UncleZen
Footballguy
This video of SRV doing Voodoo Child in Austin is an all time great!
SRV - Austin City Limits
SRV - Austin City Limits
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.
Latest FBG music countdown of >800 artists - #2 The Rolling Stones, #1 The Allman Brothers Band (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter turnjose7
- Start date
Good call. Albert was a huge influence on Stevie and this was a great collaboration. In my library I do have tracks from their collaboration filed under SRV but when I went to write this entry, I realized I probably should have split them off into an entirely separate artist (kind of like I did with some of the jazz collaborations). So I just left them off for now. Thanks for posting the video.
13. Bob Dylan (493 points)
Total number of songs: 127
Average song score: 3.23
# of 5-point songs: 20
# of 4-point songs: 23
Top 50 track bonus: #49 Forever Young (live from The Last Waltz)
Personnel bonus: #2 songwriter Bob Dylan
Recommended listening: All Along the Watchtower (live in Los Angeles, 1974); Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (live from The Last Waltz); Ballad of a Thin Man; Blind Willie McTell; Crash on the Levee; Desolation Row (unplugged); Don’t Ya Tell Henry; Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright; Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (live in Los Angeles, 1974); Forever Young; Forever Young (live from The Last Waltz); Girl from the North Country; Gospel Plow; I Shall Be Released (live 1975 from The Rolling Thunder Review); It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry; It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (live from The Concert for Bangladesh); It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue; It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (live 1975 from The Rolling Thunder Review); Love Minus Zero/No Limit (live from The Concert for Bangladesh); Maggie’s Farm; Million Miles; Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine; Mr. Tambourine Man; Pledging My Time; Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn); Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (live in Los Angeles, 1974); Shelter from the Storm; Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again; Subterranean Homesick Blues; Tangled Up in Blue (live 1975 from The Rolling Thunder Review); The Times They Are a-Changin’; Visions of Johanna; Visions of Johanna (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1966)
It seems fitting that The Band and Bob Dylan have their entries back-to-back. That was totally coincidental, but given the connections outlined in the last post, I think it’s appropriate. For this post’s recommended tracks, The Band joins Dylan on a number of the tunes. Anything listed as being from 1974 comes from the live Before the Flood album they did together. “Crash on the Levee” and “Don’t Ya Tell Henry” come from The Basement Tapes. And of course, we have a couple of selections from The Last Waltz.
These posts are getting difficult to write because there are so many recommended tracks that I want to highlight that it is getting a bit unwieldy. The above selections are some of my favorite Dylan tunes, but they really only represent a fraction of his songs that I really love. I guess that makes sense for my #2 ranked songwriter.
I did try to be thoughtful about representing a good selection of his career with these selections. We have some of his early covers like “Gospel Plow” and his folk classics like “The Times They Are a-Changin’” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” We have pure rock like “Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine” and later material like “Million Miles.” There are also live selections from several points in his career.
We think of Dylan mostly for his songwriting but for much of his career he has also been an outstanding performer. I mentioned in an earlier post that among guys with “atypical” singing voices (guys like Dylan, Neil Young, and Tom Waits), Dylan is my favorite. His phrasing is so good and his voice seems perfectly matched for his songs. This really comes across in some of the live selections here. With so many great songs, I tried really hard not to double up on any, but in the end I couldn’t help it. Those selections where I do have more than one version are some of my favorites.
Total number of songs: 127
Average song score: 3.23
# of 5-point songs: 20
# of 4-point songs: 23
Top 50 track bonus: #49 Forever Young (live from The Last Waltz)
Personnel bonus: #2 songwriter Bob Dylan
Recommended listening: All Along the Watchtower (live in Los Angeles, 1974); Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (live from The Last Waltz); Ballad of a Thin Man; Blind Willie McTell; Crash on the Levee; Desolation Row (unplugged); Don’t Ya Tell Henry; Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright; Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (live in Los Angeles, 1974); Forever Young; Forever Young (live from The Last Waltz); Girl from the North Country; Gospel Plow; I Shall Be Released (live 1975 from The Rolling Thunder Review); It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry; It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (live from The Concert for Bangladesh); It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue; It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (live 1975 from The Rolling Thunder Review); Love Minus Zero/No Limit (live from The Concert for Bangladesh); Maggie’s Farm; Million Miles; Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine; Mr. Tambourine Man; Pledging My Time; Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn); Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (live in Los Angeles, 1974); Shelter from the Storm; Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again; Subterranean Homesick Blues; Tangled Up in Blue (live 1975 from The Rolling Thunder Review); The Times They Are a-Changin’; Visions of Johanna; Visions of Johanna (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1966)
It seems fitting that The Band and Bob Dylan have their entries back-to-back. That was totally coincidental, but given the connections outlined in the last post, I think it’s appropriate. For this post’s recommended tracks, The Band joins Dylan on a number of the tunes. Anything listed as being from 1974 comes from the live Before the Flood album they did together. “Crash on the Levee” and “Don’t Ya Tell Henry” come from The Basement Tapes. And of course, we have a couple of selections from The Last Waltz.
These posts are getting difficult to write because there are so many recommended tracks that I want to highlight that it is getting a bit unwieldy. The above selections are some of my favorite Dylan tunes, but they really only represent a fraction of his songs that I really love. I guess that makes sense for my #2 ranked songwriter.
I did try to be thoughtful about representing a good selection of his career with these selections. We have some of his early covers like “Gospel Plow” and his folk classics like “The Times They Are a-Changin’” and “Mr. Tambourine Man.” We have pure rock like “Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine” and later material like “Million Miles.” There are also live selections from several points in his career.
We think of Dylan mostly for his songwriting but for much of his career he has also been an outstanding performer. I mentioned in an earlier post that among guys with “atypical” singing voices (guys like Dylan, Neil Young, and Tom Waits), Dylan is my favorite. His phrasing is so good and his voice seems perfectly matched for his songs. This really comes across in some of the live selections here. With so many great songs, I tried really hard not to double up on any, but in the end I couldn’t help it. Those selections where I do have more than one version are some of my favorites.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Saw him like 20 years ago and he was amazing, band was great too. Saw him again like 5-10 years later and he just seemed to be lacking energy, it was ok
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
He’s very inconsistent as a live performer, and it usually comes down to whether he cares that night. I am lucky that all four times I have seen him, he did.
12. Jimi Hendrix (496 points)
Total number of songs: 84
Average song score: 3.99
# of 5-point songs: 25
# of 4-point songs: 35
Top 50 track bonus: #33 All Along the Watchtower
Personnel bonus: #5 guitarist Jimi Hendrix; #5 drummer Mitch Mitchell
Recommended listening: All Along the Watchtower; Angel; Catfish Blues; Hear My Train a-Comin’ (live at Woodstock); Hey Baby, New Rising Sun (live at Berkley, 1970); In from the Storm (live at the Isle of Wight, 1970); Killing Floor (live at Monterey, 1967); Little Wing; Machine Gun (live at Berkeley, 1970); Mannish Boy; Once I Had a Woman; Power of Love (live from Band of Gypsys); Purple Haze (live at Woodstock); Rainy Day, Dream Away; Red House; The Star Spangled Banner (live at Woodstock); Third Stone from the Sun; Voodoo Child (Slight Return); Voodoo Child, Slight Return (live at Woodstock); Voodoo Child Blues; The Wind Cries Mary; Woodstock Improvisation/Villanova Junction (live at Woodstock)
Many would call Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist who ever lived and I certainly don’t have a good argument against that position. No one got more sound out of the guitar and his influence certainly cannot be overstated. He simply isn’t my personal favorite (I prefer the tone of some other guitarists over Jimi’s, which is often a little too heavy on the distortion for my tastes). But I still love him, and he is as talented a musician as ever lived.
With his incredible playing, it is sometimes easy to forget he played with amazing musicians, including one of the greatest drummers of all time. Mitch Mitchell was absolutely fantastic. I love that he gets to show off a little in the above version of “In from the Storm.”
My favorite Hendrix is when he is bringing his own personnel touch to classic blues songs, stuff like “Catfish Blues” or “Killing Floor.” In fact, my favorite album by Jimi is probably Blues, a collection of original and cover versions of blues tunes. I’ve already outlined the progression from “Catfish Blues” to “Voodoo Child” in previous posts, so I won’t reiterate that.
Amongst his other material, I assume most are familiar with his performance at Woodstock. It was a transcendent performance and some of his improvisational stuff he did at the end is incredible. “Machine Gun” is another tune that is must-listen for pure guitar power.
Jimi isn’t my favorite songwriter but he does have some very good original songs. “The Wind Cries Mary” is my favorite.
Total number of songs: 84
Average song score: 3.99
# of 5-point songs: 25
# of 4-point songs: 35
Top 50 track bonus: #33 All Along the Watchtower
Personnel bonus: #5 guitarist Jimi Hendrix; #5 drummer Mitch Mitchell
Recommended listening: All Along the Watchtower; Angel; Catfish Blues; Hear My Train a-Comin’ (live at Woodstock); Hey Baby, New Rising Sun (live at Berkley, 1970); In from the Storm (live at the Isle of Wight, 1970); Killing Floor (live at Monterey, 1967); Little Wing; Machine Gun (live at Berkeley, 1970); Mannish Boy; Once I Had a Woman; Power of Love (live from Band of Gypsys); Purple Haze (live at Woodstock); Rainy Day, Dream Away; Red House; The Star Spangled Banner (live at Woodstock); Third Stone from the Sun; Voodoo Child (Slight Return); Voodoo Child, Slight Return (live at Woodstock); Voodoo Child Blues; The Wind Cries Mary; Woodstock Improvisation/Villanova Junction (live at Woodstock)
Many would call Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist who ever lived and I certainly don’t have a good argument against that position. No one got more sound out of the guitar and his influence certainly cannot be overstated. He simply isn’t my personal favorite (I prefer the tone of some other guitarists over Jimi’s, which is often a little too heavy on the distortion for my tastes). But I still love him, and he is as talented a musician as ever lived.
