Power trio
Encyclopedia
A power trio is a rock and roll
band format where the traditional power trio has a lineup of guitar
, bass
and drums
, leaving out the rhythm guitar
or keyboard
that are used in other rock music to fill out the sound with chords. While one or more band members may sing, power trios usually emphasize instrumental performance and overall impact over vocals and lyrics.
The rise of the power trio in the 1960s was made possible in part by developments in amplifier
technology that greatly enhanced the volume of the electric guitar and bass. The prototypical power trios were exemplified by late 1960s-era blues-rock
/ hard rock
bands The Jimi Hendrix Experience
, Cream
, Grand Funk Railroad
and The James Gang
. Blue Cheer
, in its most popular configuration as a power trio, was said to have adopted that format after seeing Jimi Hendrix perform at the Monterey Pop Festival
. Well-known 1970s-era power trios include the Canadian prog rock group Rush
; the British heavy metal
band Motörhead; The Jam
; Robin Trower
and The Police
. Keyboard-oriented power trios using electronic organ
(or synthesizer
in the 1970s) also emerged, such as Atomic Rooster
, the guitar-less incarnations of Soft Machine
and The Nice
, and progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer
.
In Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s, power rock trio Soda Stereo
revolutionized Latin rock and became one of the biggest rock bands in the history of Latin American music.
Although power trios fell out of fashion in mainstream rock during the early 1980s, the rise of post-punk
and indie rock
in the later 1980s and throughout the 1990s featured many trios, such as grunge
band Nirvana
and pop-punk bands such as Green Day
and Blink-182
. One of the biggest power trios of today is the British band Muse
.
, for example, when it chose to play electric, would often play six hour sets when performing in the mid 1970s. Power trio music often reflects a blues
or jazz
influence, since these two types of music invite improvisation. Typically, instrumental performance and overall impact are emphasized over vocals and lyrics. For instance, Beck, Bogert, and Appice would generally be considered a power trio, whereas the Jeff Beck Group
, (a similar lineup with Rod Stewart
on vocals) would not.
As power trios have one guitar, one bass and one drummer, this arrangement usually requires the guitarist to play both rhythm and lead parts. The emphasis on guitar solos and crashing rhythm sections in the power trio contributed to the development of heavy metal
, although some power trios would prefer hard rock
labels.
and electric guitar/bass guitar technology that permit the instruments to provide more sound than before. Particularly, the advent of electric bass guitar defined the bottom end and filled in the gaps. Since the bass could also now be louder, the rest of the band could also play at higher volumes, without fear of being unable to hear the bass. This allowed a three-person band to have the same sonic impact as a large band but left far more room for improvisation and creativity, unencumbered by the need for detailed arrangements. As well, as with the organ trio
, a 1960s-era soul jazz
group centered around the amplified Hammond organ
, a three-piece group could fill a large bar or club with a big sound for a much lower price than a large rock and roll band. A power trio, at least in its blues-rock incarnation, is also generally held to have developed out of Chicago-style blues
bands such as Muddy Waters
' trio.
The Pirates, when they established themselves in 1962-64 and again from 1976 onwards as a separate, power trio entity from Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, were pioneers of the technique of playing guitar solos with a thick chordal rhythm-guitar-like style, which was later popularised by Dr. Feelgood
in the 1970s.
The prototypical power trios were exemplified by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
, Blue Cheer
, Grand Funk Railroad
and Cream
, who popularized the format during the 1960s. These three groups laid down the framework for all other subsequent power trios: extended improvisation, hyperamplification through walls of amplifiers and cabinets, and the use of effects
(such as delay
, distortion
, flangers
, fuzz bass, wah pedals
, etc.) to fill out and modify the guitar sound. The idea of the power trio became so pervasive during the late 1960s that it became a virtual rite of passage for young musicians. After the break-up of the Beatles in 1970, John Lennon
released his debut solo album Plastic Ono Band in the fashion of a power trio with Lennon alternatingly on guitars and piano. Electric blues bands such as Rory Gallagher
had a more "stripped-down" feeling, with no guitar effects to alter the sound, but focusing more on the energy of the performance.
The first Keyboard-orientated power trio was the Scottish band 1-2-3 (later Clouds
) in 1966. Thereafter, other keyboard-oriented power trios also emerged such as Atomic Rooster
, the guitar-less incarnations of Soft Machine
and The Nice
, and perhaps the most successful, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
(formed from Atomic Rooster and The Nice keyboard trios). These trios centered on the sound of the electronic organ
and in the 1970s, the analog synthesizer
.
, Black Sabbath
, Free
, and Queen
(even though Freddie Mercury
, too, was an instrumentalist, some of the band's songs follow this format). Although none of these were ever particularly identified as such, the music that they created is influenced by, and follows the same musical format as, many of the pioneering power trios. Likewise, Mountain
is often erroneously referred to as a power trio, even though there were four instrumentalists (guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards) in the band. Many punk rock
bands, for example the Ramones
and the Sex Pistols
, would follow the power trio plus vocalist model, which was also used by proto-punk band The Stooges
.
