They may have started out as a Bluegrass band, but they evolved into one of the most successful and controversial Country music bands of all time.  They found new success when they added the Pop sound to their traditional Country and with deep thought provoking lyrics they were unique to both Country and Pop.  Considering the political issues they faced in the past, and that they are group with conservative leaning tendencies, this is a band that is far from anything traditional in the Country world.  

It always seemed like Ween was deliberately odd and thrived in producing material that had an Andy Kaufamnesque quality to it.  Their ironic songs gained them fans who reveled in the joking atmosphere and the seemingly self contained world that Ween created.  They never really got past the Underground scene but it is doubtful that they wanted to try to be anything remotely mainstream anyway.  This is not exactly a Hall of Fame resume, but they likely don’t care, and neither would their fans, of which they developed a more loyal following than more than half of the bands who actually got into the Rock and Roll Hall.

A straight up Bluesy Rock band in a time when that was not in vogue, the Black Crowes echoes the Classic Rock bands of the past and were a breath of fresh air to those tired of the made up Hair metal acts who were about to be phased out.   Chris Robinson and company definitely had a retro feel to it and their Southern Rock styling got them airplay on Rock stations across the country.  Had their success in the 90’s carried over into the new millennium their Hall of Fame chances would have improved.  As such they are a wild card shot at best when they are eligible.

They may have been in the shadows of Madchester bands (The Happy Mondays & The Stone Roses) and later Brit Pop phenoms (Blur & Oasis) but a look back at the catalogue of the Charlatans shows a band that had was unfortunate to have had to take a back seat to anybody.  As they ever escaped those huge shadows (and barely made a dent in the American market) we can’t really see this very good (but largely overshadowed) band crack Cleveland’s Hall.