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Duane Allman & Berry Oakley CRASH SITE

Chomsky

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I just barely missed coming of age in the '60's (& missed 'Nam - by one year!), but as a young amateur guitarist I cut my teeth on the amazing plethora of material that we now refer to as 'classic rock', along with digging into the seminal electric blues roots of my city which were often the inspiration of much of this music - stealing licks & copying riffs wherever I could - it was wondrous!

And we often think of the Stones, The Who, The Dead, etc,. but sometimes I think The Allman Brothers get a bit overlooked, especially for those of us well above the Mason-Dixon. As a 14 y.o. budding guitarist when their early albums came out, I can't tell you how much I dug into them, line by line, note by note. They were 'guitarist's guitarists', playing guitar-centric compositions that were often extended jams, and had those beautiful dueling harmonic twin leads - and they were very much blues based! In other words, perfect for me to score my first neophyte chops!

So, it's at this tender age just before the release of 'Eat a Peach', that one of my first guitar heroes died a sudden unexpected death, and it affected me more than any of the other contemporary era rock deaths, due to the fact that I had a more intimate relationship with 'ole SkyDog - among the first sounds coming from my hands was from what I learned from him.

Duane of course died in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia. But the story takes another twist when the bassist, Barry Oakly, dies almost exactly one year later due to a motorcycle accident in very nearly the same spot! As much as Duane's death was discussed in the media, the odd coincidences to Barry's death caused a field day of discussion in the very vibed & transcendental early '70's!

This was forty years ago, and while the incident receded from the forefront of my mind, it did remain etched in it's nether regions, only to surface briefly last year when I picked-up a copy of Duane's biography ('Sky Dog' - Randy Poe).

Then last night when poking around on YouTube I stumbled across this video, posted by YouTuber 'indianracer111'. If you've stuck with me this far, you're likely familiar with the story, and hopefully you'll enjoy this artifact. The surprising aspect for me, was these were relatively urban 35mph streets (and broad daylight, at least in Duane's instance) - I had imagined high-speed rural two lane highways.

So without further adieu,



To hear him at his peak, here's the only known extant live recording of 'Dreams'. It's probably my favorite Duiane Allman tune, but this recording is extremely problematic in that Greg Almman's vocals are often non-existent, and the camera-work is beyond ridiculous, never once focusing on the musicians' musicianship, but focusing instead on facial expression. I include it here due to it's rarity and historical & musical value. His lead-work is reasonably intact, even with the recording flaws, which is the point of the posting.

I still maintain there was no finer rock slide guitarist of this era, especially in terms of melodic phrasing.



And for additional reference, the truck-driver's wife's 2006 posting in the Allman Brothers Band forum:

Allman Brother Bamd .com - The day Duane died, the facts the papers never heard
 
I have long maintained that there is no other American rock group that had as much talent as the ABB. While I sometimes question Duane being ranked ahead of artists like Clapton, Page, Garcia and Thompson, he was world class and other than perhaps Derek Trucks, no one could play the slide like "sky dog". Gregg has one of the greatest blues voices ever. and then there is Dickie Betts who might have been the best guitarist in that band. the fourth best guitarist the ABB had, Warren Haynes, is better than most top rock guitarists. The ABB, along with their buddies, the GD, really advanced the double drummer technique.

I had a chance at age 11 to see the ABB play the famous Ludlow Garage show in Cincinnati-one of my mom's friends was big time into that scene but my mom didn't think it was a good idea. Damn
 
I have long maintained that there is no other American rock group that had as much talent as the ABB. While I sometimes question Duane being ranked ahead of artists like Clapton, Page, Garcia and Thompson, he was world class and other than perhaps Derek Trucks, no one could play the slide like "sky dog". Gregg has one of the greatest blues voices ever. and then there is Dickie Betts who might have been the best guitarist in that band. the fourth best guitarist the ABB had, Warren Haynes, is better than most top rock guitarists. The ABB, along with their buddies, the GD, really advanced the double drummer technique.

I had a chance at age 11 to see the ABB play the famous Ludlow Garage show in Cincinnati-one of my mom's friends was big time into that scene but my mom didn't think it was a good idea. Damn
Thanks for the comments.

I have no doubt Derek Trucks is the best rock slide guitarist alive, and possibly ever - I do believe he eclipses Duane Allman at least in technique, but then he's had 24 years to hone his craft, to Duane's 12. We lost Duane ridiculously young, even by rock standards! But Duane was a raw creative force, an original, and a trend-setter; he defined the Allman Brothers sound. That's a tough act to follow.

As supporting evidence of Derek's amazing technique, I submit his solo beginning at 6:25 -




Also for your perusal, here's some very nice interplay between Derek & Warren on a great take on Van Morrison's 'Into the Mystic':

 
I have long maintained that there is no other American rock group that had as much talent as the ABB. While I sometimes question Duane being ranked ahead of artists like Clapton, Page, Garcia and Thompson, he was world class and other than perhaps Derek Trucks, no one could play the slide like "sky dog". Gregg has one of the greatest blues voices ever. and then there is Dickie Betts who might have been the best guitarist in that band. the fourth best guitarist the ABB had, Warren Haynes, is better than most top rock guitarists. The ABB, along with their buddies, the GD, really advanced the double drummer technique.

I had a chance at age 11 to see the ABB play the famous Ludlow Garage show in Cincinnati-one of my mom's friends was big time into that scene but my mom didn't think it was a good idea. Damn

Saw them here in Vancouver in the 80's. I still get shivers when I hear whipping post!
 
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