Some power trios also experimented with keyboards and sequencers
in the studio, most notably the Canadian trio Rush
, whose bassist-frontman Geddy Lee
has often demonstrated his multi-instrumental capabilities on diverse rock albums such as 1977's A Farewell to Kings
and 1985's Power Windows
. Modern digital technology has also enabled a power trio to duplicate their studio performances in concert, as evidenced by Rush's 1989 live album, A Show of Hands
, where Lee simultaneously sings, plays bass, and plays keyboard with foot pedals. This technology, in combination with their style and production, have earned the band the nickname of "Canadian Power Trio".
Some 1970s British groups, such as Genesis
and UK
began with larger lineups, but eventually became keyboard-oriented trios in the mode of The Nice
, and later, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
. Other well-known trios from the 1970s and 1980s include The James Gang
; Glass Harp
; Raven
; Budgie
; Grand Funk Railroad
; Triumph
; Blue Cheer
; Johnny Winter
's Progressive Blues Experiment; Motörhead; The Minutemen; West, Bruce and Laing
; The Jam
; The Police
; Rush
; Zebra
; ZZ Top
; Robin Trower Band
and, until the album Nightlife
, Thin Lizzy
.
A late 70s jazz fusion trio of John McLaughlin
(guitar) Jaco Pastorius
(bass) and Tony Williams (drums) unashamedly returned to the original concept of the power trio with their short-lived "Trio of Doom
" album. (Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience are specifically mentioned in the album's sleeve notes.) However the experiment lasted for only one live performance and one studio session.
and indie rock
in the 1980s and 1990s featured many trios. During this time the configuration experienced a renaissance of sorts with groups such as Nirvana
, Silverchair
, Meat Puppets
, Violent Femmes
, Babes in Toyland
, Primus
, Hüsker Dü
(and spin off bands Nova Mob and Sugar), Walt Mink
, the Minutemen
, Dinosaur Jr
, Sebadoh
, Melvins, Fudge Tunnel
, Galaxie 500
, DC3
, Nomeansno
, Low
, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
, Killdozer
, Cosmic Psychos
, Therapy?
, Placebo
, Jawbreaker
, Bratmobile
, Sleater-Kinney
, the Screaming Blue Messiahs and Gov't Mule
. After the disappearance of their guitarist Richey James Edwards
, the Manic Street Preachers
continued as a three-piece (although Edwards only appeared on record on one song, and was always turned down or even entirely off onstage: his only real role in the band was as lyricist). The British pop rock
trio The Outfield
got started in the mid-1980s and continued on through the early 1990s; it's atypical for the usual power trio style for its lighter/softer pop sound.
Recording engineer Steve Albini
's bands Big Black
, Rapeman
and Shellac
were all three-piece bands (though Big Black usually credited their drum machine
as a member in album liner notes). Similarly, British industrial band Godflesh
often utilized a drum machine and two primary members, although they did at times record and tour with a second guitarist (Paul Neville
of Loop), and near the end of the band's life they began working with real drummers (Bryan Mantia
and later Ted Parsons
) almost exclusively. The most successful rock power trio of that time was Nirvana
, who crossed over to immense mainstream success.
Some trios would overdub multiple parts when recording but perform stripped-back versions of their songs live, while others (such as the Minutemen) recorded mostly live, performing "gigs in front of a mic", as Mike Watt put it. In the post-alternative era, popular trios included Sublime
, One Man Army
, Alkaline Trio
, Green Day
, Everclear
, Blink-182
, and Gov't Mule
. Also, the configuration remained popular in "progressive rock
", with groups such as Rush
, King's X
and Mantra Sunrise
. John Paul Jones
uses a variant of the power trio idea in his solo tours, combining bass and keyboards with Stick player
Nick Beggs and a drummer. The 1990s edition of King Crimson
toured as a "double power trio" (according to leader Robert Fripp
), with two drummers, two bassists and two guitars.
, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
,The Subways
, Biffy Clyro
, Wolfmother
, Radio Moscow
, Cog
, Back Door Slam
, Russian Circles
, Los Lonely Boys
, The Fall of Troy
, The Wombats
, Johnny Foreigner
, State Radio
, Junkyard Choir
, The Young Knives
, Rose Hill Drive
, Seether
, The Steepwater Band
, Super 400
, North Mississippi Allstars
, and the John Mayer Trio
, among many others who have sprung out of the jam band
scene. Within the tradition of the guitar, bass and drums format being the vehicle for a musician of exceptional songwriting, guitar and vocal talent, 50 Foot Wave
led by Kristin Hersh
provide notable exception to gender stereotype.
