This article on Bill Wyman got me thinking this morning about a theory that I've been toying with for years:
Wyman: The Stones Would Have No Chance Today
That theory, my friends, is the Rock and Roll Color Wheel. It starts with the premise, not mine, but borrowed from a source I can't at present recall, that rock and roll bands originate by and large from one of three basic starting points:
If you write based on the melodic content, your primary influence is the Beatles
If you write based on the riff or groove, your primary influence is the Stones
If you write based on the chord structure or mood, your primary influence is the Who
This basic premise can be very primitively illustrated using a color chart concept.
This chart obviously oversimplifies a number of factors (i.e., the Beatles were influenced by Sun Records and world Music at certain points in their career; likewise, the Who also were attuned to a lot of rhythm and blues; in the later permutations, many of the bands such as Led Zeppelin, Sabbath, Yes, etc., mixed elements of each of the three source groups - quite often, their “color” was in reality more brown, a mixing pot - this chart only shows their primary color as an influence on later groups). However, I think the basic premise is sound.
There is much that can be done to further describe each stage on this color chart:
For bands in the blue spectrum, there tends to be an additional emphasis on instrumental virtuosity (for example, John Entwhistle, Keith Moon), whereas the red tends to focus on mastery of a particular idiom (i.e., blues) and yellow often incorporates disparate influences into a single presentation (i.e., George Harrison melding Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry).
Lyrically, the bands in the blue spectrum tend to be the most advanced; however, this pertains more or less to thematic considerations, rather than song forms. A pop lyric, for example, may be better crafted than a libretto - but the libretto may have touched on deeper considerations.
Most “rock and roll” bands today can be traced through this color chart quite easily. Try it yourself :)
Thoughts, anyone?
