From Jay-Z to Axl Rose: The five worst duets in the history of rock music – Far Out Magazine

Rock n roll is a weird and wonderful world. While the genre has given us some of the best music in history, it has also conjured up some of the worst along with no end of crazy tales. Its almost as if to be a successful musician, it comes as a prerequisite that you have to be slightly unhinged.

Thankfully though, these days, the age-old stereotype of the rockstar seems to be dying out. It has been proven time and time again that as a way of life, it is futile, and all the excess and total commitment to hedonism will only end in one way.

Nonetheless, there still exist those who we still perceive as rockstars. Theyre either part of a dying breed, like the surviving Rolling Stones or Beatles members, or are now a total walking caricature. The likes of Mtley Cre and Kid Rock are those that instantly spring to mind. Either way, rock music continues to be the gift that keeps on giving whether it be in the form of good music or material that is so awful its funny.

Musicians are musicians, theres no getting away from it, and there will always exist a degree of going against the grain due to just how naturally different from your everyday Joe they seem to be. Whether it be backstage fights or crazy drug-addled stories, there will always exist these kinds of tales, just maybe not in the massive volume that they did once upon a time.

Given that this set of individuals have a penchant for a surprise, theyve also given us something else on numerous occasions across the years; the duet. There have been so many, it is truly dizzying. However, there does seem to be a common thread with duets, whether its in rock, pop or otherwise theyre rarely good.

Duets tend to rank among some of the worst pieces of music ever released, serving only as a vanity project for those involved. If you quickly cast your mind back to some of the duets that have sent shivers down our spines over the years, youll heed this point loud and clear.

This got us thinking, then, what are the worst rock duets of all time? With an innumerable amount to pick from, this was no easy task. Weve stripped it down to just five in the hope of giving you a concise picture of what a rock duet should not sound/look like.

Unsurprisingly, expect to see some of the most ridiculous characters in rock and roll history.

This truly is an abomination. It is a sonic embodiment of everything thats wrong with modern rock, a total vanity project, and theres no surprise that it features U2.

Apart from the fact that both bands managed to ruin the Skids classic punk track via U2s overdone, overproduced sound, they take all of the organic fury out of the original and water it down to a flimsy husk of its former glory via their very, very mediocre musicianship. The guitar playing is so vanilla that the late Stuart Adamson would be turning in his grave.

Additionally, Billie Joe Armstrongs pointless recital of the verse of The Animals The House of the Rising Sun is nothing but cringe. The 2000s were crap, werent they?

Ok, there were parts of the 2004 Linkin Park/Jay-Z EP,Collision Course, that were decent. Separately, early Linkin Park and Jay-Z are untouchable, theres no denying it.

However, the Numb/Encore mashup is pure cheese. It doesnt matter if its the studio version or the live version that features Paul McCartney; again, it is a case of the 2000s being too ridiculous. It doesnt hold up well, and the self-awareness of all involved ranks at about 0.5%. Its just too much.

Even in 2007, it was hard to believe that this sort of music still existed. An awful blend of cock-rock and heavy metal, this is the sort of music that has been parodied so many times over the years. It is in this realm of music where we still get our musicians who are guilty of taking themselves very seriously, the Aldous Snow prototype.

The worst part about it is rendition is that its an Aerosmith cover, and they do Perry, Tyler and the rest of the band no justice. Taken from ex-Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bachs third solo record,Angel Down, this is just one of three tracks that featured Axl Roses unmistakable vocals. Two words: not good.

On paper, ex-Van Halen vocalist, Sammy Hagar, everyones least favourite Dixie rocker Kid Rock and guitar virtuoso, Joe Satriani, sounds god awful. To everyones total and utter surprise, it was! One of the worst songs Ive ever heard, its hard to believe that theres even a market for this kind of effort.

Again, it can only be described as a vanity project and a joke. Its because of songs like this that rock lost its supremacy in music. Hagar, Rock and the like should be sent into space via Bezos floating dildo, and stay there.

This one is just weird. It is so very 70s, and the vocal back and forth between Cooper and Donovan is one the clearest examples in music of why you should not abuse drugs. Donovans falsetto thats panned in your left ear is really strange, and almost sinister sounding. He tries to be hard rock, but hes just not. While the track is rolling its almost unfathomable that Mr. Mellow Yellow is attempting to be all rock n roll.

Furthermore, Cooper sounds like hes underwater, giving the song a really jarring feel as Donovans creepy whispers sound like hes stood right behind you. Just like the 2000s, the 1970s was a very weird time. It was projects like this that culminated in punks arrival and attempting to wash all the egos of the classic rockstars away.

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From Jay-Z to Axl Rose: The five worst duets in the history of rock music - Far Out Magazine