The Multi Genre group Boris
only has three members, but compensates by using a double neck instrument with one neck being a guitar and one neck being a bass. They frequently use effects such as delay
and echo
, and fill in space with instrumental feedback
. Seedy Jeezus utilize the sound of the guitar amp pushed to its limit and a drummer using the entire kit to create a full pulsing beat while the bassist alternates between a solid bassline filled with flourishes where he can. After the breakup of Godflesh, guitarist Justin Broadrick
formed Jesu
, which utilizes the power trio format. Broadrick's former labelmate at Earache Records
, ex-Fudge Tunnel guitarist Alex Newport
, also performed as part of another power trio in the band Theory of Ruin. California-based band Qui
previously operated as a duo but recently became a trio (though not strictly in the power trio sense) by adding vocalist David Yow
to their lineup. Adrian Belew
has also recently embraced the power trio configurations for his live tours. Some power trios add to the fullness of their sound by using bass pedalboards, which are keyboards played by the feet. New York City sludge metal band Unearthly Trance
also utilizes the power trio format.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band format where the traditional power trio has a lineup of guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, leaving out the rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
or keyboard
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
that are used in other rock music to fill out the sound with chords. While one or more band members may sing, power trios usually emphasize instrumental performance and overall impact over vocals and lyrics.
The rise of the power trio in the 1960s was made possible in part by developments in amplifier
Amplifier
Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
technology that greatly enhanced the volume of the electric guitar and bass. The prototypical power trios were exemplified by late 1960s-era blues-rock
Blues-rock
Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
/ hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
bands The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
, Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
, Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
and The James Gang
James Gang
The James Gang was a rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. Though the band was not a huge commercial success, except in the Northeast Ohio area, the fame garnered by guitarist Joe Walsh has since made the group more notable.- History :...
. Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
, in its most popular configuration as a power trio, was said to have adopted that format after seeing Jimi Hendrix perform at the Monterey Pop Festival
Monterey Pop Festival
The Monterey International Pop Music Festival was a three-day concert event held June 16 to June 18, 1967 at the Monterey County Fairgrounds in Monterey, California...
. Well-known 1970s-era power trios include the Canadian prog rock group Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
; the British heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Motörhead; The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
; Robin Trower
Robin Trower
Robin Leonard Trower , known professionally as Robin Trower, is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio.-Biography:...
and The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
. Keyboard-oriented power trios using electronic organ
Electronic organ
An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
(or synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
in the 1970s) also emerged, such as Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...
, the guitar-less incarnations of Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
and The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
, and progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
.
In Latin America in the 1980s and 1990s, power rock trio Soda Stereo
Soda Stereo
Soda Stereo were an Argentine rock band who are recognized as one of the most influential and important Latin American and Ibero-American bands of all time...
revolutionized Latin rock and became one of the biggest rock bands in the history of Latin American music.
Although power trios fell out of fashion in mainstream rock during the early 1980s, the rise of post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
in the later 1980s and throughout the 1990s featured many trios, such as grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
band Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and pop-punk bands such as Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
and Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
. One of the biggest power trios of today is the British band Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
.
Overview
Power trios have at times been characterized as loud and bombastic, often embarking on long improvised jams that would highlight the virtuosity of the individual musicians. The American blues band, Hot TunaHot Tuna
Hot Tuna is an American blues-rock band formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as a spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. It plays acoustic and electric versions of original and traditional blues songs.- Jefferson Airplane side project :...
, for example, when it chose to play electric, would often play six hour sets when performing in the mid 1970s. Power trio music often reflects a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
or jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
influence, since these two types of music invite improvisation. Typically, instrumental performance and overall impact are emphasized over vocals and lyrics. For instance, Beck, Bogert, and Appice would generally be considered a power trio, whereas the Jeff Beck Group
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, (a similar lineup with Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
on vocals) would not.
As power trios have one guitar, one bass and one drummer, this arrangement usually requires the guitarist to play both rhythm and lead parts. The emphasis on guitar solos and crashing rhythm sections in the power trio contributed to the development of heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, although some power trios would prefer hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
labels.
Origins
The rise of the power trio was made possible in part by developments in amplifierAmplifier
Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
and electric guitar/bass guitar technology that permit the instruments to provide more sound than before. Particularly, the advent of electric bass guitar defined the bottom end and filled in the gaps. Since the bass could also now be louder, the rest of the band could also play at higher volumes, without fear of being unable to hear the bass. This allowed a three-person band to have the same sonic impact as a large band but left far more room for improvisation and creativity, unencumbered by the need for detailed arrangements. As well, as with the organ trio
Organ trio
An organ trio, in a jazz context, is a group of three jazz musicians, typically consisting of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player. In some cases the saxophonist will join a trio which consists of an organist, guitarist, and drummer, making it a quartet...
, a 1960s-era soul jazz
Soul jazz
Soul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...
group centered around the amplified Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
, a three-piece group could fill a large bar or club with a big sound for a much lower price than a large rock and roll band. A power trio, at least in its blues-rock incarnation, is also generally held to have developed out of Chicago-style blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
bands such as Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
' trio.
