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

The Meters

 

YES
ELP
Utopia

 

Jagger couldn't sustain a note if his life depended on it

 

Since no one else has mentioned them yet, King Crimson. Either the 72-74 incarnation or anyone of the ones after that lineup.

 

I'd say

Best Guitarist: Mick Taylor
Best Bassist: Paul
Best Drummer: Ringo. Way more inventive and better whan Charlie Watts
Best singer: Paul and/or John. Light years over Mick Jagger
Best Musician: Brian Jones
Best Songwriters: Lennon/ McCartney

 

A few I can think of,

Steve Walsh, Robby Steinhardt, Kerry Livgren, Rich Williams, Dave Hope and Phil Ehart lineup of "Kansas" a very talented bunch.

John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, Tony Levin and Mike Portnoy of the project "Liquid Tension Experiment" had some extreme talent.

 

The band that made Rock's Greatest Achievement possible

Anderson/ Bruford/ Howe/ Squire/ Wakeman

 

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

 

So many talent out there. Three I've been listening to a lot recently, all with various line-up that all have their own merits:

Fairport Convention

Asia

Camel

 

On a technical note, Rush or Yes

As far as individuals go, Queen is my go-to

 

No love for The Eagles nor Fleetwood Mac anymore?

 

Both great bands. Hugely talented, for sure.

The Eagles, especially, had songwriting & vocal chops that were just heavenly so yeah, they'd definitely be up there for me.

 

We are on the fifth page and nobody has said Phish yet....that's crazy!

 

Rush. Fo sho.

And happy birthday, Neil Peart- 66 years young!

 

I would go with the Fripp, Levin, Bruford, Belew version

 

I dislike Phish's drummer's style, so that is a "nay" from me.

 

David Bowie

 

Using the OP's criteria literally ("where each single member is outrageously talented"), I have to go with Phish. Each guy can SHRED at an elite level on their instrument.

Not the greatest songwriters, not blessed with buckets of charisma, but they are each critical to the band's success.

 

You beat me to the punch by 4 minutes!

 

I just thought of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago, a band that doesn't get mentioned much around these parts. Even by the jazzers. But the classic quintet lineup of Lester Bowie - tpt, Joseph Jarman (reeds), Roscoe Mitchell (reeds) Malachi Favors (bass) and Don Moye (drums) (and all little instruments, percussion etc) were among the best musicians of the era. An Art Ensemble concert from the late 60s up until the mid 80s was always something special.

 

Overall: second great Miles Davis quintet

In rock: King Crimson 72-75 or King Crimson 81-84

Other: original Pentangle

 

I love both, but personally, I wouldn't rank them up there with Zeppelin, ELP or Return to Forever, say, with respect to individual musicianship. They're all fine players for what they do, and I think that some individuals in FM and Eagles are outstanding, but the McVies on keys and bass for example compared to, say, Keith Emerson and Stanley Clarke aren't really on the same level in my opinion. At that, do I think that Emerson and Clarke would have made Fleetwood Mac better? No. I think that the McVies work much better for Fleetwood Mac (and that's not even considering just how crucial I think that Christine Mcvie's vocals are). But Fleetwood Mac doesn't hinge on spiffy keyboard and bass playing the same way that ELP (keyboards) and Return to Forever (bass) do.

Some of the bands I listed I even hesitated to list because of similar concerns. For example, Greg Lake is no Stanley Clarke on bass (or Al Di Meola on guitar either). However, not every band would work well with a Return to Forever approach. Lake is still a very good player, and it was important that he function as a musical glue between Emerson and Carl Palmer.

A number of artists I listed made it on criteria more or less like ELP's. But I tried to require that at least the bulk of the band be players on the Emerson/Clarke level, and the exceptions to that still had to be very good but be functioning in a more subtle manner to make the whole work well. Another example there would be Bob Weir for the Dead.

 

You can dislike his style and he can still be insanely talented.

 

RTF was the most talented group I ever saw live (circa '75). Almost too good to totally absorb.
Best 'classic rock' live show was probably Zeppelin '72 when the band was on fire and Page was
still focused and staying the course all the way to the bank...er, encore.

 

Yow-sa.