Why is the sum often greater than the parts?

This is one of those discussions where one-size-does-NOT-fit-all. I would say Peter Gabriel was in fact more creative as a solo composer/performer primarily because he had to concentrate his skills on individual songs, rather than meander through 10 to 20 minute long labyrinthine permutations. The songs from his solo career (primarily those from 1975 through the 80s) are more personal, not some lunatic flight of mythological mayhem. Ian Anderson, however, is a different story. The output between 1968 and 1979 was with a band of friends and close acquaintances (no matter if it was Bunker or Barlow, for instance). It is obvious there was more input from each band member, even though Ian was principal songwriter, and Tull flourished. Once Anderson relegated the band to union wage scale and used hired hands with no input, the output dropped diametrically in quality. The only resurgence is in the album Crest of a Knave, which features Martin Barre's guitar over Ian's flute.

Edited by The Dark Elf - July 19 2015 at 11:31

I would say at first blush that Hackett's solo stuff might be an exception, because I do feel that he has a good body of work that measures up well against Old Genesis. However, there have been creative contributions from his more steady band members, particularly Nick Magnus and Roger King. Rob Townsend takes the liberty to improvise on some of his soprano sax passages. He's had some very excellent people he's worked with throughout his albums, which makes them something other than true solo efforts in the strictest sense. His true solo albums have come mainly with classical guitar albums like Momentum, which I think is fabulous. On the other hand, GTR was less than its parts, so while we wonder about all the solo efforts that yielded something less than optimal, we shouldn't overlook the many group efforts out there that didn't work out too well either.

Adrian Belew is one who has been both an excellent band member and an excellent solo artist.

Edited by HackettFan - July 19 2015 at 18:35

The following is copy of the first page of PA artists list for discographies under the letter B, which I think is one of the more representative collection of artists as either in groups or as solo individuals. This is not meant to be definitive. Please look through the entire PA listing A through Z for yourself, and note the disparity between artists as musical groups or solo performers.

Edited by SteveG - July 20 2015 at 14:16