The Pirates, when they established themselves in 1962-64 and again from 1976 onwards as a separate, power trio entity from Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, were pioneers of the technique of playing guitar solos with a thick chordal rhythm-guitar-like style, which was later popularised by Dr. Feelgood
Dr. Feelgood
Dr. Feelgood may refer to:In music:*Dr. Feelgood , an album by American band Mötley Crüe**"Dr. Feelgood" , a single and the title track from that album*"Dr. Feel Good", a song by Travie McCoy on the album Lazarus...
in the 1970s.
The prototypical power trios were exemplified by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
, Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
, Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
and Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
, who popularized the format during the 1960s. These three groups laid down the framework for all other subsequent power trios: extended improvisation, hyperamplification through walls of amplifiers and cabinets, and the use of effects
Sound effect
For the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
(such as delay
Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
, distortion
Distortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
, flangers
Flanging
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...
, fuzz bass, wah pedals
Wah-wah pedal
A wah-wah pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect, mimicking the human voice...
, etc.) to fill out and modify the guitar sound. The idea of the power trio became so pervasive during the late 1960s that it became a virtual rite of passage for young musicians. After the break-up of the Beatles in 1970, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
released his debut solo album Plastic Ono Band in the fashion of a power trio with Lennon alternatingly on guitars and piano. Electric blues bands such as Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher
William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
had a more "stripped-down" feeling, with no guitar effects to alter the sound, but focusing more on the energy of the performance.
The first Keyboard-orientated power trio was the Scottish band 1-2-3 (later Clouds
Clouds (60s rock band)
Clouds were a 1960s Scottish rock band that disbanded in October 1971. The band consisted of Ian Ellis , Harry Hughes and Billy Ritchie .- Early days: The Premiers :...
) in 1966. Thereafter, other keyboard-oriented power trios also emerged such as Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster
Atomic Rooster were an English progressive rock band, composed of former members of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Throughout their history, keyboardist Vincent Crane was the only constant member, and wrote the majority of their material. Their history is defined by two periods, in the early...
, the guitar-less incarnations of Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
and The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
, and perhaps the most successful, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
(formed from Atomic Rooster and The Nice keyboard trios). These trios centered on the sound of the electronic organ
Electronic organ
An electronic organ is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally, it was designed to imitate the sound of pipe organs, theatre organs, band sounds, or orchestral sounds....
and in the 1970s, the analog synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
.
Experimentation in the 1970s and 1980s
During the late 1960s, many groups used power trio instrumentation while adding a vocalist. These include The WhoThe Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
, Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, Free
Free (band)
Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a...
, and Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
(even though Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury
Freddie Mercury was a British musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. As a performer, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and powerful vocals over a four-octave range...
, too, was an instrumentalist, some of the band's songs follow this format). Although none of these were ever particularly identified as such, the music that they created is influenced by, and follows the same musical format as, many of the pioneering power trios. Likewise, Mountain
Mountain (band)
Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
is often erroneously referred to as a power trio, even though there were four instrumentalists (guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards) in the band. Many punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands, for example the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
and the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, would follow the power trio plus vocalist model, which was also used by proto-punk band The Stooges
The Stooges
The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...
.
Some power trios also experimented with keyboards and sequencers
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
in the studio, most notably the Canadian trio Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, whose bassist-frontman Geddy Lee
Geddy Lee
Gary Lee Weinrib, OC, better known as Geddy Lee , is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush...
has often demonstrated his multi-instrumental capabilities on diverse rock albums such as 1977's A Farewell to Kings
A Farewell to Kings
A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1977. The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, and mixed at Advision Studios in London....
and 1985's Power Windows
Power Windows (album)
Power Windows is the 11th studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1985. Power Windows was the first Rush album to be produced by Peter Collins and the album was recorded at The Manor in England, Air Studios in Montserrat and at Sarm East Studios in London.Power Windows introduced more...
. Modern digital technology has also enabled a power trio to duplicate their studio performances in concert, as evidenced by Rush's 1989 live album, A Show of Hands
A Show of Hands
A Show of Hands is a live album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1989. The band released a video of the same name, originally on VHS and laserdisc in 1989...
, where Lee simultaneously sings, plays bass, and plays keyboard with foot pedals. This technology, in combination with their style and production, have earned the band the nickname of "Canadian Power Trio".
Some 1970s British groups, such as Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
and UK
UK (band)
U.K. were a short-lived British progressive rock supergroup active from 1977 until 1980.The band was composed of Singer/Bassist John Wetton, formerly of King Crimson, Bryan Ferry's band and Uriah Heep, Keyboardist/Electric Violinist Eddie Jobson, formerly of Curved Air, Roxy Music and Frank Zappa's...
began with larger lineups, but eventually became keyboard-oriented trios in the mode of The Nice
The Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...
, and later, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
. Other well-known trios from the 1970s and 1980s include The James Gang
James Gang
The James Gang was a rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. Though the band was not a huge commercial success, except in the Northeast Ohio area, the fame garnered by guitarist Joe Walsh has since made the group more notable.- History :...
