The most and the least versatile bands of all time.
 

I think this thread is going to be over in the first post, right here.

Most versatile, IMO is Queen, hands down.

Bhemian Rhapsody
Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon
Ogre Battle
My Best Friend
Another One Bites the Dust
'39
The Show Must Go On

And that's just a quick sampling.

I know ya'll gonna say the Beatles, but if you don't know a lot of Queen's catalog, it's not really fair. Beatles probably had the most versatile hits, but I put them in a very 2nd place. A very close 2nd place.

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Least versatile the first group that comes to mind is Aerosmith, but then the Ramones popped into my head. I think they grab the trophy on this one.

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So to recap.

Most versatile: Queen
Least versatile: Ramones

i enjoy 2 of the 4 bands you mentioned

don't know about the LEAST, but for the MOST....

have to say PRIMUS -- when they don't suck...

followed by Joe Bonamassa

Least: AC/DC.

Most: Agreed with Queen.

Most versatile: Queen, Beatles, Yo La Tengo, They Might Be Giants, Leftover Salmon, Grateful Dead

Least versatile:
Ramones, AC/DC, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Nickleback, Linkin Park

This

I don't know if Queen is the most versatile or not, but at the moment I can't think of anyone more so. So you're right that if they're not at the top they are at least very near the top.

As far as least versatile, I'm going to go with "The Fray." When I saw them open for U2 I swear they played the same song 7 times in a row.

I'm trying to think if I'd consider RHCP versatile or not. Opinions?

this is quickly turning into bands i like bands i hate

Music related. That goes in Miscellaneous, I'll move it there now.

Watch the closing door.

Least Versatile: Korn

Dunno I agree with that. Just because a band isn't versatile doesn't mean they're bad at all. It just means they do one thing REALLY well. ACDC comes to mind for me. While they aren't my favorite band, I do like them a lot.

For me.... Beatles have to be #1 because when they did changed it was followed by almost the entire industry! The might Zep would be 2 as they played so many genres you could classify them or each album a different way, followed by Queen. You would also have to put the various reincarnations of Neil Youg in there too.
Great Thread so far!

Most versatile=Ween. They have some albums (e.g. "White Pepper") in which each song sounds like it was done by a different band. Even their all-country album sounds like ten different country bands from a variety of eras. Honorable mention goes to Tom Waits.

Least versatile=for the sake of variety in the conversation, I'll say Coldplay, just because they haven't been mentioned yet. They seem to just keep doing the same piano-driven, big chorus, heartfelt treacle, power ballad over and over again. Nothing wrong with the if-it-ain't-broke way of doing things , I guess, but for me that just means that I only need their first album, then I'm disinterested.

They have hits songs that are rocking funk and others that are ballads. That sounds like versatility to me.

Considering who they have backed up, I think the most versatile band has to be the World's Most Dangerous Band:
Paul Shaffer - Keyboard
Sid McGinnis - Guitar
Will Lee - Bass
Anton Fig - Drums

They Might Be Giants and Ween definitely, very talented and creative people they are.

Most: Beatles
Least: Jan & Dean

A couple bands that I'd throw in the least versatile discussion would be Cake and the long since defunct Soul Coughing.

Both have a very distinct sound and vocal limitations that mean they never stray far from their comfort zone, though I do dig Cake quite a bit.

Most versatile?

Beck is billed as a solo artist, but he certainly genre hops as much as anyone else.

Faith No More did a ton of different stuff. I definitely agree with the Beatles and Queen.

Really cool thread because, there are bands that I really like who are not very versatile. AC/DC comes to mind here. Very cool tunes, but pretty similar to one another.

I have to agree that Queen is right up there with the most versatile bands of all time. Hard to think of too many bands that fall into that same category as the music industry works pretty diligently to keep bands genre specific.