Brian Marshall Sues Creed

[Read JDM]

I can't remember which old timer it was, but I remember my dad was telling me years and years ago about someone -- and I'm pretty sure it was Frankie Valli -- who kept all his bandmates happy by signing a contract at the beginning of their careers wherein everyone was entitled to a certain percentage of each other's musical earnings for the rest of their lives. Supposedly, it worked, because those guys stayed friends and kept performing forever. I'm not 100% sure on the details of this, I'll try and find out, but the point is that arrangements like this should be made more often. Brian Marshall is hardly the first guy to bring his ex-bandmates to court, after all. Take Dave Mustane, for example. You want to talk about a grudge? This guy is so pissed he got kicked out Metallica that it still preempts most everything he does; it was even the dominant theme of the Megadeth special on Behind the Music, for crying out loud. It's like: Man, you've got your own special now, let it go... let it go...

[TeriB19]

It was the same thing with Pink Floyd, wasn't it? The remaining band members wanted to keep on touring as Pink Floyd but Roger Waters owned the rights to all the songs and refused to allow them to be sung by them after leaving the band.

And two, remember that Stapp/Tremonti and Screamline profits go to both Scott and Mark. I'm sure there was some kind of agreement there that Flip knew about but chose not to be a part of. I can't imagine everything with the additional companies going on behind Flip's back. And did these corporations come about after Brian left the band? Damn, sour grapes just suck.

[Dogstar]

Zactly. I can't believe the other two didn' t have a clue beforehand.

[TeriB19]

Really, doesn't anyone else here (besides us) believe that Flip would be pissed too if he had no idea this was happening right under his nose?

[Dogstar]

Exactly. Sour grapes and greed is a bad combination.

[Lady Valkyrie]

I have a need for greed in the Creed brotherhood.

That was so lame... but that is what kept going through my head as I read this thread.

*shakes head* The whole thing is sad to me. very sad.

[Pittock]

I feel that if he wanted to reap the rewards of Creed's hard work he should have stayed. He's been gone long enough that its like he's trying to get something ($$$) for doing nothing the past few years.

[TeriB19]

Absolutely right. Why didn't he sue right after leaving the band? Now that their 3rd album is out and they are on their 2nd tour without him he's crying the blues. There should be a statute of limitations on suing for greed.

[luvscott4ever]

Quote:

Originally posted by TeriB19
There should be a statute of limitations on suing for greed.

No Sh**, my friend!!!

[Rolo1446]

One must admit however...

Mark Tremonti as lead and Brian Marshal at bass =
AWESOME music.

Brian Marshal, I believe, knew EXACTLY the right type of rhythm to accentuate Mark's riffs.

Its magic, I think, really, that is now lost to the wastes of time...

*sigh*

What if Brian did stay and helped make Weathered? Man.

That woulda been a good record.

Not to say Weathered is bad..but it is NOT anywhere near My Own Prison or Human Clay...ah well..

I think they should reunite. Sure, Brett is good and all, but I mean...he isn't a Brian Marshall.

[Steve]

Remember - Brett didn't play bass on the record. He only plays with the band live in concert. Mark played the bass lines for the record.

[Read JDM]

What I'd like to know is, suppose they invite Brett into the band as a permanent member, what do you all think his contribution will be like? I think Weathered is better than Human Clay, but there's little denying that it's missing a full-time bassist's touch. I think Brett might bring that. Might. Personally, if they're not going to bring Brian Marshall back, I'd be fine with them finding out just what Brett has to offer in the studio.

[Rolo1446]

Oh, I know Brett Hestla is nothing more than the touring bassist. The mere idea of him actually contributing to Creed’s future music creatively is abhorrent...blasphemous even! I’d hate to see him tamper with Mark’s music. Hmph. Although, to be perfectly honest, I did like his work with the Virgos in “The Path of Least Resistance”.

Actually, I’m curious...did Mark write bass for Brother of Mine? I’d imagine Brett did the bass lines...but if anyone knows....do tell, do tell!...

Man, I love that song...Brother of Mine is great. Hm.

Anyway, back to the point:

TREMONTI Vs. MARSHALL -- BASS

As two pieces of puzzle are different, when combined, they fit together perfectly, accentuating and accommodating each others particular curves and contours, amalgamating to form a the grand scheme of things -- the way Mark and Brian seem to almost fit each other perfectly in the music they made is almost unbelievable. Let me give a brief synopsis:

Throughout the course of the album My Own Prison, Brian’s powerful, erratically paced, musically sound bass lines completely take Mark’s riffs to a whole new level.

