Supergroup (music) - Criticism

Criticism

In 1974, a Time magazine article entitled "Return of a Supergroup" quipped that the supergroup was a "potent but short-lived rock phenomenon" which was an "amalgam formed by the talented malcontents of other bands." The article acknowledged that groups such as Cream and Blind Faith "played enormous arenas and made megabucks, and sometimes megamusic", with the performances "fueled by dueling egos." However, while this "musical infighting built up the excitement...it also made breakups inevitable."

Chris DeVille's 2008 article "Super or blooper?", which is subtitled "Supergroups: So much promise, so often squandered", notes that "when well-known rockers get together in new configurations, they're guaranteed lots of attention, but these ego summits rarely bear fruit as fresh as what made these guys famous in the first place." DeVille praises supergroups such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Fantômas (a post-Faith No More supergroup); and Velvet Revolver. However, he rates a number of other projects as "bloopers", including Blind Faith, the country and western supergroup The Highwaymen (who were a supergroup specifically of the Outlaw Country subgenre of country music and included Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson; The Traveling Wilburys (the Wilburys were seriously affected by the death of member Roy Orbison shortly after releasing their first album); Audioslave; Zwan; Eyes Adrift; and The Good, the Bad & the Queen.