With his incredible playing, it is sometimes easy to forget he played with amazing musicians, including one of the greatest drummers of all time. Mitch Mitchell was absolutely fantastic. I love that he gets to show off a little in the above version of “In from the Storm.”
My favorite Hendrix is when he is bringing his own personnel touch to classic blues songs, stuff like “Catfish Blues” or “Killing Floor.” In fact, my favorite album by Jimi is probably Blues, a collection of original and cover versions of blues tunes. I’ve already outlined the progression from “Catfish Blues” to “Voodoo Child” in previous posts, so I won’t reiterate that.
Amongst his other material, I assume most are familiar with his performance at Woodstock. It was a transcendent performance and some of his improvisational stuff he did at the end is incredible. “Machine Gun” is another tune that is must-listen for pure guitar power.
Jimi isn’t my favorite songwriter but he does have some very good original songs. “The Wind Cries Mary” is my favorite.
UncleZen
Footballguy
I completely agree about his songs. He is on my Mt Rushmore of guitar heroes.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
I bought the Blues and Woodstock CDs on the same day.
I draft it frequently in these threads and elsewhere.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I think that, out of all of the musicians from that generation who were lost way too early, Hendrix was best set up to move forward. His Electric Sky Church concept was basically what jazz fusion became in the '70s. Not a lot of pop hits, but lots of critical and commercial/concert success.
Eric Burdon screwed up any chance of that by being a chicken **** and running from the room so he wouldn't get popped.
Apologies for the slow pace the last couple of days. My intention had been to get on a roll and knock out the top 20 artists pretty rapidly, but as the posts get longer and the number of recommended songs increases, these are taking a lot longer than I anticipated. Just wait until you see the Grateful Dead post (spoiler: the jammiest band ever is in my top 10).
I should definitely be able to do at least 2 per day going forward, though, so I will finish by the end of the week.
I should definitely be able to do at least 2 per day going forward, though, so I will finish by the end of the week.
11. Warren Haynes (502 points)
Total number of songs: 100
Average song score: 3.71
# of 5-point songs: 16
# of 4-point songs: 39
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #11 songwriter Warren Haynes; #8 guitarist Warren Haynes
Recommended listening: A Change Is Gonna Come (live at The Moody Theatre, 2011); Broken Promised Land; Fallen Down (live at Bonnaroo, 2003); Give Me Love, Give Me Peace on Earth (live at The Mountain Jam, 2016); I’ll Be the One; Instrumental Illness (live in Munich, 2016); Man in Motion (live at The Moody Theatre, 2011); Old Friend (live from The Telluride Sessions, 2012); Patchwork Quilt (live at Bonnaroo, 2003); The Real Thing (live at Bonnaroo, 2003); River’s Gonna Rise (live at The House of Blues Los Angeles, 2011); Sick of My Shadow (live at The Moody Theatre, 2011); Two of a Kind Blues (live at Newport Folk Festival, 2019)
Pip correctly guessed my favorite musician (outside of Duane Allman, of course). As I stated in the Paul McCartney entry, Warren Haynes checks in with the above songwriting and guitar personnel bonuses, and just missed a vocalist bonus at #25 on that list.
James Brown has been called the hardest working man in show business, but I really don’t know how that title could actually go to someone other than Warren Haynes. Warren was the longest running guitarist in the history of the Allman Brothers Band, he founded his own incredibly successful band in Gov’t Mule, and he has released multiple solo albums. In between those activities he has fronted The Warren Haynes Band, been the lead guitarist for The Dead, and dabbled in bluegrass with his Ashes & Dust Band. He plays guest guitar on the albums of seemingly every southern rock musician there is, writes hit songs for guys like Garth Brooks, and puts on a huge charity concert every year. He even has time for cameo roles in mockumentaries and does a killer imitation of Jerry Garcia.
This entry basically covers everything outside of The Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule. A few of these recommendations I have already referenced in other posts. Because some tracks in my library are downloads of shows I have actually attended, not all of the above tracks are the exact tracks in my library, but most are pretty close.
One of my favorites of the above tracks is “The Real Thing.” The whole Live a Bonnaroo album is fantastic, but that one is special and one of my favorite vocal tracks ever. In fact, listening to it again just now, I’m really regretting not bumping him into a top 20 vocalist slot based on that alone. It is also just an incredibly poignant song with haunting lyrics.
But overall my favorite material out of the above is the stuff with The Warren Haynes Band. They are the best of his non-Allman/Mule projects. The entire band was incredible, and all the above tracks are ridiculous. “Sick of My Shadow” may be my favorite. I love the extended guitar/sax dual he has with Ron Holloway. “Man in Motion” also has great energy. And I mentioned previously that I think this version of “A Change is Gonna Come” is one of the best covers I’ve ever heard. I was lucky enough to see this tour and it was incredible.
I mentioned this in a previous post, but the Ashes & Dust Band was a combination of Warren, jam band drummer Jeff Sipe (#3 on my drummer list), and the bluegrass band ChessBoxer. I also got to see this tour and it was also amazing.
I did manage to sneak in a cover of an Allman Brothers tune here. I couldn’t help it. That version of “Old Friend” is just sickeningly awesome.
So much more I could say about Warren, but he has two more entries coming, so for now just check out some of his tunes.
Total number of songs: 100
Average song score: 3.71
# of 5-point songs: 16
# of 4-point songs: 39
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #11 songwriter Warren Haynes; #8 guitarist Warren Haynes
Recommended listening: A Change Is Gonna Come (live at The Moody Theatre, 2011); Broken Promised Land; Fallen Down (live at Bonnaroo, 2003); Give Me Love, Give Me Peace on Earth (live at The Mountain Jam, 2016); I’ll Be the One; Instrumental Illness (live in Munich, 2016); Man in Motion (live at The Moody Theatre, 2011); Old Friend (live from The Telluride Sessions, 2012); Patchwork Quilt (live at Bonnaroo, 2003); The Real Thing (live at Bonnaroo, 2003); River’s Gonna Rise (live at The House of Blues Los Angeles, 2011); Sick of My Shadow (live at The Moody Theatre, 2011); Two of a Kind Blues (live at Newport Folk Festival, 2019)
Pip correctly guessed my favorite musician (outside of Duane Allman, of course). As I stated in the Paul McCartney entry, Warren Haynes checks in with the above songwriting and guitar personnel bonuses, and just missed a vocalist bonus at #25 on that list.
James Brown has been called the hardest working man in show business, but I really don’t know how that title could actually go to someone other than Warren Haynes. Warren was the longest running guitarist in the history of the Allman Brothers Band, he founded his own incredibly successful band in Gov’t Mule, and he has released multiple solo albums. In between those activities he has fronted The Warren Haynes Band, been the lead guitarist for The Dead, and dabbled in bluegrass with his Ashes & Dust Band. He plays guest guitar on the albums of seemingly every southern rock musician there is, writes hit songs for guys like Garth Brooks, and puts on a huge charity concert every year. He even has time for cameo roles in mockumentaries and does a killer imitation of Jerry Garcia.
This entry basically covers everything outside of The Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule. A few of these recommendations I have already referenced in other posts. Because some tracks in my library are downloads of shows I have actually attended, not all of the above tracks are the exact tracks in my library, but most are pretty close.
One of my favorites of the above tracks is “The Real Thing.” The whole Live a Bonnaroo album is fantastic, but that one is special and one of my favorite vocal tracks ever. In fact, listening to it again just now, I’m really regretting not bumping him into a top 20 vocalist slot based on that alone. It is also just an incredibly poignant song with haunting lyrics.
But overall my favorite material out of the above is the stuff with The Warren Haynes Band. They are the best of his non-Allman/Mule projects. The entire band was incredible, and all the above tracks are ridiculous. “Sick of My Shadow” may be my favorite. I love the extended guitar/sax dual he has with Ron Holloway. “Man in Motion” also has great energy. And I mentioned previously that I think this version of “A Change is Gonna Come” is one of the best covers I’ve ever heard. I was lucky enough to see this tour and it was incredible.
I mentioned this in a previous post, but the Ashes & Dust Band was a combination of Warren, jam band drummer Jeff Sipe (#3 on my drummer list), and the bluegrass band ChessBoxer. I also got to see this tour and it was also amazing.
I did manage to sneak in a cover of an Allman Brothers tune here. I couldn’t help it. That version of “Old Friend” is just sickeningly awesome.
So much more I could say about Warren, but he has two more entries coming, so for now just check out some of his tunes.
Mookie Gizzy
Footballguy
I’ve been on a major Mule kick this past year after the ABB top 25 countdown. I got to get out to a Dark Side of the Mule this summer
Got my tickets. They also are releasing a new album this summer.
