Finally something I enjoy: BOS to Jamiroquai's Stevie Wonder mimickry on "Virtual Insanity."
Stevie Wonder JINX!
Jamiroquai : Stevie Wonder :: Lenny Kravitz : Hendrix/Beatles/EWF.
Sublime : RHCP :: Phish : Dead :: Jamiroquai : Stevie Wonder :: Lenny Kravitz : Hendrix
I think these guys are all far more similar than they are different. Not arguing about taste, but if you can appreciate a good Stevie homage, why the hate for the others?
Because "good" is the operative word there.
(PS: To be fair, I like a few Sublime songs, especially "Santeria." But Phish can go phphphphphphade away.)
My thoughts:
Sublime - most artistically individual among these four, really the only one that staked out new territory. You don't like that territory, I won't argue.
Jamiroquai - good quality stuff, but ultimately a flash in the pan & he didn't croak off like Brad Nowell, so we really *can* hold this against him.
Lenny K. - some good quality stuff, but unlike both artists above produced far more output, and a lot of it turned out to be mediocre.
Phish - most unfairly misjudged here, they never sought to be compared to the Dead, but they achieved a version of their success and the media didn't know what to do with it, so they just labeled them as Dead wannabee's.