; Glass Harp
Glass Harp
Glass Harp is a Youngstown, Ohio based power trio consisting of guitarist Phil Keaggy, drummer John Sferra and bassist Daniel Pecchio.-Early years:...
; Raven
Raven (band)
Raven are an English heavy metal band associated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. They had a hit with the single "On and On", and refer to their music as "athletic rock".-Formation:...
; Budgie
Budgie (band)
Budgie is a Welsh Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band from Cardiff. They are widely considered as one of the first heavy metal bands and a seminal influence to many acts of that scene, with fast, heavy rock being played as early as 1971. The band has been noted as "among the heaviest metal of its day"...
; Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
; Triumph
Triumph (band)
Triumph is a Canadian hard rock power trio that was popular in the late 1970s through the 1980s. Eight of the band's albums were certified gold or higher, and Triumph was nominated for multiple Juno Awards, including Group of the Year Award in 1979, 1985, 1986 and 1987.Like their fellow Canadians...
; Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
; Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...
's Progressive Blues Experiment; Motörhead; The Minutemen; West, Bruce and Laing
West, Bruce and Laing
West, Bruce and Laing were a blues-rock power trio super-group consisting of Leslie West , Jack Bruce and Corky Laing . In 2009 West and Laing teamed up with Jack Bruce's son, Malcolm, and began touring as West, Bruce Jr...
; The Jam
The Jam
The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
; The Police
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
; Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
; Zebra
Zebra (band)
Zebra is a hard rock band founded in 1975 in New Orleans, Louisiana. It features Randy Jackson , Felix Hanemann and Guy Gelso . Their mainstream debut on Atlantic Records was in 1983 with their eponymous album, highlighted by the singles "Tell Me What You Want" and "Who's Behind The Door"...
; ZZ Top
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
; Robin Trower Band
Robin Trower
Robin Leonard Trower , known professionally as Robin Trower, is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio.-Biography:...
and, until the album Nightlife
Nightlife (Thin Lizzy album)
Nightlife is the fourth studio album by Irish band Thin Lizzy, released in 1974, and produced by Ron Nevison and Phil Lynott. The album cover shows a panther-like creature in a city scene, and the panther was intended to represent Lynott....
, Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
.
A late 70s jazz fusion trio of John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
(guitar) Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
(bass) and Tony Williams (drums) unashamedly returned to the original concept of the power trio with their short-lived "Trio of Doom
Trio of Doom
The Trio of Doom was a short-lived jazz fusion power trio consisting of John McLaughlin on guitar, Jaco Pastorius on bass, and Tony Williams on drums...
" album. (Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience are specifically mentioned in the album's sleeve notes.) However the experiment lasted for only one live performance and one studio session.
1980s and 1990s
Although power trios fell out of fashion in mainstream rock during the 1980s, the rise of post-punkPost-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
in the 1980s and 1990s featured many trios. During this time the configuration experienced a renaissance of sorts with groups such as Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, Silverchair
Silverchair
Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...
, Meat Puppets
Meat Puppets
The Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980, in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood , his brother Cris Kirkwood , and Derrick Bostrom . The Kirkwood brothers met Bostrom while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix...
, Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...
, Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (band)
Babes in Toyland was an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland , with Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon , who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992...
, Primus
Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
, Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
(and spin off bands Nova Mob and Sugar), Walt Mink
Walt Mink
Walt Mink, a power trio, is an indie rock band formed at St. Paul, Minnesota's Macalester College in 1989 by singer-guitarist John Kimbrough, drummer Joey Waronker and bassist Candice Belanoff. The band takes its name from a beloved psychology professor. Kimbrough's father Charles was an actor on...
, the Minutemen
Minutemen (band)
Minutemen were an American hardcore punk band formed in San Pedro, California in 1980. Composed of guitarist D. Boon, bassist Mike Watt and drummer George Hurley, Minutemen recorded four albums and eight EPs before Boon's death in an automobile accident in December 1985...
, Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr. is an American alternative rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1984. Originally called Dinosaur, prior to legal issues that forced the group to change their name, the band disbanded in 1997 until reuniting in 2005...
, Sebadoh
Sebadoh
Sebadoh is an American indie rock band, formed in 1986 in Westfield, Massachusetts by Eric Gaffney and Dinosaur Jr bass player Lou Barlow. Along with such bands as Pavement and Guided by Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer lo-fi music, a style of indie rock characterized by low-fidelity recording...
, Melvins, Fudge Tunnel
Fudge Tunnel
Fudge Tunnel were a band formed in Nottingham, England by Alex Newport, David Ryley and Adrian Parkin. After two critically acclaimed singles on Pigboy Records , they signed to Nottingham's Earache Records...
, Galaxie 500
Galaxie 500
Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums.-History:Guitarist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon Krukowski and bassist Naomi Yang had met at the Dalton School in New York City in 1981, but began playing together during their time...
, DC3
DC3 (band)
DC3 was an American rock and roll band formed by singer, songwriter and guitarist Dez Cadena in 1983 and active until 1988....