10. The Who (650 points)
Total number of songs: 119
Average song score: 3.34
# of 5-point songs: 18
# of 4-point songs: 33
Top 50 track bonus: #15 Overture (from Tommy); #29 A Quick One While He’s Away (live at Leeds, 1970)
Personnel bonus: #8 songwriter Pete Townshend; #17 vocalist Roger Daltrey; #17 guitarist Pete Townshend; #4 bassist John Entwistle; #2 drummer Keith Moon
Recommended listening: 5:15; A Quick One While He’s Away (live at Leeds, 1970); A Quick One While He’s Away (live at The Rock and Roll Circus); Amazing Journey/Sparks (live at Leeds, 1970); Baba O’Riley; C’Mon Everybody (live at Fillmore East, 1968); Drowned; Go to the Mirror! (from Tommy); I Can’t Explain (live in San Francisco, 1971); Is It in My Head; Join Together (live in Los Angeles, 1989); Love, Reign O’er Me (live in Los Angeles, 1989); Magic Bus (live at Leeds, 1970); My Generation (live at Leeds, 1970); Naked Eye (live at The Isle of Wight, 1970); Overture (from Tommy); The Punk and the Godfather; Quadrophenia; Relax (live at Fillmore East, 1968); The Seeker; Squeeze Box; Substitute (live in San Francisco, 1971); We’re Not Going to Take It (from Tommy); Won’t Get Fooled Again
The point totals are starting to escalate rapidly as we enter the top 10. The Who really pile up the personnel bonuses, with 5 bonuses for the four core members of the band. The instrumental prowess of this group was crazy and matched only by the pure power that they brought when they played.
More than 50 years after the band’s prime, their music remains incredibly interesting. I still can’t imagine what it must have been like to hear these guys back in the late 1960’s and wondering what the heck they were doing using the drums as a lead instrument while the flashy guitarist played mostly rhythm. Throw in some of their crazy vocal harmonies and the whole opera thing, and people had to be like WTF? It’s astounding how well it worked.
There is obviously a lot of material here from their rock opera albums, but also some really great live stuff as well. For as complicated as some of their music is, it is amazing how great they sounded in concert. Live at Leeds is certainly their most famous live album, and deservedly so. But there is great material out there from all stages of their career, from their arena days in the 1980’s to more raw rock days in the mid-1960’s.
I first mentioned the Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus when I talked about The Dirty Mac, and it came up again with Taj Mahal. The Who’s performance of “A Quick One While He’s Away” is my favorite part of that show. While not quite at the level of the Live at Leeds version of that song, it is really cool to see the energy they bring to the song in the video.
Shout out to my favorite underrated Who song, “The Seeker.” It got consideration as a top 50 track. How it isn’t a staple of rock radio and one of the more popular tunes I’ll never know. It just rocks.
Total number of songs: 119
Average song score: 3.34
# of 5-point songs: 18
# of 4-point songs: 33
Top 50 track bonus: #15 Overture (from Tommy); #29 A Quick One While He’s Away (live at Leeds, 1970)
Personnel bonus: #8 songwriter Pete Townshend; #17 vocalist Roger Daltrey; #17 guitarist Pete Townshend; #4 bassist John Entwistle; #2 drummer Keith Moon
Recommended listening: 5:15; A Quick One While He’s Away (live at Leeds, 1970); A Quick One While He’s Away (live at The Rock and Roll Circus); Amazing Journey/Sparks (live at Leeds, 1970); Baba O’Riley; C’Mon Everybody (live at Fillmore East, 1968); Drowned; Go to the Mirror! (from Tommy); I Can’t Explain (live in San Francisco, 1971); Is It in My Head; Join Together (live in Los Angeles, 1989); Love, Reign O’er Me (live in Los Angeles, 1989); Magic Bus (live at Leeds, 1970); My Generation (live at Leeds, 1970); Naked Eye (live at The Isle of Wight, 1970); Overture (from Tommy); The Punk and the Godfather; Quadrophenia; Relax (live at Fillmore East, 1968); The Seeker; Squeeze Box; Substitute (live in San Francisco, 1971); We’re Not Going to Take It (from Tommy); Won’t Get Fooled Again
The point totals are starting to escalate rapidly as we enter the top 10. The Who really pile up the personnel bonuses, with 5 bonuses for the four core members of the band. The instrumental prowess of this group was crazy and matched only by the pure power that they brought when they played.
More than 50 years after the band’s prime, their music remains incredibly interesting. I still can’t imagine what it must have been like to hear these guys back in the late 1960’s and wondering what the heck they were doing using the drums as a lead instrument while the flashy guitarist played mostly rhythm. Throw in some of their crazy vocal harmonies and the whole opera thing, and people had to be like WTF? It’s astounding how well it worked.
There is obviously a lot of material here from their rock opera albums, but also some really great live stuff as well. For as complicated as some of their music is, it is amazing how great they sounded in concert. Live at Leeds is certainly their most famous live album, and deservedly so. But there is great material out there from all stages of their career, from their arena days in the 1980’s to more raw rock days in the mid-1960’s.
I first mentioned the Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus when I talked about The Dirty Mac, and it came up again with Taj Mahal. The Who’s performance of “A Quick One While He’s Away” is my favorite part of that show. While not quite at the level of the Live at Leeds version of that song, it is really cool to see the energy they bring to the song in the video.
Shout out to my favorite underrated Who song, “The Seeker.” It got consideration as a top 50 track. How it isn’t a staple of rock radio and one of the more popular tunes I’ll never know. It just rocks.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
The Who was one of the first bands I was REALLY into, along with CSNY and Zeppelin.
The Seeker is indeed one of their best. It appeared on the Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy compilation and got some play on FM radio (but not to the extent of the warhorses from Tommy, Who’s Next and Quadrophenia), so I never felt it was underappreciated to a huge extent.
FairWarning
Footballguy
I have a love/hate relationship with The Who. I saw them twice, sucked both times. it was when Daltrey and Townsend were fighting. I really liked the lesser AOR rocking songs, especially 5:15 and The Seeker. I’m with you on Seeker, it’s a great bar song. The Rush version of it is great also.
9. Widespread Panic (704 points)
Total number of songs: 147
Average song score: 3.93
# of 5-point songs: 56
# of 4-point songs: 32
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #19 guitarist Jimmy Herring; #7 bassist Dave Schools; #16 miscellaneous instrumentalist (piano) JoJo Herman
Recommended listening: Ain’t Life Grand (live at Red Rocks, 1999); Ballad of John and Yoko (live in Washington D.C., 2012); Big Wooly Mammoth/Chilly Water (live at Oak Mountain, 2000); Blackout Blues; Blight (live in Athens, 2000); Blue Indian; Blue Indian (live at The Mountain Jam 2013); Chunk of Coal (live in Nashville, 2007); Climb to Safety (live in Washington D.C., 2012); Disco (live in Athens, 1998); Greta; Greta (live in Athens, 1998); Imitation Leather Shoes; Imitation Leather Shoes (live at Oak Mountain, 2000); Me and the Devil Blues (live in Las Vegas, 2013); New Blue (live in Johnson City, 2001); Porch Song (live in Austin, 2000); Postcard (live in Athens, 2011); Rebirtha (live at The House of Blues South Carolina, 2003); Tall Boy (live in Denver, 2013); Travelin’ Light (live at The Mountain Jam, 2013)
Widespread Panic feels like the one band that is out of place in my top 10. Don’t get me wrong, I really love them. But my gut rankings would probably put them more in the 20ish range rather than as a top 10 selection.
At first I thought that the ranking was probably the result of the widespread availability of their live shows leading to a huge volume of their songs in my library. That definitely played a role. But the really nice 3.93 average also seems to indicate that I really like a lot of their songs. I wonder if I might not be overrating some of these tracks, but as I look through my library, they seem appropriately placed.
There is no denying they are super talented. I love JoJo Herman’s piano playing, and Dave Schools is one of my favorite bassists. I have spoken about Jimmy Herring as one of my favorite guitarists in a couple of previous entries. Original guitarist Michael Houser (whose panic attacks the band is named after) was also great.
Plus they are about as jammy as a jam band can be. I don’t have more than a handful of studio tracks by them in my library. It’s almost all live music.
Anyway, even though I think this is overrating them a bit, they are still great. My favorite original tunes are “Blue Indian” and “Greta.” “Climb to Safety” is a Jerry Joseph cover that is probably my favorite overall song they do. I recommend checking out their acoustic live album Wood if you get chance.
Total number of songs: 147
Average song score: 3.93
# of 5-point songs: 56
# of 4-point songs: 32
Top 50 track bonus: none
Personnel bonus: #19 guitarist Jimmy Herring; #7 bassist Dave Schools; #16 miscellaneous instrumentalist (piano) JoJo Herman
Recommended listening: Ain’t Life Grand (live at Red Rocks, 1999); Ballad of John and Yoko (live in Washington D.C., 2012); Big Wooly Mammoth/Chilly Water (live at Oak Mountain, 2000); Blackout Blues; Blight (live in Athens, 2000); Blue Indian; Blue Indian (live at The Mountain Jam 2013); Chunk of Coal (live in Nashville, 2007); Climb to Safety (live in Washington D.C., 2012); Disco (live in Athens, 1998); Greta; Greta (live in Athens, 1998); Imitation Leather Shoes; Imitation Leather Shoes (live at Oak Mountain, 2000); Me and the Devil Blues (live in Las Vegas, 2013); New Blue (live in Johnson City, 2001); Porch Song (live in Austin, 2000); Postcard (live in Athens, 2011); Rebirtha (live at The House of Blues South Carolina, 2003); Tall Boy (live in Denver, 2013); Travelin’ Light (live at The Mountain Jam, 2013)
Widespread Panic feels like the one band that is out of place in my top 10. Don’t get me wrong, I really love them. But my gut rankings would probably put them more in the 20ish range rather than as a top 10 selection.
