Guitar, bass, drums. If one of you can sing (or even try to), that’s all you need to form a potentially legendary band. The trio is a special rock ’n’ roll incarnation, because no one gets an easy ride: guitars have to be full, bass has to be busy, drums have to drive and add color. And somewhere, at least one of you is also singing.
The 10 below are all towering proof that three can be the magic number. These threes are from all eras and all styles, so we have had to miss out many worthy trios, of course. Add your own favorites in the comments.
10. The Police
The Police were as famous for fighting as for their music. But it’s true to say, the trio sounded unique. Awkward punk/reggae-lite beginnings soon gave way to a wash of creative noise, be it Andy Summers’ FX-skewed guitar, Stewart Copeland’s urgent drumming or Sting’s measured songcraft. The Police’s best songs still hold true, and they undoubtedly later influenced another trio, Rush (more on them later). To think they were considered “punk” is laughable. The Police were musos.
9. Primus
Primus are an acquired taste. But they’ve revelled in a 27-year-career as a goofball trio that always pleases their huge fanbase. Virtuoso bassist and leader Les Claypool says their next album is underway for 2011 release: “We’re throwing pasta at the wall and seeing which noodles are sticking.” Primus remain different. Like Frank Zappa – a clear influence – they are a serious and dedicated, highly musical trio who cannot resist acting like fools. Bet you wish you could play like them.
8. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
SRV’s guitar skills are unquestioned, but he had able support from Double Trouble – bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. SRV’s ’80s update of Texas blues was masterful, and he’s possibly the last guitar great in that genre we’ll ever see. Vaughan’s fat tone – aided by big fingers and big strings – remains the stuff of legend. But SRV needed a great trio to make it all happen.
7. Muse
Since the Millennium, the U.K.’s Muse have been the state-of-the-art rock trio. Derided by some critics early on as Radiohead copyists, they’ve matured into a sci-fi band of epic proportions. All three are talented instrumentalists, but it’s guitarist/singer Matt Bellamy’s multi-tasking ability that dominates the stage. Pulsing techno-influenced pop, prog wildness and anthemic riffing are all in Muse’s toolbox.
6. Green Day
In 20 years the Californians have gone from three-man, three-chord punks to auteurs of Broadway, which is some achievement. Billie Joe Armstrong remains the hub, spitting out lyrics and riffs while drummer Tre Cool is no slouch, summoning the spirits of The Clash’s Topper Headon and The Who’s Keith Moon with gleeful abandon. Unlike many veteran bands, Green Day retain immense ambition… their American Idiot show is touring late in 2011 with talk of a movie version also coming soon.
5. ZZ Top
Tres Hombres says it all. ZZ Top deserve accolades for 40-plus years of superior Texan guitar boogie. They’ve done deep blues, wry rock and electro-influenced pop/rock, but you can always rely on the three original spicy ingredients: Billy Gibbons’ Pearly Gates-whipping licks and drawl, Dusty Hill’s fat bass and r’n’r holler and Frank Beard’s metronomic drumming. ZZ Top still rock and they still roll.
4. Nirvana
Undoubtedly the most influential band of the ’90s, Nirvana turned the challenges of the trio set-up into a strength. Their quiet/loud dynamic was often built around Kurt Cobain playing minimally when singing verses, but when it came to the “release” of the chorus, Nirvana could make an astonshing noise. Cobain may have been technically limited as a guitarist, but he knew how to make the trio format work – solos echoed sung melodies, guitar tones were as varied as any grunge band, and he used his throaty roar as a fourth weapon. All was, of course, aided by the rock-hard bass of Krist Novoselic and the most explosive drummer of the past 20 years, Dave Grohl.
3. Rush
Via regular reinvention, perseverence and undeniable musicality, Rush have reached legend status. It’s a weird set-up: drummer Neil Peart writes the lyrics; Geddy Lee has a “unique voice” and manages to play bass/synths/footpedals and sing it all simultaneously. Alex Lifeson continues to chop out riffs and solos that all bear his unique signature. Rush remain a band no one would ever have invented, yet they remain huge after 37 years together. Even Rush instrumentals can send a crowd ballistic…
2. Cream
Cream were were well-named (considering themselves the “cream” of ’60s British blues) and as fiery as they were formidable. Many Clapton-ites still regard Cream as the pinnacle of the guitarist’s career – he took his grounding in electric blues and mixed in pop, psychedelia and some of his finest songwriting. When they weren’t having fistfights, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce formed an explosive drums/bass team, completing a blueprint followed by numerous blues-rock and jam bands. What Cream achieved in just 29 months together remains astonishing.
1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
If you have Jimi Hendrix playing guitar, you may as well consider The Experience a quintet. His still-stunningly rich guitar playing – melodic, raw, wailing, delicate and complex – was backed by Mitch Mitchell’s superb jazz-inflected drumming and Noel Redding’s driving bass. Studio albums were obviously crammed with overdub trickery, but the live Experience was still a jaw-dropping three-man punch. Hendrix’s later Band Of Gypsys (with Billy Cox and Buddy Miles) were not exactly poor, either. A legendary trio.
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When Weiland first heard about a group that included Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner, he said: “Sounds like a lot of egos. Sounds like a lot of trouble.” And he wasn’t too impressed when they sent him a demo CD.