Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2012

First of all, I know it has been awhile since my last post. Sorry about that. I went to Wyoming last month. That was very cool. I should (will) post about that. Anyway, on to the very important business at hand.

The Class of 2012 for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was announced today. It was actually leaked yesterday, but the leak left out one inductee that we found out about today with the official announcement. The Class consists of...

Performer Category:
Beastie Boys, Donovan, Guns ‘n Roses, Laura Nyro, The Small Faces/The Faces, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Early Influence Category:
Freddie King

Ahmet Ertegun Award (kind of a lifetime achievement non-performer contributor to music):
Don Kirshner

Musical Excellence Award:
Cossimo Matassa, Tom Dowd


ABOVE: Will Axl and Slash bury the hatchet for one night and actually perform together?

This is the strongest class in years. Beastie Boys, Guns ‘n Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers are newer (for Rockhall standards), exciting and worthy inductees. No question on any of those. I have been pushing for Donovan for a long time, and had begun to lose hope for him. So glad to see him there. His reputation has slowly and quietly improved over the years. When he was actually releasing his most celebrated material in the late 60’s and early 70’s, he was often dismissed as a Dylan-wannabe or a slight psychedelic waif. He was neither of those things. Donovan was a creative singer-songwriter who captured his time so completely that it is hard to take him out of that context. But what great music he made. Tunes like "Season of the Witch" and "Hurdy Gurdy Man" are creepy psychedelic classics, and his more traditional folky tunes are quite beautiful at times. I even dig "Atlantis."


ABOVE: Donovan is groovy

The Small Faces/The Faces is kind of a BS induction. It would be akin to inducting Joy Division and New Order as one band. Yes, one was born of the other, but they are two very different and distinct bands. Also, They are more on the margin of deserving enshrinement. The Small Faces were a talented British folkish/psychedelic band featuring the great Steve Marriott, while The Faces were a fantastic (but not really innovative) bar band featuring Rod Stewart and Ron Wood. I really dig The Faces music (not so much Small Faces), especially Ronnie Lane’s contributions. So, I think Small Faces/Faces is a marginal choice, but definitely not the worst in Rockhall history (that award goes to Percy Sledge). I find it interesting that Small Faces/Faces was the one inductee that did not leak ahead of time, and it brought the Performer total to six inductees instead of the usual five. Since the tallying process is far from transparent, did they decide to slip in The Faces? Did it have anything to do with Rod Stewart’s blatant campaigning and promise to reunite the Faces for a performance at the ceremony if inducted? Uh, probably.


ABOVE: Did Rod seduce the Rockhall elites into some voting fraud with his campaigning for a second Rockhall induction (this time as a Face) and his promise to reunite with his old band for the ceremony?

Laura Nyro should not be inducted as a performer. Put her in as a non-performer in one of these other categories for her songwriting. That is what she is really known for. Nyro is the only induction that I completely disagree with here, but someone on the Nominating Committee has had a hard-on for her, as this was her third year in a row to be nominated. That induction should have gone to Heart or The Cure.

I was shocked that Heart did not get in, I figured they would be a shoo-in. Right era, right demographics. The Cure is so deserving, as they greatly influenced/innovated within an entire genre of rock. I mean, bands like The Cure should be what the Hall is all about, clear innovation and influence. Hopefully they will be back on the ballot next year.

Freddie King got in through the backdoor, just as Wanda Jackson did a few years back. I’ve been pushing King for many years as well, so I am glad he got in, but it was not the best way to do it. He was nominated as a Performer, and obviously did not get the votes to be in the top 5 or 6, so the Powers-That-Be decided to induct him in the Early Influence category instead. Same deal happened with Jackson, and it was shady then too. King was hugely influential on a certain generation of guitarists, especially Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, so no question (to me) that he should be in.

Very glad to see Tom Dowd inducted as well.

For more analysis and Rockhall talk, as always, I suggest Future Rock Legends.

Thoughts?