, Nomeansno
Nomeansno
NoMeansNo is a Canadian progressive punk rock music group originally from Victoria, British Columbia and now located in Vancouver.The band has never had, nor have they seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America and Europe...
, Low
Low (band)
Low is an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. As of 2010, the group is composed of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker , both founding members, and Steve Garrington ....
, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are an American alternative rock trio, formed in 1991 and based out of New York City, New York. The band consists of Judah Bauer on guitar, backing vocals, harmonica and occasional lead vocals, Russell Simins on drums and Jon Spencer on vocals, guitar and theremin...
, Killdozer
Killdozer (band)
Killdozer was an American noise-rock band, formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1983, with members Bill Hobson, Dan Hobson and Michael Gerald. They took their name from the 1974 TV movie, directed by Jerry London, itself based on a Theodore Sturgeon short story. They released their first album,...
, Cosmic Psychos
Cosmic Psychos
The Cosmic Psychos are a punk rock band based in Melbourne and rural Victoria in Australia. An underground band that has only ever achieved limited recognition.-Description:...
, Therapy?
Therapy?
Therapy? is an alternative metal band from Northern Ireland. The band was formed in 1989 by guitarist–vocalist Andy Cairns from Ballyclare and drummer-vocalist Fyfe Ewing from Larne, Northern Ireland. The band initially recorded their first demo with Cairns filling in on bass guitar...
, Placebo
Placebo (band)
Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...
, Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker (band)
Jawbreaker was an American punk rock band active from 1986 to 1996 and considered one of the most influential acts of the early-1990s emo movement...
, Bratmobile
Bratmobile
Bratmobile was an American punk band. Bratmobile was a first-generation "riot grrrl" band, which grew from the Pacific Northwest and Washington, DC underground...
, Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
, the Screaming Blue Messiahs and Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...
. After the disappearance of their guitarist Richey James Edwards
Richey James Edwards
Richard James Edwards was a Welsh musician who was rhythm guitarist and lyricist of the alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. He was known for his politicized and intellectual songwriting which, combined with an enigmatic and eloquent character, has assured him cult status...
, the Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers
Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
continued as a three-piece (although Edwards only appeared on record on one song, and was always turned down or even entirely off onstage: his only real role in the band was as lyricist). The British pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
trio The Outfield
The Outfield
The Outfield are an arena rock-influenced English pop rock/power pop power trio based in London, England. The Outfield are unusual for a British band in that they enjoyed commercial success in the U.S., but never reached the album or singles charts in their homeland...
got started in the mid-1980s and continued on through the early 1990s; it's atypical for the usual power trio style for its lighter/softer pop sound.
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
's bands Big Black
Big Black
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun...
, Rapeman
Rapeman
Rapeman was an American post-hardcore/noise rock group founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims on bass, and Rey Washam on drums.-History:In an interview, Albini reported that "'Rapeman' is .....
and Shellac
Shellac (band)
Shellac is an American group composed of Steve Albini , Bob Weston and Todd Trainer...
were all three-piece bands (though Big Black usually credited their drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
as a member in album liner notes). Similarly, British industrial band Godflesh
Godflesh
Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham, England. Originally known as Fall of Because, they formed in 1988 by Justin K. Broadrick and G.C. Green and disbanded in 2002. Godflesh's innovative music is widely regarded as a foundational influence on industrial metal and post-metal...
often utilized a drum machine and two primary members, although they did at times record and tour with a second guitarist (Paul Neville
Paul Neville (musician)
Paul Neville is an underground experimental industrial metal guitarist and musician from Birmingham, England.He is best known as the second guitarist in the seminal industrial metal band Godflesh on the second half of their Streetcleaner album and on the Slavestate EP as well as a tour member of...
of Loop), and near the end of the band's life they began working with real drummers (Bryan Mantia
Bryan Mantia
Bryan "Brain" Mantia is a contemporary rock drummer. He has played with bands like Primus, Guns N' Roses, Praxis and Godflesh, and with other popular performers such as Tom Waits, Bill Laswell, Bootsy Collins and Buckethead...
and later Ted Parsons
Ted Parsons
Ted Parsons is an American drummer most notable for his membership in bands such as Swans, Prong, Godflesh, Killing Joke and Jesu.-Biography:...
) almost exclusively. The most successful rock power trio of that time was Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
, who crossed over to immense mainstream success.
Some trios would overdub multiple parts when recording but perform stripped-back versions of their songs live, while others (such as the Minutemen) recorded mostly live, performing "gigs in front of a mic", as Mike Watt put it. In the post-alternative era, popular trios included Sublime
Sublime (band)
Sublime was an American ska punk band from Long Beach, California, formed in 1988. The band's line-up, unchanged until their breakup, consisted of Bradley Nowell , Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh . Michael "Miguel" Happoldt also contributed on a few Sublime songs, such as "New Thrash." Lou Dog, Nowell's...
