Reunions are a curious thing ~ rarely do they do justice to the original spirit of a given band. One example that has a personal resonance for myself is the Velvet Underground’s reunion in 1992/93, which was arguably most notable for what it lacked rather than what it contained: a complete absence of the experimental edginess that defined the original band. Such reunions tend to yield a dull record of the event, in the Velvet’s case “Live MCMXCIII” – a passable account of their passable performances.

Why do reunions fail? It seems that the intervening years change the dynamic of the band, rarely for the better. Creative units that could once be relied upon to release album after album of classic material no longer function often due to the intervening years of disillusionment, failed solo efforts, bitterness etc. etc. Even though such events are often a disappointment creatively, they are at least an opportunity for fans to enjoy the experience of seeing the band together again or for the first time with the younger generations. Some reunions are even a qualified success. The Sex Pistols 1996 reunion tour came off well. They stuck to the raw spirit of the original songs, and nicely kept it all irreverent by making fun of themselves. They couldn’t have gone far wrong by calling the reunion gigs the “Filthy Lucre Tour”!

 

With reference to The Dubliners, Ronnie Drew once stated during an interview that bands tend to work well for up to ten years and then the creativity fades. If there is a limited time frame for creative success in every band then surely the same rule applies for reunions? As the divide between the present and the 1960’s/70’s gets ever wider, the reunions of long defunct bands come across as more and more absurd. We now face the spectacle of bands collectively approaching old age singing songs they wrote in their early to mid twenties, and typically little else.

I first noticed this phenomenon with the Stooges. Their reunion bridged a thirty year period of inactivity, and yielded the first studio album in er… 34 years, an unexceptional work called “The Weirdness”! Worse was Cream’s reunion with a yawning gap of some thirty seven years between their break up in 1968 and reunion in 2005. Where would it end? Will Iggy be groaning the words to “Death Trip” whilst clutching a zimmer frame?

Some of these reunited bands had quite a short previous existence so in some instances the members hadn’t toured as a unit for up to forty years, this being a near two fold of the age they typically were when performing during their glory days. For example, Buffalo Springfield did not record any material or perform live between 1968 and 2010 – a period of 42 years. They had a thirty date tour planned in 2011 but Neil opted instead to work with his long-time band Crazy Horse! A telling choice perhaps.

The point in raising such numbers is somewhat philosophical. Its clear that as human beings we continually change and share a finite existence. There may even be a point where we are in essence no longer the people we once were because as time goes on we share fewer and fewer of the characteristics that we possessed in our youth, a process of change that is both inward and outward. To make matters worse, many band members also had an extended period of retirement from the music business, as with James Williamson of The Stooges who hadn’t picked up a guitar for three decades.

Although there are some exceptions, it can’t be a coincidence that the very best rock music came from musicians during their youth. Lennon and McCartney performed their era defining miracles during their 20’s.  It isn’t necessarily ageist to suggest that rock musicians do not age particularly gracefully as a rule since if blues or jazz was the topic here the conclusion would be very different. Critically, the very things that made rock unique as a music form (and at one time even a force for social change), namely intense energy and rebelliousness, are the very qualities that diminish as we get older, and perhaps for the best.

Of course 60’s bands like the Rolling Stones and The Who continue to perform or did so until quite recently but at least these bands continued working and releasing material through their more mature years that reflected these changes so it’s a very different proposition to the “overdue reunion”.

Many fans buy into reunions partly to see their heroes resemble what they once were. Sadly, it doesn’t seem possible anymore with advancing years and huge periods of inactivity. Of course there’s always the pleasure of looking back over the past but those that expect more might be better served with a decent tribute act.