Who Was Better?

Dust and Bones is better than all of them

 

Soundgarden or Alice In Chains?

 

Then criticize where it fits. "We Didn't Start The Fire," for example. Not exactly Billy's finest. Though I did like "Leningrad," "And So It Goes" and "State of Grace."

Or "An Innocent Man." Pretty obvious that his marriage to Christie affected that one ... as much as "The Nylon Curtain" was about angry Billy.

Or that Columbia/CBS basically did away with his band and had him work with a different group with "River of Dreams."

Those are more justifiable points of contention/criticism. Certainly before going after "Allentown" or "Goodnight Saigon." Or you'll feel like Billy did during "Laura" (another little gem).

 

I don’t for a second diminish what people in Allentown have experienced. But he seems to me like a weird vessel, unless he had family there. That’s all. Like co-opting a prevailing social issue. Not poo-pooing the particular issue, but well, he didn’t serve in Nam. But he is singing from that POV.

Not trying to be disrespectful, just conveying my sense of the song. Everyone has their own relationship to any songs

 

Well, yeah. But, IMO, not having served doesn't automatically mean anyone is being phony, disingenuous or maudlin in taking up for the cause.

As for "Allentown," it was originally titled "Levittown," as in the Long Island locale near where Billy grew up. He read about the decline of the Rust Belt and Bethelem Steel, not to mention it was easier to rhyme and "Allentown" sounded better (not all that convinced of the last reason, FWIW).

 

Lol on the disregard for Patience.

 

Lynyrd Skynyrd or GNR

 

I may be in the minority here, but AIC.

 

For me it was more Chris Cornell be it Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, or Audioslave.

I know the consensus is that Freddie Mercury had the greatest singing voice ever but Chris Cornell, man ...

 

Soundgarden. Top to bottom, they were more talented musically (Matt Cameron showed how good he is way more with Soundgarden than he ever has with Pearl Jam), and Cornell puts things over the top. Love AIC, but Soundgarden is on top.

 

Springsteen in a nutshell?

 

Maybe to an extent. Yeah, a lot of his stuff just seems like manipulative crap. I've never understood people's obsession with Springsteen.