Deserving or Undeserving? The 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees

Fans can decide for themselves whether it’s a magna cum laude class, but Cat Stevens, Hall & Oates, Nirvana, KISS, Linda Ronstadt and Peter Gabriel make an intriguing mix of stars.

 

The ballots are in.

Any rocker not living under, well, a rock knows that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier today announced its 2014 inductees (along with special awards for Beatles manager Brian Epstein, Rolling Stones manager Andre Loog Oldham and The E Street Band). Read more about the inductees at the rockhall.com website.

Now, Local Spins gives its two-cents-worth spin as to why these artists may have gotten the nod, along with its picks of under-the-radar songs by the inductees that readers might want to check out — an especially useful exercise for younger fans who might be clueless as to the contributions these “senior” musicians made to the world of rock.

Do these acts deserve Rock Hall accolades? We’d like to hear your two cents in the comments below. From those who post comments, we’ll pick one at random to receive two free tickets to an upcoming show in the Grand Rapids area.

 

CAT STEVENS
Why he’s in: One only needs to go back and listen to any of Cat Stevens’ albums from the ’70s to appreciate the enduring power of his songs and his distinctive voice, which remains every bit as distinctive now that he’s known as Yusuf Islam.

Under-the-Radar Musical Gem: “Can’t Keep It In” from Stevens’ 1972 album, “Catch Bull at Four,” never became a hit, but it’s the sort of powerful, kinda edgy and insanely catchy song that makes him a deserving Rock Hall inductee.

HALL & OATES
Why they’re in: I have a sneaking suspicion that the success of Hall’s “Live from Daryl’s House” Internet webcast is the real reason this soulful rock duo is finally getting the nod, more than 15 years after they were first eligible. I even recently heard a 20-something Midwest jam band dust off an unlikely rendition of “I Can’t Go For That.” I guess these guys have suddenly gotten hip again.

Under-the-Radar Musical Gem: With more than two dozen Top 40 singles to their credit between 1975 and 1990, these guys were a radio hit machine. But their first single, “She’s Gone,” which never cracked that level, remains an almost perfect representation of what Hall & Oates is all about.

NIRVANA
Why they’re in: If any act is a first-ballot shoe-in, it’s the Kurt Cobain-led Nirvana. The rock hall notes rightly that 1991’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” literally started “a rock revolution,” one that ended too soon with Cobain’s suicide in 1994.

Under-the-Radar Musical Gem: I’m not sure anything by Nirvana qualifies as “under the radar” these days, but the dark masterpiece “In Utero” generated one of the most amazing, spine-chilling songs of the rock era: “Heart-Shaped Box.”

KISS
Why they’re in: Musically, some will grouse, these guys shouldn’t come close to sniffing the Rock Hall. But like it or not, their striking face makeup and theatrical stage show blazed a bombastic trail that turned them into rock sensations … not to mention one of its loudest bands ever.

Under-the-Radar Musical Gem: It never charted, but Michiganders rightly embraced 1976’s “Detroit Rock City.” It’s a city that certainly helped boost the popularity of the band in its early years.

LINDA RONSTADT
Why she’s in: Talk about overdue. Few female singers had the impact Ronstadt did in the 1970s when country rock swept the land. She had 21 Top 40 singles and could literally send shivers down the spine with her live performances. It’s a tragedy she was mercilessly overlooked by the Rock Hall for so long … until she announced earlier this year that she has Parkinson’s disease and can no longer even sing.

Under-the-Radar Gem: Her No. 1 1977 album, “Simple Dreams,” produced the Grammy-nominated “Blue Bayou” and ubiquitous “It’s So Easy” (not to mention great covers of two Warren Zevon tunes), but Ronstadt’s rendering of the Stones’ “Tumbling Dice” is to die for. Really.

PETER GABRIEL
Why he’s in: Not only did Gabriel turn prog-rock’s Genesis into a performance art form, his post-Genesis career generated a remarkably influential arsenal of politically charged music that spanned soul to pop to progressive rock.

Under-the-Radar Gem: Way too many to pick just one. Heck, his first solo album alone boasted “Solsbury Hill,” “Modern Love” and “Here Comes the Flood.” But I’m partial to the dark hues of his third self-titled affair, aka “Melt,” which starts with the scary “Intruder” and ends with the uplifting anti-apartheid “Biko,” with all sorts of gems in between.

                                                                                                        — John Sinkevics for Local Spins

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
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