At first I thought that the ranking was probably the result of the widespread availability of their live shows leading to a huge volume of their songs in my library. That definitely played a role. But the really nice 3.93 average also seems to indicate that I really like a lot of their songs. I wonder if I might not be overrating some of these tracks, but as I look through my library, they seem appropriately placed.
There is no denying they are super talented. I love JoJo Herman’s piano playing, and Dave Schools is one of my favorite bassists. I have spoken about Jimmy Herring as one of my favorite guitarists in a couple of previous entries. Original guitarist Michael Houser (whose panic attacks the band is named after) was also great.
Plus they are about as jammy as a jam band can be. I don’t have more than a handful of studio tracks by them in my library. It’s almost all live music.
Anyway, even though I think this is overrating them a bit, they are still great. My favorite original tunes are “Blue Indian” and “Greta.” “Climb to Safety” is a Jerry Joseph cover that is probably my favorite overall song they do. I recommend checking out their acoustic live album Wood if you get chance.
8. Tedeschi Trucks Band (808 points)
Total number of songs: 155
Average song score: 3.92
# of 5-point songs: 44
# of 4-point songs: 65
Top 50 track bonus: #18 Keep on Growing (live at The Beacon Theatre, 2015); #34 Uptight (live from Everybody’s Talkin’, 2011)
Personnel bonus: #7 vocalist Susan Tedeschi; #4 guitarist Derek Trucks
Recommended listening: Afro-Blue/Shame (live at The Beacon Theatre, 2021); Anyhow (live in Oakland, 2016); Bird on the Wire (live from Austin City Limits, 2015); Bound for Glory (live in Atlanta, 2011); Crying Over You/Swamp Raga; Darling Be Home Soon (live); I Pity the Fool (live at The Beacon Theatre, 2015); I Want More/Soul Sacrifice (live in Oakland, 2016); Just As Strange; Keep on Growing (live at The Beacon Theatre, 2015); Leavin’ Trunk (live in Oakland, 2016); Midnight in Harlem; Right on Time; So Long Savior; These Walls (live in Oakland, 2016); Until You Remember; Uptight (live from Everybody’s Talkin’, 2011); Wade in the Water (live from Everybody’s Talkin’, 2011)
What do you get when you take the greatest female blues singer in the world and add her to an all-star roots rock group? The other way of asking this question is what happens when you combine the #86 ranked artist and the #26 ranked group in my list. You get a top 10 entry and one of the best bands you’ll ever have the privilege of listening to.
At the moment, The Tedeschi Trucks Band is simply the best active band in the world. Two groups remaining in the countdown are probably better overall and are technically still active but past their prime, whereas TTB is at the peak of their powers and brings the house down every single show they play. I’ve seen them live four times and as amazing as the above recommended tracks are, they don’t even come close to capturing the magic of seeing this band live.
In 2007 The Derek Trucks Band and Susan Tedeschi’s band toured together as The Soul Stew Revival. In 2010 they officially merged as The Tedeschi Trucks Band. In between putting out multiple award-winning albums, they tour extensively as part of the multi-year Wheels of Soul tour.
Obviously Derek’s otherworldly guitar playing and Susan’s stunning vocals are the focal point of the band, but each member of the 12-piece group is incredibly talented. Up until his death, multi-instrumentalist Kofi Burbridge was an integral part of their sound. Drummers Tyler Greenwell and Isaac Eddy are absolutely locked in every show. Ephraim Owens adds some phenomenal solos on trumpet. Alecia Chakour, who was featured just a few posts ago singing with Warren Haynes on “River’s Gonna Rise” and “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and who has one of the most powerful and beautiful voices you’ll ever hear, is a backup singer for this group.
Susan takes lead vocals on most of the songs, but the other singers get into the mix as well. Mike Mattis (of The Derek Trucks Band and Scrapomatic) delivers power performances on the above versions of “Crying Over You” and “Leavin’ Trunk.” The latter song, along with their cover of Bobby Bland’s “I Pity the Fool” also demonstrate that Derek isn’t the only virtuoso guitarist in the band as Susan delivers some killer solos.
While a good number of the recommended tracks are covers (including both tracks that got top 50 bonuses), the band has a lot of great original tunes. “Bound for Glory” is one of my favorites. The trumpet parts and Derek’s guitar solo on the above version are incredible. I love the style of “Right on Time.” “Midnight in Harlem” is also a hauntingly beautiful tune.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band will be on tour again this summer and I already have my tickets. If you get the chance to see them, you should definitely take advantage.
Total number of songs: 155
Average song score: 3.92
# of 5-point songs: 44
# of 4-point songs: 65
Top 50 track bonus: #18 Keep on Growing (live at The Beacon Theatre, 2015); #34 Uptight (live from Everybody’s Talkin’, 2011)
Personnel bonus: #7 vocalist Susan Tedeschi; #4 guitarist Derek Trucks
Recommended listening: Afro-Blue/Shame (live at The Beacon Theatre, 2021); Anyhow (live in Oakland, 2016); Bird on the Wire (live from Austin City Limits, 2015); Bound for Glory (live in Atlanta, 2011); Crying Over You/Swamp Raga; Darling Be Home Soon (live); I Pity the Fool (live at The Beacon Theatre, 2015); I Want More/Soul Sacrifice (live in Oakland, 2016); Just As Strange; Keep on Growing (live at The Beacon Theatre, 2015); Leavin’ Trunk (live in Oakland, 2016); Midnight in Harlem; Right on Time; So Long Savior; These Walls (live in Oakland, 2016); Until You Remember; Uptight (live from Everybody’s Talkin’, 2011); Wade in the Water (live from Everybody’s Talkin’, 2011)
What do you get when you take the greatest female blues singer in the world and add her to an all-star roots rock group? The other way of asking this question is what happens when you combine the #86 ranked artist and the #26 ranked group in my list. You get a top 10 entry and one of the best bands you’ll ever have the privilege of listening to.
At the moment, The Tedeschi Trucks Band is simply the best active band in the world. Two groups remaining in the countdown are probably better overall and are technically still active but past their prime, whereas TTB is at the peak of their powers and brings the house down every single show they play. I’ve seen them live four times and as amazing as the above recommended tracks are, they don’t even come close to capturing the magic of seeing this band live.
In 2007 The Derek Trucks Band and Susan Tedeschi’s band toured together as The Soul Stew Revival. In 2010 they officially merged as The Tedeschi Trucks Band. In between putting out multiple award-winning albums, they tour extensively as part of the multi-year Wheels of Soul tour.
Obviously Derek’s otherworldly guitar playing and Susan’s stunning vocals are the focal point of the band, but each member of the 12-piece group is incredibly talented. Up until his death, multi-instrumentalist Kofi Burbridge was an integral part of their sound. Drummers Tyler Greenwell and Isaac Eddy are absolutely locked in every show. Ephraim Owens adds some phenomenal solos on trumpet. Alecia Chakour, who was featured just a few posts ago singing with Warren Haynes on “River’s Gonna Rise” and “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and who has one of the most powerful and beautiful voices you’ll ever hear, is a backup singer for this group.
Susan takes lead vocals on most of the songs, but the other singers get into the mix as well. Mike Mattis (of The Derek Trucks Band and Scrapomatic) delivers power performances on the above versions of “Crying Over You” and “Leavin’ Trunk.” The latter song, along with their cover of Bobby Bland’s “I Pity the Fool” also demonstrate that Derek isn’t the only virtuoso guitarist in the band as Susan delivers some killer solos.
While a good number of the recommended tracks are covers (including both tracks that got top 50 bonuses), the band has a lot of great original tunes. “Bound for Glory” is one of my favorites. The trumpet parts and Derek’s guitar solo on the above version are incredible. I love the style of “Right on Time.” “Midnight in Harlem” is also a hauntingly beautiful tune.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band will be on tour again this summer and I already have my tickets. If you get the chance to see them, you should definitely take advantage.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Only recently got into them and not like I’ve explored their whole library, but like what I hear and I have the Detroit show penciled in. Most likely going but my schedule gonna be pretty crazy this summer so most likely I grab tix the week before or something
PIK95
Footballguy
The Disco Biscuits are the greatest band of our lifetime imo. One hundred years from now, people will be be Miles Davising them on the reg.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
John Bell's voice is a big NOPE for me. It's just one of those things. I am fine with some folks with unconventional voices like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Trey Anastasio and non-dentist-drill Geddy Lee. But some like Tom Waits and Billy Bragg are nails on chalkboard for me, and Bell is in that category.
ETA: I did see the Dave Schools/Jerry Joseph side project Stockholm Syndrome when my friends' band opened for them, and I enjoyed their set.
I can understand this. I like his voice ok, but it definitely isn't the strong point of the band. And I could see how it would turn some off from the band. Actually, I like when JoJo sings. He has been doing some solo work lately and I keep thinking I need to check that out.
