[grawk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh, I'm not claiming to know the details. I know someone who worked for a while at a pretty well-known venue, and he said Betts was not the laid-back character he seems. I'm sure that there is more to the situation than I'm aware of. It just seemed pretty ironic to me, especially given Allman's behaviour around the time of the big drug trial and subsequent breakup in the early 80's. I'll also confess to being a big fan of Dickey Betts's music. Even during the Duane era, he played some of the most amazing solos; I think some people assume that all of the lead on Live At The Fillmore is Duane. He also brought some of the best material to the band ("Blue Sky," "Southbound.") So, in other words, I'm biased.

The one positive thing I'll say about Dickey is that he had the class to show up for Allen Woody's funeral, when no one else from the Allmans family did. Maybe that was negotiated, that I don't know, but he was there and was truly broken up. Given the hard feelings between them in the past, that was a nice gesture.

I thought it was kinda funny that they said it was a substance abuse problem that inspired it too. For the same reasons you did. Band politics on a band with THAT much history get messy sometimes.

That said, the few times that the lineup was with Warren Haynes and Jimmy Herring were pure magic.

I agree the bottle rockets are a spectacular band. Not southern rock, by my definition, more alt country, but still.

 

[Happy Camper]

I'd take AB.

Govt. Mule as current fav.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought it was kinda funny that they said it was a substance abuse problem that inspired it too. For the same reasons you did. Band politics on a band with THAT much history get messy sometimes.

Actually, I think Axl Rose took the cake when he fired Buckethead from GnR. I remember reading the press release that Axl put out (one of the music blogs posted it as I remember.) Anyway, he accused Buckethead of "irresponsibility." Excuse me, WHAT?!!

And of course, that didn't stop ol' Axl from using Buckethead's leads all over Chinese Democracy.

Oh! Those zany rock stars!

 

[grawk]

Gov't Mule was my absolute favorite band '98-'01. The changes that accellerated when Allen died changed that, but for a brief window, they were the perfect band. Balls with brains.

 

[eduj]

Allman Bros for me

 

[gnatback]

great thread. i was listening to Cosmos Factory when someone here mentioned CCR, but I couldn't classify them as southern despite the swamp boogie feel of their music.

I'll have to try out the Bottlerockets, based on the several recommendations here!

 

[Jubei]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnatback /img/forum/go_quote.gif great thread. i was listening to Cosmos Factory when someone here mentioned CCR, but I couldn't classify them as southern despite the swamp boogie feel of their music. I'll have to try out the Bottlerockets, based on the several recommendations here!

Yeah, despite their bayou music style, somehow don't relate CCR to southern rock. I like their first couple of albums - they are less hit single oriented but very nice.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnatback /img/forum/go_quote.gif great thread. i was listening to Cosmos Factory when someone here mentioned CCR, but I couldn't classify them as southern despite the swamp boogie feel of their music. I'll have to try out the Bottlerockets, based on the several recommendations here!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jubei /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, despite their bayou music style, somehow don't relate CCR to southern rock. I like their first couple of albums - they are less hit single oriented but very nice.

As I said in an earlier post, labels are slippery. You could make a convincing argument that CCR drew on most, if not all, of the same sources that the Allmans did, but somehow it doesn't "feel" right to call them a southern rock band. Which can lead to all kinds of logical inconsistencies.

If CCR wasn't a southern rock band, why not? If the same four guys produced the same exact music, but they were from Macon, Ga, rather than suburban San Francisco, would that make a difference? For a lot of people, it probably would. Which upends the whole idea that bands are grouped within a movement based on what they sound like, rather than on seemingly extraneous factors like where they are from.

This is not the end of the world; in the end it's the music that matters. But it's fun to speculate about issues like this.

 

[Jubei]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrBenway /img/forum/go_quote.gif As I said in an earlier post, labels are slippery. You could make a convincing argument that CCR drew on most, if not all, of the same sources that the Allmans did, but somehow it doesn't "feel" right to call them a southern rock band. Which can lead to all kinds of logical inconsistencies. If CCR wasn't a southern rock band, why not? If the same four guys produced the same exact music, but they were from Macon, Ga, rather than suburban San Francisco, would that make a difference? For a lot of people, it probably would. Which upends the whole idea that bands are grouped within a movement based on what they sound like, rather than on seemingly extraneous factors like where they are from. This is not the end of the world; in the end it's the music that matters. But it's fun to speculate about issues like this.

I expect southern rocks bands to have more than one lead guitarists - i.e. dueling guitars! It is basically true for Allman Bros, Skynard, the Outlaws, Drive-By Truckers, though not sure about the rest of the bands mentioned in this thread.

Maybe CCR doesn't fit this pattern??

 

[tru blu]

At the beginning of this discussion, I didn't want to muddy up things by mentioning Creedence, but now I realize that by namechecking the Bottle Rockets I probably did so, anyway…on some subconscious level. A friend just reminded me that we were first introduced to the Bottle Rockets when they opened for John Fogerty.

 

[priest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tru blu /img/forum/go_quote.gif At the beginning of this discussion, I didn't want to muddy up things by mentioning Creedence, but now I realize that by namechecking the Bottle Rockets I probably did so, anyway…on some subconscious level. A friend just reminded me that we were first introduced to the Bottle Rockets when they opened for John Fogerty.

I considered them too, and decided against it, for probably the same reasons you did, but I think they're fair game. Still, for classic "Southern Rock" -- go Skynyrd! I wonder how many of the people voting for the Allmans have really listened to Pronounced, say? I'm not saying it's irrational to prefer the Allmans, I just think Skynryd is dismissed by alot of people who are basically only familiar with Free Bird, and maybe one or two of their other big hits, and therefore think they have nothing much else to offer but those radio-ready anthems. They suffer from the same problem that the Stones do, in that they are so aggressively proletariat, unpretentious and common in their appeal, and have written enough simple songs that are easily appreciable by everyone, that they come across as unsophisticated and somewhat shallow. Anything but.

 

[grawk]

creedence isn't even in the running to be a southern rock band, imho. They're missing the dirt under their nails that it requires. I just don't think of them that way. There's no road from creedence to molly hatchet.

 

[Jubei]

Suddenly occurred to me ... do the Black Crowes count?? Anyway, would still have voted for Allman Bros.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jubei /img/forum/go_quote.gif Suddenly occurred to me ... do the Black Crowes count?? Anyway, would still have voted for Allman Bros.

Another band with definite southern influences, but my gut feeling is that they just don't really fit with Allmans/Skynyrd/Marshall Tucker/Molly Hatchet et al.

Just to muddy the waters (sorry) even further, I've always thought the Crowes were heavily influenced by the Stones. I can definitely hear Jagger singing "Jealous Again" or the Crowes arrangement of Redding's "Hard to Handle." The whole first album reminded me of the Stones, in fact, in a good way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jubei /img/forum/go_quote.gif I expect southern rocks bands to have more than one lead guitarists - i.e. dueling guitars! It is basically true for Allman Bros, Skynard, the Outlaws, Drive-By Truckers, though not sure about the rest of the bands mentioned in this thread. Maybe CCR doesn't fit this pattern??

Excellent point. Definitely true of Allmans and Skynyrd (three leads!), Outlaws ("Green Grass and High Tides," "Ghost Riders..."), and Truckers. Not absolutely essential, I would say, but defnitely a marker for the style.

CCR definitely had a more traditional division of labor -- John on lead and Tom on rhythm.

 

[Jubei]

Ha ha - you are right in the Stones influence regarding Black Crowes ... but they do have the "humid" feel of a southern rock band, though the attitude is more Stones (perhaps a tad too rock star?)