How can a band that has not had a new hit in nearly twenty years and reviled by so many still be one of the most downloaded artists today? Despite the criticism that Journey did receive, of the “Arena Rock” bands, it can be argued that only the Steve Perry group has the ability to re-release a song and have it sound like it was produced recently.

Talking about Motown was certainly nothing new during the NIHOF Rock and Roll discussions. However, the topic generally came up when discussing forgotten and neglected 60’s artists from the legendary label, and rarely for the achievements of the decade that followed. Yet one of the Detroit label’s biggest successes was a 70’s group that originated from the American Deep South where the Commodores emerged as a major player in the R&B scene.

Since even the most educated Rock historians disagree on when and who started Rock and Roll, it is difficult to also pinpoint who originated various subgenres of Rock. Perhaps no other band receives credit (or partial credit depending on which Rock historian you listen to) for helping to create more Rock subgenres than the Soft Machine.

With all due respect to Metallica, it has been often stated that Pantera was the most important Metal band of the 1990’s. Looking back to that decade, it is easy to see why Pantera has that distinction as if any band broke Metal into new boundaries in the 90’s it surely was Pantera.