7. Led Zeppelin (1,299 points)
Total number of songs: 219
Average song score: 4.04
# of 5-point songs: 69
# of 4-point songs: 97
Top 50 track bonus: #22 When the Levee Breaks; #23 Immigrant Song (live at The BBC); #35 How Many More Times Medley (live at Fillmore West, 1969); #36 Since I’ve Been Loving You (live at The BBC)
Personnel bonus: #15 songwriters Jimmy Page/Robert Plant; #1 vocalist Robert Plant; #3 guitarist Jimmy Page; #11 bassist John Paul Jones; #1 drummer John Bonham
Recommended listening: As Long as I Have You Medley (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You; Black Dog (live at The BBC); Bring It On Home (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1970); Bron-Y-Aur Stomp; Celebration Day (live at Madison Square Garden, 1973); Communication Breakdown (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1970); Custard Pie; Dazed and Confused (live in Los Angeles, 1972); Gallows Pole; Going to California; Heartbreaker (live at The BBC); Hey Hey What Can I Do; Houses of the Holy; How Many More Times Medley (live at Fillmore West, 1969); How Many More Times Medley (live at Texas International Pop Festival, 1969); I Can’t Quit You Baby (live at The BBC); I Can’t Quit You Baby (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1970); Immigrant Song; Immigrant Song (live at The BBC); In My Time of Dying; Killing Floor (live at The Whisky a Go-Go, 1969); Moby **** (live in Los Angeles, 1972); No Quarter (live at O2 Arena, 2007); Nobody’s Fault But Mine; Over the Hills and Far Away; Rock and Roll; Since I’ve Been Loving You; Since I’ve Been Loving You (live at The BBC); Sitting and Thinking (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Ten Years Gone; That’s the Way; The Battle of Evermore; The Lemon Song; Traveling Riverside Blues; What Is and What Should Never Be (live in Long Beach, 1972); When the Levee Breaks; White Summer/Black Mountainside (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1970); Whole Lotta Love Medley (live at The BBC); You Shook Me (live at The BBC)
We have our first group to break the 1,000 point barrier!
Along with Widespread Panic, this is the other entry in my top 10 that I feel is incorrectly ranked. In this case, though, it is in the other direction. In my gut rankings, Led Zeppelin would finish either #2 or #3 depending on the day. Being ranked #7 is certainly respectable, but these guys are so good that it seems like a slap in the face.
The reason they aren’t ranked higher is quite simply they have less material than any of the bands in front of them. They weren’t together as long as a band like The Allman Brothers, their average song was 3-4 times the length of a Beatles song, and they didn’t put out Instant Live downloads of every concert like modern jam bands. Less songs available = less points, which is unfortunately a downside of my scoring system, one that I anticipated would hurt this group going into the project.
As I previously mentioned, Zeppelin is one of four groups that have all the core members receiving personnel bonuses, and of the four they are the most impressive. Their talent is just off the charts. Two members of the group are #1 in their respective role, and another checks in at #3. Poor John Paul Jones is the outlier as the #11 bassist but there were some close calls with that list and honestly he could have just as easily been in the top 5. Plus, he got consideration as a multi-instrumentalist.
I never ended up having the chance to participate in the Led Zeppelin song countdown thread, but here you see some of the selections that I would have submitted had I participated. I would have had the same #1. Tracks I like more than the group consensus include “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp,” “You Shook Me,” and “Rock and Roll.” I am less of a fan of “Whole Lotta Love” than most, though I do like it in the above medley with several blues tunes.
As with some other entries, I tried to capture a good spectrum of the band’s career here, from their earliest concerts up until the 2007 Celebration Day benefit concert. The really early live stuff isn’t always the best sound quality, but I felt it was important to include anyway. You can still appreciate the great musicianship. Actually, I think the version of the Fillmore West 1969 concert I have in my files was remastered because it sounds a lot better than the clips that I linked above (thus that version of “How Many More Times” being good enough to get a track bonus).
I don’t know why I didn’t put the actual dates and locations of the tracks from the BBC Sessions album because they are readily available and I did that with some other groups. But that is how they are currently labeled in the library and I was too lazy to change them. Sorry.
Total number of songs: 219
Average song score: 4.04
# of 5-point songs: 69
# of 4-point songs: 97
Top 50 track bonus: #22 When the Levee Breaks; #23 Immigrant Song (live at The BBC); #35 How Many More Times Medley (live at Fillmore West, 1969); #36 Since I’ve Been Loving You (live at The BBC)
Personnel bonus: #15 songwriters Jimmy Page/Robert Plant; #1 vocalist Robert Plant; #3 guitarist Jimmy Page; #11 bassist John Paul Jones; #1 drummer John Bonham
Recommended listening: As Long as I Have You Medley (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You; Black Dog (live at The BBC); Bring It On Home (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1970); Bron-Y-Aur Stomp; Celebration Day (live at Madison Square Garden, 1973); Communication Breakdown (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1970); Custard Pie; Dazed and Confused (live in Los Angeles, 1972); Gallows Pole; Going to California; Heartbreaker (live at The BBC); Hey Hey What Can I Do; Houses of the Holy; How Many More Times Medley (live at Fillmore West, 1969); How Many More Times Medley (live at Texas International Pop Festival, 1969); I Can’t Quit You Baby (live at The BBC); I Can’t Quit You Baby (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1970); Immigrant Song; Immigrant Song (live at The BBC); In My Time of Dying; Killing Floor (live at The Whisky a Go-Go, 1969); Moby **** (live in Los Angeles, 1972); No Quarter (live at O2 Arena, 2007); Nobody’s Fault But Mine; Over the Hills and Far Away; Rock and Roll; Since I’ve Been Loving You; Since I’ve Been Loving You (live at The BBC); Sitting and Thinking (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Ten Years Gone; That’s the Way; The Battle of Evermore; The Lemon Song; Traveling Riverside Blues; What Is and What Should Never Be (live in Long Beach, 1972); When the Levee Breaks; White Summer/Black Mountainside (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1970); Whole Lotta Love Medley (live at The BBC); You Shook Me (live at The BBC)
We have our first group to break the 1,000 point barrier!
Along with Widespread Panic, this is the other entry in my top 10 that I feel is incorrectly ranked. In this case, though, it is in the other direction. In my gut rankings, Led Zeppelin would finish either #2 or #3 depending on the day. Being ranked #7 is certainly respectable, but these guys are so good that it seems like a slap in the face.
The reason they aren’t ranked higher is quite simply they have less material than any of the bands in front of them. They weren’t together as long as a band like The Allman Brothers, their average song was 3-4 times the length of a Beatles song, and they didn’t put out Instant Live downloads of every concert like modern jam bands. Less songs available = less points, which is unfortunately a downside of my scoring system, one that I anticipated would hurt this group going into the project.
As I previously mentioned, Zeppelin is one of four groups that have all the core members receiving personnel bonuses, and of the four they are the most impressive. Their talent is just off the charts. Two members of the group are #1 in their respective role, and another checks in at #3. Poor John Paul Jones is the outlier as the #11 bassist but there were some close calls with that list and honestly he could have just as easily been in the top 5. Plus, he got consideration as a multi-instrumentalist.
I never ended up having the chance to participate in the Led Zeppelin song countdown thread, but here you see some of the selections that I would have submitted had I participated. I would have had the same #1. Tracks I like more than the group consensus include “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp,” “You Shook Me,” and “Rock and Roll.” I am less of a fan of “Whole Lotta Love” than most, though I do like it in the above medley with several blues tunes.
As with some other entries, I tried to capture a good spectrum of the band’s career here, from their earliest concerts up until the 2007 Celebration Day benefit concert. The really early live stuff isn’t always the best sound quality, but I felt it was important to include anyway. You can still appreciate the great musicianship. Actually, I think the version of the Fillmore West 1969 concert I have in my files was remastered because it sounds a lot better than the clips that I linked above (thus that version of “How Many More Times” being good enough to get a track bonus).
I don’t know why I didn’t put the actual dates and locations of the tracks from the BBC Sessions album because they are readily available and I did that with some other groups. But that is how they are currently labeled in the library and I was too lazy to change them. Sorry.
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Just not a fan of Plants voice anymore, it grates on me. Incredibly talented band though, but pretty rare that I listen to them
Dr. Octopus
Footballguy
I have friends that love them, but like you i just couldn’t get into them despite being a jam band guy. I’ve actually seen them twice and wasn’t overly impressed. They sound like a washing machine to me - the if that makes sense.
6. Gov’t Mule (1,347 points)
Total number of songs: 287
Average song score: 3.73
# of 5-point songs: 73
# of 4-point songs: 89
Top 50 track bonus: #7 Afro-Blue (live in Atlanta, 1998); #27 Soulshine (live in Atlanta, 1998)
Personnel bonus: #11 songwriter Warren Haynes; #8 guitarist Warren Haynes; #9 bassist Allen Woody; #14 drummer Matt Abst
Recommended listening: 32-20 Blues (live in New Orleans, 2003); Afro-Blue (live in Atlanta, 1998); Banks of the Deep End; Beautifully Broken/When Doves Cry (live in New Orleans, 2003); Blind Man in the Dark (live in New Orleans, 2003); Blues Before Sunrise; Bring on the Music (live at The Capitol Theatre, 2018); Catfish Blues; Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground (live at The Capitol Theatre, 2018); Devil Likes It Slow (live in Atlanta, 1999); Drivin’ Rain (live in New Orleans, 2003); Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home; Forevermore; Funny Little Tragedy/Message in a Bottle (live at The Capitol Theatre, 2018); Heavy Load; John The Revelator (live in New Orleans, 2003); Kind of Bird (live at Roseland Ballroom, 1995); Lay of the Sunflower (live in New Orleans, 2003); Look on Yonder Wall (live in Atlanta, 1998); Mule (live in Atlanta, 1998); Out of the Rain (live in Atlanta, New Year’s 1999/2000); Pass the Peas (live in Atlanta, 1999); Patchwork Quilt (live in New Orleans, 2003); Pigs on the Wing, Part 2 (live at The Orpheum Theatre, 2008); Railroad Boy (live at The Capitol Theatre, 2018); Raven Black Night; Sco-Mule (live in Atlanta, 1999); Sco-Mule (live in New Orleans, 2003); Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5 (live at The Orpheum theatre, 2008); Snatch It Back and Hold It/Hold It Back/Snatch It Back and Hold It; Soulshine (live in Atlanta, 1998); Time to Confess; Trane Jam (live at Roseland Ballroom, 1995); Voodoo Chile (live at Roseland Ballroom, 1995)
In 1994 at a time when there was even more turmoil than normal in The Allman Brothers Band, guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody decided to form a side group. Their idea was to make a power trio in the model of Cream or Mountain. Together with drummer Matt Abst, whom Warren had played with in the Dickey Betts Band, they formed Gov’t Mule.