Torn (throughout the entire song, Brian’s lines truly do a fantastic job of keeping the music in a nice tidy package, it sounds great from beginning to end, lots of influence)

Ode (From beginning to end, very strong bass lines, stand out really well, totally ROCK!...ahem...and maintain cohesion in the background...just great stuff)

MOP (Solid work)

Pity for a Dime (Again, solid)

In American (Solid? You bet)

Illusion (Perhaps some of the Mark/Brian combo at its best. I loved the beginning, or rather, opening bass line, and it just stayed flawless to the end...at no point does the music sound even the least bit flawed...almost TOO perfectly matched if you ask me,especially during the solo Marshall truly showcases his ability and in-your-face lines in this song AND the next....)

Unforgiven (Easily my favorite song on the album, and the most influenced by Brian as far the base line goes...this song is LADEN with base line goodness, he also shows his playing ability as a musician keeping up with Mark, and the extra crunch is just great....particularly impressive lines at the 3:02 “no more raging innocence” verse all the way to the end of the gold/god/fire/purity line)

What’s This Life For (Again, solid, a bit more subtle than the other tracks)

One (Solid yet again)

As you can see, Brian does a great job of showing his innovation and adding on to Mark’s general vibe/aura of the music to each song.

Now, on to Human Clay. You’ll notice that Brian’s bass lines are not nearly as loud, or rather, as “showy” in the second album. However more subtle, they are still strong, pumping up Mark’s riffs and maintaining quite an excellent rhythm throughout.

Are You Ready (Fantastic base work)

What If (I personally loved Brian’s solo in the Interlude, solid throughout, and if you notice, he stays on pretty well, following along Mark’s D-A 3h5 hammer ons in the song, giving What If that sharp, post industrial grungy feel I totally love.)

Beautiful (Great, albeit a bit more subtle than most of the “sharp” power songs on the album)

Say I (Ooo man....awesome...just...awesome...)

Wrong Way (Allow me to drool. *DROOL* ... Wrong Way just sounds plain good...the total dismal, clashing, slowly boiling yet undeniable power of the song...the way the base line engulfs the music...oh man...even all the way up to the bridge...powerful, truly, I think, Brian’s finest work on this album, in my humble opinion...but maybe I say this because this is my second favorite Creed song...)

Faceless Man - Never Die - Higher (All great)

Wash Away Those Years ( You can hear a bit more of Brian’s notes in this one, great stuff )

Inside Us All ( Pfft. No comment. )

As you can see, Human Clay offered more subtle, yet still very powerful and very evident base lines. Even in other songs like, “Is This The End?”, “Young Grow Old”, “Bound & Tied”, and “To Whom It May Concern”, Brian does a fantastic job of constantly staying in beat, and giving a great feel to each song, adding his own blend of crunchy base line goodness.

Weathered. Hm. Lets recall the puzzle analogy. Remember how Brian and Mark are different puzzle pieces? But they come together and fit well? And they make a good picture. Essentially, Mark tried to compensate creatively for the loss of Brian Marshall by adding his own ability to the music. However, what he did was...well...make a copy of himself as a puzzle piece, and he tried to fit the same shaped puzzle pieces together. Well, this just turned out odd. You can see the difference in bass lines between MoP and HC drop drastically in quality. Mark may be a genius with a guitar, brilliant even, and I KNOW HE WILL BE KNOWN AS ONE OF THE GREATEST GUITARISTS OF ALL TIME...and he may very well be legendary...but he just CAN’T use his own musical tastes/background/playing ability to accentuate his own music. It simply does not work. The key to a good bassist/guitarist combo is DIVERSITY that help bring out the strengths and the key points of the music.

Sadly, Mark, I think, falls short of Brian Marshall quality bass lines. It just doesn’t feel right.

But, again, this is ALL in my humblest of opinions. I’m just making CONVERSATION. Please, feel free to comment and add on...disagree/agree...and tell why. I’d like to hear if I’m making any sense.

[Aimee]

I completely agree with you about Brian. I miss him tremendously. I was just having a conversation about this last night. Some bass players play along with the lead guitar, accentuating it and not really adding anything new. Brian was the other type of player that was more than "just a bass player". Brett is fun, cute, and all of that good stuff and he does a good job playing bass along with the music like he's supposed to. I'm sure that he could be creative if they let him write, but let's remember that Brett is a lead guitarist/singer by trade.
FYI- Mark wasn't the only one who wrote the new bass lines.