Dave Marsh - Career and Opinions

Career and Opinions

Marsh once infamously wrote, "Queen isn't here just to entertain. This group has come to make it clear exactly who is superior and who is inferior. Its anthem, 'We Will Rock You', is a marching order: you will not rock us, we will rock you. Indeed, Queen may be the first truly fascist rock band ... wonder why anyone would indulge these creeps and their polluting ideas." Previously, he had described lead singer Freddie Mercury as possessing a merely "passable pop voice."

In the 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide, Marsh called Journey "a dead end for San Francisco area rock" and accused them of having "made records perfectly calculated to be inserted into FM radio." He awarded every single Journey album released up to that point – seven studio albums, a compilation album and a live album – the minimum possible score of 1/5 stars. When asked about about Marsh's unrelenting derision of Journey on a recent television program on which other critics had defended the band, lead singer, Steve Perry, called Marsh "an unusual little man who all too often thinks that his subjective opinions translate to inarguable fact."

Also in the 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide, Marsh Air Supply as "The most calculated and soulless pseudo-group of its kind, which is saying something."

Along with Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner, Marsh has been involved in organizing and maintaining the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Regarding a possible induction for Kiss, Marsh said, "Kiss is not a great band, Kiss was never a great band, Kiss never will be a great band, and I have done my share to keep them off the ballot." Frontman Paul Stanley responded by calling the Hall "a sham" and "the creation of a group of industry people and critics who decide who they deem as qualified to be in their little admiration society." Marsh has at times courted controversy with his style of maintaining selections and was once asked to resign from his position.

In his 1980 review on Bob Seger's album Against the Wind, Marsh stated, "I'd like to say that this is not only the worst record Bob Seger has ever made, but an absolutely cowardly one as well."

In an Interview with Playboy, Marsh referred to the Grateful Dead as "the worst band in creation."

Marsh has published four books about singer/musician Bruce Springsteen. Some of these became bestsellers, including Born to Run and Glory Days. Each Springsteen study maintains a consistent thesis, specifically that the New Jersey born singer and songwriter is the greatest creative force in rock history, not because of his musical or songwriting abilities, but because he comes from impeccable working-class roots and restricts himself entirely to working class themes, ideas, and experiences. Marsh is closely associated with Springsteen because his wife, Barbara Carr, is one of Springsteen's co-managers. Marsh is also closely associated with Jon Landau, a Springsteen manager and producer, for the same reason.

Marsh has edited and contributed to Rock and Roll Confidential, a newsletter about rock music and social issues. The newsletter has since been renamed Rock and Rap Confidential.

Marsh contributed to the 1994 book Mid-Life Confidential, a book about and by the Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock band composed of American authors.