The band has undergone many changes since that time, first with the death of Woody, and then later as an expansion to a four-piece, but Haynes and Abst remain at the heart of the band. Mule is just a little heavier than the Allmans and their version of the blues is a little darker, but they feature virtuoso playing and extended jams just like their parent band.
The other thing Mule does well is embraces all their influences. While they have a ton of original songs that are phenomenal, they also do a lot of covers from multiple genres, often doing them much better than the original. No where is this better exemplified than when they pay homage to Pink Floyd with Dark Side of the Mule (an album released in 2014 and this coming summer an extended tour). Warren’s knowledge of music is vast and there are a lot of other great covers in the above selections.
Mule also has a lot of friends who can really play and that was particularly important after the death of Woody. On the albums The Deepest End and Live…With a Little Help from Our Friends, Mule plays with a number of amazing guest bassists (Dave Schools, Victor Wooten, Jack Casady, Les Claypool, etc.) as well as with many other fantastic guest musicians (Chuck Leavell, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Derek Trucks, etc.).
Those two albums are probably both in my top 10 favorite live albums ever. But they have other great live releases as well. Live at Roseland Ballroom gives a great look at the original trio with Allen Woody. The “Trane” jam from that album is incredible (among the songs you’ll here incorporated into that are “Third Stone from the Sun,” “Eternity’s Breath,” and “St. Stephen”) and I like that album’s version of “Kind of Bird” better than the Allman version. Sco-Mule, which features John Scofield, is an amazing setlist combining Mule originals with jazz tunes. And Bring on the Music gives a glimpse of the current lineup. “Railroad Boy” is a standout track on that one.
The two tracks that got top 50 bonuses deserve special mention. Both come from Live…With a Little Help from Our Friends and both feature Derek Trucks. “Afro-Blue” is a jazz standard that has appeared multiple times on the countdown. This is by far my favorite version. This is also my favorite version of “Soulshine” which is probably Warren’s most famous song. Warren and Derek are just so in sink on that outro solo.
Total number of songs: 287
Average song score: 3.73
# of 5-point songs: 73
# of 4-point songs: 89
Top 50 track bonus: #7 Afro-Blue (live in Atlanta, 1998); #27 Soulshine (live in Atlanta, 1998)
Personnel bonus: #11 songwriter Warren Haynes; #8 guitarist Warren Haynes; #9 bassist Allen Woody; #14 drummer Matt Abst
Recommended listening: 32-20 Blues (live in New Orleans, 2003); Afro-Blue (live in Atlanta, 1998); Banks of the Deep End; Beautifully Broken/When Doves Cry (live in New Orleans, 2003); Blind Man in the Dark (live in New Orleans, 2003); Blues Before Sunrise; Bring on the Music (live at The Capitol Theatre, 2018); Catfish Blues; Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground (live at The Capitol Theatre, 2018); Devil Likes It Slow (live in Atlanta, 1999); Drivin’ Rain (live in New Orleans, 2003); Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home; Forevermore; Funny Little Tragedy/Message in a Bottle (live at The Capitol Theatre, 2018); Heavy Load; John The Revelator (live in New Orleans, 2003); Kind of Bird (live at Roseland Ballroom, 1995); Lay of the Sunflower (live in New Orleans, 2003); Look on Yonder Wall (live in Atlanta, 1998); Mule (live in Atlanta, 1998); Out of the Rain (live in Atlanta, New Year’s 1999/2000); Pass the Peas (live in Atlanta, 1999); Patchwork Quilt (live in New Orleans, 2003); Pigs on the Wing, Part 2 (live at The Orpheum Theatre, 2008); Railroad Boy (live at The Capitol Theatre, 2018); Raven Black Night; Sco-Mule (live in Atlanta, 1999); Sco-Mule (live in New Orleans, 2003); Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Parts 1-5 (live at The Orpheum theatre, 2008); Snatch It Back and Hold It/Hold It Back/Snatch It Back and Hold It; Soulshine (live in Atlanta, 1998); Time to Confess; Trane Jam (live at Roseland Ballroom, 1995); Voodoo Chile (live at Roseland Ballroom, 1995)
In 1994 at a time when there was even more turmoil than normal in The Allman Brothers Band, guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody decided to form a side group. Their idea was to make a power trio in the model of Cream or Mountain. Together with drummer Matt Abst, whom Warren had played with in the Dickey Betts Band, they formed Gov’t Mule.
The band has undergone many changes since that time, first with the death of Woody, and then later as an expansion to a four-piece, but Haynes and Abst remain at the heart of the band. Mule is just a little heavier than the Allmans and their version of the blues is a little darker, but they feature virtuoso playing and extended jams just like their parent band.
The other thing Mule does well is embraces all their influences. While they have a ton of original songs that are phenomenal, they also do a lot of covers from multiple genres, often doing them much better than the original. No where is this better exemplified than when they pay homage to Pink Floyd with Dark Side of the Mule (an album released in 2014 and this coming summer an extended tour). Warren’s knowledge of music is vast and there are a lot of other great covers in the above selections.
Mule also has a lot of friends who can really play and that was particularly important after the death of Woody. On the albums The Deepest End and Live…With a Little Help from Our Friends, Mule plays with a number of amazing guest bassists (Dave Schools, Victor Wooten, Jack Casady, Les Claypool, etc.) as well as with many other fantastic guest musicians (Chuck Leavell, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Derek Trucks, etc.).
Those two albums are probably both in my top 10 favorite live albums ever. But they have other great live releases as well. Live at Roseland Ballroom gives a great look at the original trio with Allen Woody. The “Trane” jam from that album is incredible (among the songs you’ll here incorporated into that are “Third Stone from the Sun,” “Eternity’s Breath,” and “St. Stephen”) and I like that album’s version of “Kind of Bird” better than the Allman version. Sco-Mule, which features John Scofield, is an amazing setlist combining Mule originals with jazz tunes. And Bring on the Music gives a glimpse of the current lineup. “Railroad Boy” is a standout track on that one.
The two tracks that got top 50 bonuses deserve special mention. Both come from Live…With a Little Help from Our Friends and both feature Derek Trucks. “Afro-Blue” is a jazz standard that has appeared multiple times on the countdown. This is by far my favorite version. This is also my favorite version of “Soulshine” which is probably Warren’s most famous song. Warren and Derek are just so in sink on that outro solo.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
There are a gazillion covers of Cortez the Killer, which was my #1 song in the rest-of-the-world countdown we just finished. Since Neil is not on Spotify, I had to pick one of those covers for the playlist, and I picked Mule's.
I love the version of "Cortez" on Live...With a Little Help From Our Friends. Probably one of my 5 favorite covers Mule does. Just didn't want to steal your thunder on that one.
