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This Friday (November 11, 2011) the original and still-legendary line up of Black Sabbath will reunite for a press conference at the LA nightclub Wiskey-A-Go-Go, the same place where they made their North American debut exactly 41 years earlier.

Rumors are circulating that the band will announce that they are reuniting to work on a new album.

I sure hope not. 

Let’s look at the track record of legendary classic rock bands and their newer material.

THE OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE AGAINST BLACK SABBATH

Quick… how many Rolling Stones songs can you name from the past twenty years? Even for deep Stones fans, there isn’t a lot of newer music in the Rolling Stones catalog that immediately jumps to mind. The Rolling Stones aren’t stupid. They get it. That’s why since 1990 they’ve released six live albums, five compilation albums, and one re-issued album. They will reissue the classic Some Girls on November 21, bringing the total of “old material made new” to 13 albums. In that same window, they’ve only recorded three albums of new material.

The Cars reunited this year for the positively-reviewed but low-selling Move Like This album. Despite being the only new material from the band in 25 years, apparently fans would still rather hear “My Best Friend’s Girl” and “Shake It Up”.

The Eagles. Foreigner. ZZ Top. Lynyrd Skynyrd. All have watched their newer albums generate relatively little interest.

It isn’t because their new music isn’t good (some of it is quiet strong). The problem is that the bar is set so high for these legendary bands.

How can The Eagles ever replicate Hotel California? Even if they can replicate it musically, it is impossible to recapture the magic of the era and the impact the song had on people growing up in 1976.

The Stones know that they could never record an album as successful as Some Girls was. So instead, they are wisely rereleasing a new version of the album.

Even U2, continuing to release quality material, are overshadowed by their own incredible legacy.

NEW MUSIC CAN NEVER HAVE THE SAME IMPACT

Thanks to their historic success years ago, these bands have become so known for their classic songs that equally-strong new songs will never have the same impact.

As a business, hopefully you are known for something. Ideally it is something very strong, like the early hits by these classic bands.

Smart brands embrace their reputation.

GIVE THEM MORE OF WHAT THEY WANT FROM YOU

For a restaurant famous for massive thick hamburgers, the best path to future success is to eliminate the pizza and chicken from the menu. Stop trying to diversify, and instead focus on what people know you for and love you for.

For a contractor well-known for building upscale luxury homes, the best path to future success is to drop any business than isn’t upscale luxury homes. Focus on what people know and love you for.

And for Black Sabbath, famous for classic rock songs like “Iron Man”, “Sweet Leaf”, and “Paranoid”, the best path to profits is to reunite and tour the world playing those same classic songs. A new album will only dilute their legendary status as the pioneers of heavy metal music.

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Consider two great bands.

Both rose to fame in the 1970′s and their songs dominated rock radio stations of the era.  Both replaced their lead singers (as well as other less prominent members) over the years.  Both continue to tour from city to city with only one original founding member.  Both are legendary.

Foreigner had over a dozen hit songs during their prime years.  They rocked out with songs like “Urgent” and “Dirty White Boy” and “Cold As Ice”.   They had massive ballads like “Waiting For A Girl Like You” and “I Want To Know What Love Is”.  There are few bands that had as many hits as Foreigner did between 1977 and 1987, and nearly all of their hits are must-play songs on classic rock and oldies radio stations across North America.

Lynyrd Skynyrd brought their brand of southern rock to the world a few years earlier, from about 1973 to 1977.  In ’77 a plane crash took the lives of three of the band members, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt, as well as their assistant road manager and two pilots.  They didn’t have nearly as many hits as Foreigner did.  Today only “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama” are among the most played songs on those same classic rock radio stations.  Some of their other songs are heard now-and-then, but certainly not very often.

Foreigner is a lake.  Lynyrd Skynyrd is a well.

Foreigner has a wide catalog of memorable music, although passion for any one song isn’t all that great.

Lynyrd Skynyrd has a small catalog of memorable music, but passion for their two main hits is extremely high.

What is the better scenario for a brand today?

The lake is wide, but not that deep.  Chrysler is a lake.  They make all kinds of cars from all price ranges and passion for the Chrysler brand isn’t particularly deep.  Sure people love Dodge trucks and Jeep Wranglers, but few people crave a Chrysler.

The well is small, but extremely deep.  Porsche is a well.  They only make a few cars, all expensive and high-performance, and passion for the brand runs very deep.  People save money all their lives to own a Porsche.

I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong answer.  Both “lake” brands and “well” brands can be successful.

Which would you rather be?

I look forward to your thoughts.

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I’ve written in the past about the travesty of Creedence Clearwater Revisited, the Fogerty-free faux CCR band.  I’ve delved into the branding sins of Journey being Journey with Steve Perry or Foreigner being Foreigner without Lou Gramm, and there’s no question that The Guess Who isn’t The Guess Who without Burton Cummings (they just got a new lead singer this year).

This week the legendary Randy Bachman announced that he is reuniting with Fred Turner to once again go on tour as a team.  You’ve probably already gathered from their last names that Randy and Fred were the driving force behind 70′s rock band Bachman Turner Overdrive.  In their day, Bachman Turner Overdrive sold 40 million albums around the world and had people singing along to their massive hits like “Takin’ Care of Business”, “Roll On Down The Highway”, “Let It Ride”, and “Hey You”.  So it will be just like the old days…

Except this time around, there will be no “overdrive”.

You see, guitarist Blair Thorton and drummer Rob Bachman (Randy’s younger brother) have filed suit to prevent them from using the Bachman Turner Overdrive or BTO name.  Blair and Rob, along with Randy Murray (all essentially original members) have been touring off and on for years as BTO without Randy Bachman.  Now that Fred and Randy have reunited, they want to hold on to the rights to the name.

Really?

Is BTO really BTO without Randy Bachman?  Has anyone been fooled by the line-up without Randy over the past 20 or 30 years?

Randy Bachman and Fred Turner really should use the Bachman Turner Overdrive name.  They are the face and sound of Bachman Turner Overdrive.  “Bachman” and “Turner” are their proper names.  The use of the name Bachman Turner Overdrive doesn’t violate the expectations of a single fan buying a ticket for that concert.  It completely lives up to those expectations.  Any other incarnation of the band hasn’t, and never will.  They haven’t even had a hit song since since Randy left in ’77.

The same can be said for CCR.  CCR isn’t CCR without John Fogerty.  There is a built-in let down for original fans who line up to see bass player Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford play the old CCR hits without anyone named Fogerty.  A rhythm section does not a band make.

Good luck to the reunited Bachman Turner United or Bachman Turner Revisited or whatever they need to call themselves.

Sadly, the only people on overdrive through all this will be the lawyers on each side fighting this out.

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