an ensemble that hasn't been mentioned before I would say World Saxophone Quartet with Julius Hemphill, David Murray, Oliver Lake, and Hamiett Bluiett. All established bandleaders on their own both before and after, plus a stable unit that produced several of the best albums of the 70's/80's. Honorable mention goes to Art Ensemble of Chicago.

 

No way - and that era is actually musically my favorite Zappa era, but the last thing I'd accuse that band of is an excess of chops. Frank took over a bar band, and over time added/replaced members as his reputation grew which allowed him to attract higher calibre players, rather than having to settle for whoever he could get as he needed to early on. So sure the band got more impressive as time went on between 66-70 - Ian Underwood was probably the biggest step up, but Motorhead on lead tambourine and the occasional baritone sax honk? Umm...No. Plus remember Frank fired the entire band apart from Ian Underwood (having clearly outgrown them) and began working with some legit jazz players starting with Hot Rats.

The earliest Zappa band that could be considered as being full of top notch players across the board (touring band anyway) would have been the 73/74 band, and he had several more after that.

 

Incredible String band

 

yes, good one!

 

I guess I'll quibble with the mentions of Chicago in the thread, because I don't think Walt Parazaider really brought anything to the band that any competent sax player couldn't have done, and he didn't add much songwriting wise either.

 

If you go just by the name....then it's got to be The Greatest Show on Earth.

 

I think that anyone would have to concede that yes, as far as drums bass and Motorhead were concerned the band was not as individually talented as they became post-Burnt Weeny. But don't short change Ray Collins, the Gardners, and especially Don Preston who has jazz bonafides and played with Elvin Jones, John Carter, and others before and after. The most telling aspect of your post, though, is in your admission that the more musically accomplished the individual band members became, the less you thought of the music. True for me also.

 

Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys... almost any lineup...

 

Probably the Who for me, with the Doors somewhere in the top 5.

It's hard to not give a top 5! There have been some excellent answers thus far.

 

I think the subject works better broken down by group size. The more members, the easier it is for there to be a weak link.

I will agree, from reading more than thinking, that The Who (classic lineup) and Yes are at the top. I think another group is , surprise, Great White, the lineup that formed in 1986. Great musicians, each arguably with virtuoso talent and Jack Russell one of the best singers in rock history. I think the hair-band reputation, mediocre songwriting, and lack of solo success (all likely interrelated) are what suppress recognition of that.

 

the WHO
entwistle.......powerhouse,inovative player who kept his head when madness erupted around him
Moon..............never be bettered and he never played a song the same way twice
Daltrey.........emotional voice and sometimes people forget what a great harp player he is
Townsend........tremendous guitarist and one of the great composers/songwriters of our time

 

The original lineup of the World Saxophone Quartet; David Murray, Juilius Hemphill, Hamiet Bluiett, and Oliver Lake. All were masters of their instrument, band leaders and composers.

 

The BeaTles
Cream
Steely Dan

 

Some incarnations of PIL
Primal Scream for the Kowalski single

 

massive skill set, but didn't really gell as a band - maybe given more time it could've?

 

The Who can't be replaced as #1 by any group.Period.

But my 2nd place position goes unequivocally to David Thomas ever changing Pere Ubu...

Regardless who was a Ubu at any given time in the bands now very long career they have all been outstanding & immensely talented musicians....

A shamelessly under rated band not unlike the Velvets were until the mid 80s

Finally after much thought I selected the original Mott The Hoople as my #3...

Taking everything they learned from 65-66 era Dylan right down to the crashing organs & everything they inherited from the Stones & Kinks the original MTH were the premeir English hard rock band of the early 1970s...case in point

1.Mott The Hoople (1969) 4/5 stars

2.Mad shadows (1970) 3.50/5 stars

3.Brain Capers (1972) one of the greatest & intelligent hard rock albums ever released 4.5/5 stars

4.All The Young Dudes (1972) Picked up & polished by David Bowie not necessarily for the better IMO but they did score a hit with the title track & it is a rock solid effort again & Mick Ralphs orig Ready For Love is the definitive version of that song 4 / 5 stars

5.Mott (1973) is the bonafide masterpiece...Mott caught a generation & era at its peak just before it turned back on itself , not unlike Loves Forever Changes did in 1967....

With almost every move lifted from Dylans 65-66 period the band was hitting on all 8 cylinders...

Ian Hunters writing on the RocknRoll lifestyle on & off the road has never been topped & I Wish I Was Your Mother could very well been Sid Vicious theme song...

Hunter must surely smiled at the arrival of punk...

The bands playing was impeccable & with the release of Mott in 1973 MTH recorded not only the best album of the early 1970s but also the definitive Glam-Rock album as well 5 / 5 stars

Therefore giving the orig. MTH a solid #3 in my selections

 

For me:

The Beatles
Queen
The Who
Buffalo Springfield
Booker T. and the MGs
Motorhead (classic line up)
Led Zeppelin to some extent, but I don't think Robert Plant is as good as the others.

 

There used to be a band called "the Mystix". All stellar players from the Boston area with their own careers as well as playing with other recording artists. I love all their albums and they were great live. They called it quits as a band within the last year.

Jo Lily- guitar/lead guitar
Bobby Keyes- guitar
Billy Mather- bass
Rick Nelson- drums
Matt Leavenworth- fiddle
Annie Raines - harmonica/ keyboards
Jesse Williams- bass (the last time I saw them live)

 

John McLaughlin =Mahavishnu Orchestra

 

These were the first two bands that came to mind for me.

 

10 pages and no one has said Toto? they were basically a group of some of the best session musicians and played in A LOT of big 80's albums with artists like Michael Jackson, Richard Marx, Cheryl Lynn, Lionel Richie,Christopher Cross, and others that i don't remember now.