5. Grateful Dead (1,439 points)
Total number of songs: 273
Average song score: 4.26
# of 5-point songs: 136
# of 4-point songs: 86
Top 50 track bonus: #14 Morning Dew (live in London, 1972); #39 Ripple
Personnel bonus: #7 songwriter Jerry Garcia; #6 guitarist Jerry Garcia; #6 bassist Phil Lesh
Recommended listening: Althea (live at Nassau Coliseum, 1980); Around and Around (live at The Stanley Theater, 1972); Beautiful Jam (live in Port Chester, 1971); Bertha (live in Veneta, 1972); Bird Song (live in Seattle, 1972); Box of Rain; Brokedown Palace; Brown-eyed Women (live in Denmark, 1972); Casey Jones; China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider (live in Paris, 1972); Cumberland Blues (live at The Stanley Theater, 1972); Dark Star (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Deal (live at Alpine Valley, 1989); Death Don’t Have No Mercy (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Dupree’s Diamond Blues (live in St. Louis, 1969); El Paso (live at Red Rocks, 1978); The Eleven (live in Chicago, 1969); The Eleven (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Estimated Prophet (live at Red Rocks, 1978); Friend of the Devil (live at The Stanley Theater, 1972); Help on the Way/Slipknot!/Franklin’s Tower (live at Great American Music Hall, 1975); He’s Gone (live at Lakeland Civic Center, 1977); It Must Have Been the Roses (live in Boston, 1976); Jack Straw (live in Veneta, 1972); Let the Good Times Roll (live in Landover, 1990); Mama Tried (live in Oakland, 1980); Me and My Uncle (live in Boston, 1974); Mexicali Blues (live at The Stanley Theater, 1972); Mind Left Body Jam (live in Providence, 1974); Morning Dew (live in London, 1972); Not Fade Away/Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad (live in New York, 1971); On the Road Again (live at Radio City Music Hall, 1980); Ripple; Ripple (live at The Warfield Theatre, 1980); Saint of Circumstance (live at Nassau Coliseum, 1980); Samson and Delilah (live at Red Rocks, 1978); Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain (live in Ontario, 1990); Shakedown Street; Shakedown Street (live in San Francisco, 1984); So Many Roads (live in Chicago, 1995); St. Stephen (live at Fillmore West, 1969); St. Stephen (live in Columbus, 1971); Stella Blue (live in Lexington, 1978); Sugar Magnolia (live in Paris, 1972); Sugar Magnolia (live in Veneta, 1972); Sugaree (live in Veneta, 1972); Tennessee Jed (live in Paris, 1972); Terrapin Station (live in Atlanta, 1977); Terrapin Station (live in New York, 1991); That’s It for the Other One; Throwing Stones (live in New Jersey, 1988); Touch of Grey; Truckin’ (live in London, 1972); Turn on Your Lovelight (live in Chicago, 1969); U.S. Blues; Uncle John’s Band (live in Oakland, 1979); Viola Lee Blues (live in Rio Nido, 1967); Watkins Glen Soundcheck Jam (live at Watkins Glen, 1973); Wharf Rat (live at Red Rocks, 1978); The Wheel (live in Chicago, 1976); You Win Again (live in London, 1972)
I know it’s shocking that the jammiest band ever is in my top 5. Actually, what did surprise me was the average point score. The 4.26 point average score is the highest of any artist with at least 25 songs in the countdown. I really like the Grateful Dead, but there are certainly other groups that have more songs that I love. I attribute this high average mostly to many of their live recordings being higher in quality than their contemporaries. Some of my other top groups had a decent part of their live catalog downgraded for sound quality, but most of the Grateful Dead stuff sounds really good. (continued in next post)
Total number of songs: 273
Average song score: 4.26
# of 5-point songs: 136
# of 4-point songs: 86
Top 50 track bonus: #14 Morning Dew (live in London, 1972); #39 Ripple
Personnel bonus: #7 songwriter Jerry Garcia; #6 guitarist Jerry Garcia; #6 bassist Phil Lesh
Recommended listening: Althea (live at Nassau Coliseum, 1980); Around and Around (live at The Stanley Theater, 1972); Beautiful Jam (live in Port Chester, 1971); Bertha (live in Veneta, 1972); Bird Song (live in Seattle, 1972); Box of Rain; Brokedown Palace; Brown-eyed Women (live in Denmark, 1972); Casey Jones; China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider (live in Paris, 1972); Cumberland Blues (live at The Stanley Theater, 1972); Dark Star (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Deal (live at Alpine Valley, 1989); Death Don’t Have No Mercy (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Dupree’s Diamond Blues (live in St. Louis, 1969); El Paso (live at Red Rocks, 1978); The Eleven (live in Chicago, 1969); The Eleven (live at Fillmore West, 1969); Estimated Prophet (live at Red Rocks, 1978); Friend of the Devil (live at The Stanley Theater, 1972); Help on the Way/Slipknot!/Franklin’s Tower (live at Great American Music Hall, 1975); He’s Gone (live at Lakeland Civic Center, 1977); It Must Have Been the Roses (live in Boston, 1976); Jack Straw (live in Veneta, 1972); Let the Good Times Roll (live in Landover, 1990); Mama Tried (live in Oakland, 1980); Me and My Uncle (live in Boston, 1974); Mexicali Blues (live at The Stanley Theater, 1972); Mind Left Body Jam (live in Providence, 1974); Morning Dew (live in London, 1972); Not Fade Away/Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad (live in New York, 1971); On the Road Again (live at Radio City Music Hall, 1980); Ripple; Ripple (live at The Warfield Theatre, 1980); Saint of Circumstance (live at Nassau Coliseum, 1980); Samson and Delilah (live at Red Rocks, 1978); Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain (live in Ontario, 1990); Shakedown Street; Shakedown Street (live in San Francisco, 1984); So Many Roads (live in Chicago, 1995); St. Stephen (live at Fillmore West, 1969); St. Stephen (live in Columbus, 1971); Stella Blue (live in Lexington, 1978); Sugar Magnolia (live in Paris, 1972); Sugar Magnolia (live in Veneta, 1972); Sugaree (live in Veneta, 1972); Tennessee Jed (live in Paris, 1972); Terrapin Station (live in Atlanta, 1977); Terrapin Station (live in New York, 1991); That’s It for the Other One; Throwing Stones (live in New Jersey, 1988); Touch of Grey; Truckin’ (live in London, 1972); Turn on Your Lovelight (live in Chicago, 1969); U.S. Blues; Uncle John’s Band (live in Oakland, 1979); Viola Lee Blues (live in Rio Nido, 1967); Watkins Glen Soundcheck Jam (live at Watkins Glen, 1973); Wharf Rat (live at Red Rocks, 1978); The Wheel (live in Chicago, 1976); You Win Again (live in London, 1972)
I know it’s shocking that the jammiest band ever is in my top 5. Actually, what did surprise me was the average point score. The 4.26 point average score is the highest of any artist with at least 25 songs in the countdown. I really like the Grateful Dead, but there are certainly other groups that have more songs that I love. I attribute this high average mostly to many of their live recordings being higher in quality than their contemporaries. Some of my other top groups had a decent part of their live catalog downgraded for sound quality, but most of the Grateful Dead stuff sounds really good. (continued in next post)
Last edited:
5. Grateful Dead (continued)
So where do all the tracks come from? All over. I really tried to capture the breadth of their live career with my recommended selections. Many of the above tracks are from official live releases like Live/Dead or Europe ’72. But a lot more are from archival releases. This includes quite a bit of material from the ****’s Picks series. **** Latvala was the Grateful Dead’s archivist for years and as part of the series released many albums of his favorite Dead concerts with the band’s approval. The tapes used for this series are two-track so they haven’t been remixed, but the sound quality is generally still very high. Since ****’s death, the series has been continued by his successor David Lemieux.
A good chunk of the above selections are from 1972 which was probably the Grateful Dead’s best year. We of course have selections from the European tour, but also tracks from a concert at the Stanley Theater (which is ****’s Picks Vol. 11) and from a concert in Veneta, Oregon that some consider the Dead’s greatest show ever. On the other hand, we have some tracks from the beginning of their career in the mid-1960s (going back to their jugband roots with “Viola Lee Blues”) and from the final years of their career in the 1990’s. While the sound quality is obviously a little weaker in some of those early recordings, it is still generally quite good, and some of those jams are epic. Plus it is awesome hearing Pigpen on vocals in the early days. I also love me some of their later tracks with Brent adding his singing.
There are several bands who have tracks in my library just named as a jam without having an associated song name, but up until now I haven’t actually included any of them in the recommended selections. It seemed appropriate to start that here. Some consider “Beautiful Jam” to be one of the best things they ever played. The above “Mind Left Body Jam” is controversial. That name is in fact the title of another jam the Dead did, and some say the proper title for this track is “Feeling Groovy Jam.” But the track comes from ****’s Picks Vol. 12 and that is what it is called on the album, so I stuck with it here.
You can tell which songs are my favorite because only a few have more than one recommended version. Other tracks to highlight include “Morning Dew” (which could have had many other recommended versions, but the Europe ’72 recording is so good I just couldn’t put anything alongside it) and “Turn on Your Lovelight” which is one of my favorite of their early jams. Pigpen is so good on the latter. I also love many of the tunes that were commonly linked together (like “Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain” and “Help on the Way/Slipknot!/Franklin’s Tower”). Of all of those, “China Cat SunfloweràI Know You Rider” gets my vote for the best connecting bridge ever.
Just to keep things interesting, you’ll notice I did include a number of studio tracks as well. While the Dead are obviously most known for their live performances, their studio releases were great.
So where do all the tracks come from? All over. I really tried to capture the breadth of their live career with my recommended selections. Many of the above tracks are from official live releases like Live/Dead or Europe ’72. But a lot more are from archival releases. This includes quite a bit of material from the ****’s Picks series. **** Latvala was the Grateful Dead’s archivist for years and as part of the series released many albums of his favorite Dead concerts with the band’s approval. The tapes used for this series are two-track so they haven’t been remixed, but the sound quality is generally still very high. Since ****’s death, the series has been continued by his successor David Lemieux.
A good chunk of the above selections are from 1972 which was probably the Grateful Dead’s best year. We of course have selections from the European tour, but also tracks from a concert at the Stanley Theater (which is ****’s Picks Vol. 11) and from a concert in Veneta, Oregon that some consider the Dead’s greatest show ever. On the other hand, we have some tracks from the beginning of their career in the mid-1960s (going back to their jugband roots with “Viola Lee Blues”) and from the final years of their career in the 1990’s. While the sound quality is obviously a little weaker in some of those early recordings, it is still generally quite good, and some of those jams are epic. Plus it is awesome hearing Pigpen on vocals in the early days. I also love me some of their later tracks with Brent adding his singing.
There are several bands who have tracks in my library just named as a jam without having an associated song name, but up until now I haven’t actually included any of them in the recommended selections. It seemed appropriate to start that here. Some consider “Beautiful Jam” to be one of the best things they ever played. The above “Mind Left Body Jam” is controversial. That name is in fact the title of another jam the Dead did, and some say the proper title for this track is “Feeling Groovy Jam.” But the track comes from ****’s Picks Vol. 12 and that is what it is called on the album, so I stuck with it here.
You can tell which songs are my favorite because only a few have more than one recommended version. Other tracks to highlight include “Morning Dew” (which could have had many other recommended versions, but the Europe ’72 recording is so good I just couldn’t put anything alongside it) and “Turn on Your Lovelight” which is one of my favorite of their early jams. Pigpen is so good on the latter. I also love many of the tunes that were commonly linked together (like “Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain” and “Help on the Way/Slipknot!/Franklin’s Tower”). Of all of those, “China Cat SunfloweràI Know You Rider” gets my vote for the best connecting bridge ever.
