Story text size

QUIZ

Encore, Do You Want More?

Test your knowledge of musical comebacks

By Sean Monkman

Musicians step away from the album-tour-album grind for any number of reasons. Maybe their creative juices need to be refilled. Maybe clashing personalities (and/or dependencies) necessitate some time apart. Or perhaps it’s just the dreaded creative block. In many cases, the period away from public scrutiny can build anticipation for a comeback attempt. If and when the rebirth comes, one question always leaps to mind: Will the do-over be warmly embraced or given the cold shoulder by former fans? Aging rockers the Who (with their first studio album since 1982) and Meat Loaf (Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose) will soon find out. Their new projects reach the public on Oct. 31.

1. Which of the following statements is untrue about Elvis Presley’s 1968 comeback TV special?
	His manager, Col. Tom Parker, initially wanted the King to only sing Christmas carols, since the special would be airing in December.
	The tapings of the four one-hour shows were Elvis’s first live performances since 1961.
	Elvis had been binging on peanut butter-and-banana sandwiches during the weeks beforehand; it took the efforts of several costumers to dress him in his black leather jumpsuit.
	Although unused in the TV special, Elvis’s vocal track for A Little Less Conversation was later remixed by Dutch producer Junkie XL (a.k.a. JXL); that version became a worldwide smash in 2002.
	During rehearsals, Elvis became so immersed in the project that he made his dressing room at NBC his temporary home — he even slept there.

2. Toronto cult star Mary Margaret O’Hara released her critically acclaimed debut LP, Miss America, in 1988. A four-song Christmas EP followed in 1991. O’Hara’s low-profile comeback came via the 2002 soundtrack for a Canadian film that she had starred in. What was the movie?
	Apartment Hunting
	Last Wedding
	Ginger Snaps
	Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)
	Parsley Days

3. Fill in the blank: Endless Wire, the new album by the Who, features the mini rock opera Wire & Glass. This work previously existed as both a radio play and ________.
	a short film
	a stage performance in London’s West End
	a serialized blog
	a comic book
	an avant-garde sculpture

4. Complete this Meat Loaf quote about returning to the well with 2006’s Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose, which follows Bat Out of Hell (1977) and Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell (1993): “It actually makes it harder because you have to ________. But if you’ve got good music it doesn’t make any difference.”
	avoid embarrassment
	win over the skeptics and doubters
	switch to low-fat meat loaf before you can fit back into your lucky recording pants
	come up with another story about the bat leaving hell
	live up to the commercial success and rock excess of the others

5. What hip-hop MC went from topping the pop charts as a kid-friendly entertainer to adopting a more hardcore sound and look — including a zebra-print speedo for his video Pumps and a Bump — for his 1994 comeback LP The Funky Headhunter?
	Young MC
	Vanilla Ice
	Tone-Loc
	MC Hammer
	MC Skat Kat

6. Santana’s 1999 comeback album Supernatural was easily the biggest hit of his career. Four of these singers contributed guest vocals to the project. Find the one who didn’t.
	Rob Thomas
	Lauryn Hill
	Cee-Lo Green
	Ricky Martin
	Dave Matthews

7. The last album-length releases of original Guns N’ Roses material were 1991’s dual LPs Use Your Illusion I and II. During the years since, which of the following manoeuvres has not been part of the ongoing comeback attempt by singer Axl Rose and his band?
	In 1994, work started on GN’R’s (still-pending) follow-up album, Chinese Democracy.
	In the late ’90s, Rose bought the rights to the name Guns N’ Roses after most of the band’s original members had been forced out or quit.
	In 1999, the first MP3 traded on the file-sharing service Napster was Suckerpunched, a song Rose and his replacement bandmates had performed at that year’s Grammy Awards.
	In 2002, crowd riots followed the cancellation of a Vancouver Guns N’ Roses concert that had been planned to kick off the band’s first North American tour in nine years.
	In 2004, Rose lent his voice talent to the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. As a ’70s rock DJ, he says, “Remember, we’re not outdated and neither is our music.”

8. After nearly 20 years apart, the Velvet Underground reunited for several European shows in the early ’90s. The final performance to feature the band’s classic lineup (Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker) was a support slot for what group?
	Pearl Jam
	Nirvana
	Spiritualized
	U2
	Ace of Base

9. Seminal ’70s glam rockers the New York Dolls reunited at London’s 2004 Meltdown festival at the behest of what famous fan?
	Morrissey
	Malcolm McLaren
	Michael Stipe
	Iggy Pop
	Buster Poindexter

10. Which of the following is not true about the state of the Pixies prior to the alternative rock band’s 2004 comeback?
	Guitarist Joey Santiago was making his living writing TV soundtracks.
	Drummer Dave Lovering had lost his home and was working as a magician.
	Bassist Kim Deal had completed drug rehab and was living with her parents.
	Front man Black Francis (Frank Black) was in talks to sell the band’s song catalogue to Mick Jagger.
	To the shock of many fans, Black admitted, “We do get together and have private jams together, but not for public consumption.”