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Cream - the first supergroup?

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Asia

Although they sold boatloads of records, thanks to ceaseless exposure on MTV with hits like Heat Of The Moment and Only Time Will Tell, Asia were derided from the beginning by prog-rock fans who branded its members (Steve Howe and Geoff Downes from Yes, John Wetton from King Crimson and Carl Palmer from ELP) pop sell-outs. John Wetton split in '83 and was replaced by another ELP man, Greg Lake, but the band never regained its footing. In 2007, the original members reunited, recorded an album (Phoenix) and toured until major heart surgery forced Wetton to call it a day - in the heat of the moment, no doubt.
MusicRadar rating 2/5

Hindu Love Gods

Take three-fourths of REM (Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Bill Berry) and one highly respected singer-songwriter (Warren Zevon) and you wind up with something strange, loose, exciting and impossible to categorize. Their only album was recorded on what was reportedly a drunken night (imagine that!) and contained mostly blues covers (Robert Johnson's Walkin' Blues, Willie Dixon's Wang Dang Doodle), although their alt-rock take on Prince's Raspberry Beret seemed to fit in just fine.
MusicRadar rating 3/5

The Firm

From the moment this supergroup was announced, cries of "All right!" to "Oh, no!" were heard across the globe. How could Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers possibly live up to the glory of their former bands? The simple answer was, they couldn't. Joined by Tony Franklin (from Roy Harper) and Chris Slade (from Uriah Heep), The Firm put out two albums (the eponymous debut and Mean Business), but only one song, Radioactive, garnered airplay. From the start, it appeared as if this was a more 'project' than a real band - the songs sounded cobbled together by committee, the playing was leaden - so when they wrapped things up after two years, nobody seemed to miss them.
MusicRadar rating 2/5

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