, One Man Army
One Man Army
One Man Army is an american punk rock band that was formed in San Francisco, California, in 1996 and separated in 2005 and reunited in 2011. The band was discovered by Billie Joe Armstrong while playing in an East Bay club, and their debut album Dead End Stories was the first release on Adeline...
, Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...
, Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
, Everclear
Everclear (band)
Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
, Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
, and Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule
Gov't Mule is a Southern rock jam band formed in 1994 as an Allman Brothers Band side project by Warren Haynes and Allen Woody.The band released their debut album Gov't Mule in 1995...
. Also, the configuration remained popular in "progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
", with groups such as Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, King's X
King's X
King's X is an American hard rock band that combines progressive metal, funk and soul with vocal arrangements influenced by gospel, blues, and British Invasion rock groups. The band's lyrics are largely based on the members' struggles with religion and self-acceptance...
and Mantra Sunrise
Mantra Sunrise
-Information: was a progressive rock band that performed and recorded in the early 1990s. The band's power trio format featured vocalist and bass guitarist Joel Bissing, guitarist John Miner, and Wayne Garabedian, who doubled on drums and keyboards....
. John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
uses a variant of the power trio idea in his solo tours, combining bass and keyboards with Stick player
Chapman Stick
The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
Nick Beggs and a drummer. The 1990s edition of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
toured as a "double power trio" (according to leader Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
), with two drummers, two bassists and two guitars.
2000s
The traditional power trio continues to be represented by newer groups such as MuseMuse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring...
,The Subways
The Subways
The Subways are an English alternative rock / indie rock band. Their debut album, Young For Eternity, was released on 4 July 2005 in the UK and February 14, 2006 in the U.S. Their second album, All or Nothing, was released on 30 June 2008 and their third album Money and Celebrity debuted on the...
, Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band from Kilmarnock, comprising Simon Neil , James Johnston and Ben Johnston...
, Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
, Radio Moscow
Radio Moscow (band)
Radio Moscow is an American psychedelic blues band from Story City, Iowa. Formed in 2003 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Parker Griggs, the band currently features bassist Zach Anderson and live drummer Cory Berry...
, Cog
Cog (band)
Cog are an Australian progressive rock band that formed in 1998. Their debut album The New Normal was nominated for Triple J's 2005 J Award. The band's music draws influences from Tool, Isis, Nina Simone, Bob Marley, Leftfield, Deftones and Helmet...
, Back Door Slam
Back Door Slam
Back Door Slam is the name of the blues rock band started by Davy Knowles on the Isle of Man in 2003/4. The band got its name from a Robert Cray song of the same name...
, Russian Circles
Russian Circles
Russian Circles is a three piece instrumental rock/metal band from Chicago. Russian Circles play instrumental, sprawling music which runs the gamut of heavy discordant metal, to soft delicate passages...
, Los Lonely Boys
Los Lonely Boys
Los Lonely Boys is a Chicano rock power trio from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music they call "Texican Rock n' Roll," combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown eyed soul, country, and Tejano....
, The Fall of Troy
The Fall of Troy
The Fall of Troy was an American progressive math rock trio from Mukilteo, Washington. The trio consisted of Thomas Erak , Andrew Forsman and Frank Ene...
, The Wombats
The Wombats
The Wombats are an indie rock band formed in Liverpool, England. The band comprises native Liverpudlians Matthew Murphy and Dan Haggis , alongside Norwegian-born Tord Øverland-Knudsen...
, Johnny Foreigner
Johnny Foreigner
Johnny Foreigner are an indie rock trio from Birmingham, England, consisting of guitarist/lead vocalist Alexei Berrow, drummer Junior Elvis Washington Laidley and bassist Kelly Southern...
, State Radio
State Radio
State Radio is an alternative rock band from Sherborn, Massachusetts, consisting of Chad Urmston , Chuck Fay and Mike Najarian...
, Junkyard Choir
Junkyard Choir
Junkyard Choir are a London-based alternative rock band formed in 2006, whose original lineup had previously played together under the name "Dirt"...
, The Young Knives
The Young Knives
Young Knives are an English indie rock band from Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire. The name is based on a misunderstanding of "young knaves", which was found by the band when rummaging through a book....
, Rose Hill Drive
Rose Hill Drive
Rose Hill Drive is an American rock band. The group is often aligned with other innovators in the revival of traditional hard rock and early metal–psychedelic...
, Seether
Seether
Seether is a post-grunge/alternative metal band from Pretoria, South Africa, formed in 1999. The band is currently signed to Wind-up Records...
, The Steepwater Band
The Steepwater Band
The Steepwater Band is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1998 by the trio of Jeff Massey , Joe Winters , and Tod Bowers...
, Super 400
Super 400
Super 400 is a rock band from Troy, New York. Active since the mid 90’s the band has released four studio albums and one live set as of September 2009....
, North Mississippi Allstars
North Mississippi Allstars
North Mississippi Allstars is a Southern rock/blues jam band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996. The band is composed of brothers Luther Dickinson and Cody Dickinson , and Chris Chew...
