The Band of Theseus
Ship Of Theseus does completely sound like an album title that fits the band name of Styx.
Good question…
I’d argue this…
Let’s say you have 4 band members:
John, Paul, George, and Ringo
John drops out, is replaced by George^2.
Ringo drops out, replaced by Pete.
Paul drops out, replaced by Brian.
George drops out, replaced by Billy.George^2, Pete, Brian, Billy.
You could argue they are still the same band as 3/4 of them each played with original members. Billy is the first to have never played with any of them.
Now… if George^2, Pete, and Brian get replaced, no, it’s not the same band.
I would add that also there should also be a connection between the art/music for them to be considered the same band
For example: Black Sabbath only changed their vocalist and they sound like two, quite, different bands. On the other hand, Iron Maiden also changed their vocalist and they sound like the same band with both Dickinson and Di’anno.
Or you look at Pink Floyd, Syd Barret, Roger Waters, Dave Gilmour, all vastly different sounds, yet all Floyd.
Are they really? Im not too familiar with pink floyd but they dont sound that different to me I even have trouble telling which “era” their songs are.
Listen to some truly old albums like Atom Heart Mother. You won’t recognize Pink Floyd.
Syd Barret Era:
Roger Waters Era:
David Gilmour Era:
Ok, I see what you mean now. Then I dont know what makes a band “the same band” but I stand with what I said: Ozzy’s Sabbath is a different band than Dio’s Sabbath lol
Thanks for sharing I have never heard the Sid Barret songs.
But you have a pot of soup and at the end of the day you have a little left and so you add more ingredients and fill the pot back up. You do this for years. Is it still the same pot of soup?
Sure, it’s just evolved.
Art is a conversation, and a study of choice. It’s hard to see how treating a band as something fixed or essential rather than a collective voice or viewpoint that can change over time can add clarity to anything.
So then as a band are they a perpetual band? Are there any famous bands that basically did that? Like from the start just randomly changing members including the vocals? Something like the band is the lyrics and music not the performers, just like a symphony.
That soup is going to develop bacteria and make everyone ill.
No joke, it’s probably a fair analogy for replacing band members after the original band members have all died over the past 50 years.
I saw them for free last year and it was pretty whack with so much flag waiving super the troops patriotism shit and none of the members. Time to wrap it up
Napalm Death has been playing this game for years.
What about when they split and multiply? Like Saliva.
What counts as an original member? By the time the first recording is released there may have been multiple line up changes
Reminds me of that time in the early-70s when David Bowie was swooning backstage while meeting The Velvet Underground, only to be informed a little later that he’d been talking to Doug Yule, who replaced John Cale then took over as frontman when Lou Reed quit the band, and if I’m not mistaken with the timeline, even guitarist Sterling Morrison and drummer Moe Tucker had already also split.
