Posted by unregistered user at 4/10/08 11:04 a.m.

If you like the band, you'll go. I've been to three INXS concerts with the new lead singer and they were great. People need to be open minded, stop making comparisons and refuse to to get stuck in the past. The band members should be free to continue their craft.

Posted by unregistered user at 4/10/08 12:20 p.m.

I think in the end it's all about the money for these guys. Why ruin a good thing? I was never a big fan of Blind Melon but bands like Alice in Chains, INXS I did like. It's better to end when the singer passed then to look like a joke with a new singer. Which is what all these bands look like to me. I mean imagine if Nirvana had continued after Cobains death with a new singer. Would'nt work. Instead we get the crappy Foo Fighters but that's better than a new Nirvana singer.

Posted by dickymoe at 4/13/08 9:35 p.m.

Nirvana wouldn't work with a new singer obviously because Kurt was also pretty much the sole creative force for that band. INXS does kind of work with JD because INXS was far more democratic in their songwriting process. And Jerry Cantrell is at least as iconic to Alice In Chains as Layne Staley was, though I haven't liked what I've heard so far with any of the guest perfromers or the new guy.

It all depends on each individual band, and the singer's overall role in that band. For example - AC/DC and Van Halen both did rather well with new singers commercially, though artistic merits can always be debated. Black Sabbath, Rainbow, and Iron Maiden also did well with new front men. But all 3 eventually went to the well too many times, and suffered as a result. So did Fleetwood Mac, Journey, Motley Crue, and...uh...Van Halen.

On the other hand, Anthrax changed lead singers twice and came out smelling like a rose both times. And Faith No More had several vocalists before striking gold with Mike Patton.

Unfortunately more often than not most bands live and die with their lead singer. It has nothing to do with it being the same feeling. Any time any member changes in any band, things will never be the same. It's all about if the new feeling is good or not. I recently saw The New York Dolls, or as a friend sarcastically called them, "The Two York Dolls" as to their number of original members. But you know what? They were great! They acknowledged their past and looked to their future without overemphasizing or underestimating either. They simply came out and rocked.

And that's all one can really ask for.