More cred when dead: Why defunct bands trump reunion tours

Every week, it seems like there’s another defunct band coming out of the woodwork with a reunion show/tour/album. Last week, Treble Charger, I Mother Earth and 2 Live Crew all announced that they were reuniting. While this is great news for nostalgia-holic fans—and probably even greater news for musicians who weren’t very savvy with their rock ’n’ roll riches—reunion tours rarely live up to the reuniters’ past greatness. (And other than Johnny Cash, nobody has ever made a really good comeback album.) Bands that have died and stayed dead are far superior to their resurrected peers.

Click here for some mathematical proof.

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WB

I cant agree with this article. BIG Thumbs Down.
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10:11 am on February 6, 2012

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umberto

First,if any more than one origional member is gone the band can’t use the name.Seeing reunions with 4 new guys is a con and a scam.Second, you gotta look good.Never like David Crosby.I recently watched the 10th version of Whitesnake make fools of themselves.All off key and unable to carry a tune.More sad than sad can be.Look at the Beach Boys on the Grammys.Just look…Pretty sad.Whitney was getting ready also.She saved us from crap.It would have been brutal.Even the Van Halen thing is a scam.The kid is not close to Micheals playing and surely his singing back up.Just watch some old video and see it as it was.I watched Nugent gag a few thousand of us while he could’nt get through one song.Most left before too late.How about the GoGo’s?They were worse than 20 years ago.Gross.Still can’t play.Get a job at Walmart and move on.It is over.
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6:18 pm on February 15, 2012

smc

Actually, Dinosaur Jr. have released 2 pretty great comeback albums.
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10:49 am on February 3, 2012

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Animal Nation

Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks is the comeback album in which all other comeback albums seems to be compared to.
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12:06 pm on February 3, 2012