, and the John Mayer Trio
John Mayer Trio
In February 2005, the trio played Mayer's single "Daughters" at the 47th Grammy Awards, for which Mayer went on to win the award for Best Male Vocal Performance later that night . The Trio released "Come When I Call" exclusively to iTunes...
, among many others who have sprung out of the jam band
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
scene. Within the tradition of the guitar, bass and drums format being the vehicle for a musician of exceptional songwriting, guitar and vocal talent, 50 Foot Wave
50 Foot Wave
50 Foot Wave is an American alternative rock band, formed in 2003. The band is fronted by Kristin Hersh, who writes the group's songs with collaborative efforts from the other group members in composing and arranging the music. The group's name is a reference to both an illustration and the term...
led by Kristin Hersh
Kristin Hersh
Kristin Hersh is an American singer/songwriter who performs solo acoustic concerts; she also continues to perform as lead singer and guitarist for alternative rock group Throwing Muses and the hardcore punk-influenced power trio 50 Foot Wave...
provide notable exception to gender stereotype.
The Multi Genre group Boris
Boris (band)
is a Japanese experimental rock band, known for often combining and switching between different music genres including drone metal, sludge metal, noise rock, psychedelic rock, ambient and pop...
only has three members, but compensates by using a double neck instrument with one neck being a guitar and one neck being a bass. They frequently use effects such as delay
Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
and echo
Echo (phenomenon)
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or by the walls of an enclosed room and an empty room. A true echo is a single...
, and fill in space with instrumental feedback
Feedback
Feedback describes the situation when output from an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or occurrences of the same Feedback describes the situation when output from (or information about the result of) an event or phenomenon in the past will influence an occurrence or...
. Seedy Jeezus utilize the sound of the guitar amp pushed to its limit and a drummer using the entire kit to create a full pulsing beat while the bassist alternates between a solid bassline filled with flourishes where he can. After the breakup of Godflesh, guitarist Justin Broadrick
Justin Broadrick
Justin Karl Michael Broadrick is a British singer, songwriter, guitarist and drummer. He is best known as a founding member of the band Godflesh, one of the first bands to combine elements of extreme metal and industrial music.-Biography:Broadrick was born in the council estates of inner...
formed Jesu
Jesu (band)
Jesu is a post-metal band formed in 2003 by Justin Broadrick following the breakup of Godflesh. Jesu was the name of the last song on the final Godflesh release, Hymns, and Broadrick decided to adopt it as the name of this project....
, which utilizes the power trio format. Broadrick's former labelmate at Earache Records
Earache Records
Earache Records is a heavy metal-oriented record label based in Nottingham, UK and New York, USA. It helped to pioneer extreme metal by releasing many of the earliest grindcore and death metal records in the period 1988-1994.-History:...
, ex-Fudge Tunnel guitarist Alex Newport
Alex Newport
Alex Newport is a Grammy-nominated record producer, mixer and engineer, based in New York City.Newport was born in Wolverhampton, UK, in 1970 and grew up in the Midlands area....
, also performed as part of another power trio in the band Theory of Ruin. California-based band Qui
QUI
Qui or QUI may refer to:*Qui , an American independent rock band*The Queen's University of Ireland...
previously operated as a duo but recently became a trio (though not strictly in the power trio sense) by adding vocalist David Yow
David Yow
David Yow is an American musician born in Las Vegas, Nevada and best known as the vocalist for the noise rock bands Scratch Acid and The Jesus Lizard.-Biography:...
to their lineup. Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew
Adrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
has also recently embraced the power trio configurations for his live tours. Some power trios add to the fullness of their sound by using bass pedalboards, which are keyboards played by the feet. New York City sludge metal band Unearthly Trance
Unearthly Trance
Unearthly Trance is a sludge metal/doom metal trio from Brooklyn/Queens New York, composed of guitarist-vocalist Ryan Lipynsky, bassist Jay Newman, and drummer Darren Verni. They were formed in 2000 and have released material on leading labels of the genre like Southern Lord, Rise Above Records...
also utilizes the power trio format.
See also
- Organ trioOrgan trioAn organ trio, in a jazz context, is a group of three jazz musicians, typically consisting of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player. In some cases the saxophonist will join a trio which consists of an organist, guitarist, and drummer, making it a quartet...
: a three-person soul jazzSoul jazzSoul jazz is a development of jazz incorporating strong influences from blues, soul, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often an organ trio featuring a Hammond organ.- Overview :Soul jazz is often associated with hard bop. Mark C...
or jam bandJam band-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
group centered around the Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard... - Power duoPower duoPower duo is a name sometimes given to two-piece rock bands consisting of just an electric guitarist and a drummer, particularly those who follow a similar blues rock style to a traditional power trio, for example the White Stripes, the Black Keys, and originally the Flat Duo Jets.A power duo can...
: two-piece rock band often described as a power trio without the bassist