Just to keep things interesting, you’ll notice I did include a number of studio tracks as well. While the Dead are obviously most known for their live performances, their studio releases were great.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Greatest intro/show start ever.
4. The Beatles (1,926 points)
Total number of songs: 527
Average song score: 3.11
# of 5-point songs: 37
# of 4-point songs: 107
Top 50 track bonus: #5 Abbey Road Medley; #32 Happiness is a Warm Gun; #50 Here Comes the Sun
Personnel bonus: #5 songwriter John Lennon; #9 songwriter Paul McCartney; #8 singer John Lennon; #9 singer Paul McCartney; #10 bassist Paul McCartney; #11 miscellaneous/mult-instrumentalist (piano) Billy Preston (partial bonus)
Recommended listening: A Day in the Life; Abbey Road Medley; Across the Universe; Dear Prudence; Got to Get You Into My Life; Happiness is a Warm Gun; Here Comes the Sun; If I Fell; I’ve Just Seen a Face; Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown); Nowhere Man; Oh! Darling; Something; While My Guitar Gently Weeps; Yer Blues
I only put a few songs on the recommended listening here because: 1) you all know what to listen to already, and 2) if you are really interested you can check out my complete ranking of Beatles songs that I made in response to Krista’s thread. The list is here.
It seems kind of silly for me to try to comment on why The Beatles are great. Everyone reading this knows that already and others have articulated it way better than I can.
So I’ll focus mostly on the ranking and the score that led to it. Total volume obviously helped here. Unless you are getting into some really deep bootleg material, I don’t think there is much Beatles material that I don’t have in my library. With just over 200 songs in their catalog, I obviously have a lot of versions of some of these tunes. Not as many as I have for my top ranked group, but just as an example have 10 versions each of “I Saw Her Standing There” and “She Loves You.”
That total number of songs helps the point score, but the lower quality of some of the recordings, especially some of the live material, is why their average score is lower than any of the other artists in the top 10. I can only imagine if the group had continued performing live and had put out some really nice live albums. Of course, in that scenario they might not have written as many amazing songs later in their career. Hard to know. Or even if their career fell a few decades later and the recordings of their 1966 sounded like quality live recordings instead of second-rate bootlegs. In that scenario they might challenge for the top spot in the countdown.
That’s ok, though. We still have a ton of great music to enjoy here.
Personnel bonuses also played a big role here, of course. They almost received some additional points as George finished at #22 on the songwriter list.
Total number of songs: 527
Average song score: 3.11
# of 5-point songs: 37
# of 4-point songs: 107
Top 50 track bonus: #5 Abbey Road Medley; #32 Happiness is a Warm Gun; #50 Here Comes the Sun
Personnel bonus: #5 songwriter John Lennon; #9 songwriter Paul McCartney; #8 singer John Lennon; #9 singer Paul McCartney; #10 bassist Paul McCartney; #11 miscellaneous/mult-instrumentalist (piano) Billy Preston (partial bonus)
Recommended listening: A Day in the Life; Abbey Road Medley; Across the Universe; Dear Prudence; Got to Get You Into My Life; Happiness is a Warm Gun; Here Comes the Sun; If I Fell; I’ve Just Seen a Face; Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown); Nowhere Man; Oh! Darling; Something; While My Guitar Gently Weeps; Yer Blues
I only put a few songs on the recommended listening here because: 1) you all know what to listen to already, and 2) if you are really interested you can check out my complete ranking of Beatles songs that I made in response to Krista’s thread. The list is here.
It seems kind of silly for me to try to comment on why The Beatles are great. Everyone reading this knows that already and others have articulated it way better than I can.
So I’ll focus mostly on the ranking and the score that led to it. Total volume obviously helped here. Unless you are getting into some really deep bootleg material, I don’t think there is much Beatles material that I don’t have in my library. With just over 200 songs in their catalog, I obviously have a lot of versions of some of these tunes. Not as many as I have for my top ranked group, but just as an example have 10 versions each of “I Saw Her Standing There” and “She Loves You.”
That total number of songs helps the point score, but the lower quality of some of the recordings, especially some of the live material, is why their average score is lower than any of the other artists in the top 10. I can only imagine if the group had continued performing live and had put out some really nice live albums. Of course, in that scenario they might not have written as many amazing songs later in their career. Hard to know. Or even if their career fell a few decades later and the recordings of their 1966 sounded like quality live recordings instead of second-rate bootlegs. In that scenario they might challenge for the top spot in the countdown.
That’s ok, though. We still have a ton of great music to enjoy here.
Personnel bonuses also played a big role here, of course. They almost received some additional points as George finished at #22 on the songwriter list.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Paging @krista4 !
Their styles aren't really in keeping with the kind of music you like, but if I did an exercise like this I'd have Ringo in my top 20 drummers and George in my top 20 guitarists. No one else sounds like them, and the way they use their talents to serve the songs is remarkable.
Their styles aren't really in keeping with the kind of music you like, but if I did an exercise like this I'd have Ringo in my top 20 drummers and George in my top 20 guitarists. No one else sounds like them, and the way they use their talents to serve the songs is remarkable.
ConstruxBoy
Kate's Daddy
Is it the All and then the Man and then the Brothers?
Ok I lied. I am just going to do one of the three tonight then will post the other two in the morning. I'm sure people will know the order of the last two, but oh well. I want to make them decent entries and just didn't have the time to finish them tonight (especially because my next entry took so long to write).
3. Black Crowes (2,340 points)
Total number of songs: 558
Average song score: 3.70
# of 5-point songs: 108
# of 4-point songs: 224
Top 50 track bonus: #4 My Morning Song (live at the Fillmore, 2005)
Personnel bonus: #4 songwriters Chris Robinson/Rich Robinson; #10 vocalist Chris Robinson; #15 guitarist Marc Ford; #10 drummer Steve Gorman; #8 miscellaneous/multi-instrumentalist (piano) Eddie Harsch
Recommended listening: Another Roadside Tragedy; Bad Luck Blues Eyes Goodbye; Ballad in Urgency; Ballad in Urgency (live in Glastonbury, 1995); Black Moon Creeping; Black Moon Creeping (live in Houston, 1993); Bring On, Bring On; Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’ (live at the Fillmore, 2010); Could I’ve Been So Blind; Cursed Diamond (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Descending; Don’t Wake Me; Downtown Money Waster; Driving Wheel (live in Des Moines, 2009); Girl from a Pawnshop; Gone; Hard to Handle (live at The Fillmore, 2005); Hotel Illness; Hotel Illness (live in Spain, 2009); Jealous Again; Jealous Again (live in London, 2013); Lay It All on Me; Let Me Share the Ride (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Midnight Rambler (live at the Fillmore, 2010); Movin’ on Down the Line (live); My Morning Song; My Morning Song (live at the Fillmore, 2005); No Speak, No Slave (live in Rotterdam, 1992); Nonfiction (live at Red Rocks, 2006); Oh the Rain (live in New York, 2010); Only Halfway to Everywhere (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Polly (live at Newport Folk Festival, 2008); Poor Elijah/Tribute to Johnson (live in Raleigh, 2008); Remedy; Remedy (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Roll Old Jeremiah (live at the Fillmore, 2010); Seeing Things; She Gave Good Sunflower; Sister Luck; Sister Luck (acoustic); Sometimes Salvation; Soul Singing (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Sting Me; Sting Me (live from High as the Moon, 1992); Thick n’ Thin (live in Houston, 1993); Thorn in My Pride; Thorn in My Pride (live at Oak Ridge, 2013); Title Song (live in New York, 2010); Torn and Frayed (live at the Fillmore, 2010); Tornado; Turn on Your Lovelight (live); Twice as Hard (live in Spain, 2009); Virtue and Vice; Virtue and Vice (live at Jones Beach, 2006); Waiting Guilty (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1995); Waiting Guilty (live in New York, 2010); Wee Who See the Deep Jam (live at Forecastle, 2009); Wiser Time; Wiser Time (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Wyoming and Me
Just to get this out of the way, no, this ranking does not mean I think that The Black Crowes are better than The Beatles. I firmly believe The Black Crowes are the most underrated band in rock history and they easily make my top 10 and likely my top 5. People who have seen them live have compared them favorably to The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, and members of both of those bands have played with them and been impressed. But I recognize they are not The Beatles.
Part of the reason the Crowes finish in the #3 spot is because, the exact opposite of The Beatles, they have a ton of easily accessible high-quality live music that I have compiled in my library. There was a time in the past when I was downloading new shows by them every day. I couldn’t get enough. I’m actually pretty sad and frustrated because it was harder to find good links to some of this material than I thought, so I don’t think the above recommendations really capture what they are like live or reflect what is in my library.
At their peak, though, they really were as exciting to listen to as anyone. Their career trajectory is interesting because when they started they were straight up rock and roll, blues based and very heavy. This was the group that was compared all the time to The Rolling Stones and The Faces and at one point earned the moniker “The Most Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World.” Later in their career they became WAY more jammy and tried to fashion themselves as the next Grateful Dead. Some of their later stuff even bordered on jamgrass. (continued in next post)
Total number of songs: 558
Average song score: 3.70
# of 5-point songs: 108
# of 4-point songs: 224
Top 50 track bonus: #4 My Morning Song (live at the Fillmore, 2005)
Personnel bonus: #4 songwriters Chris Robinson/Rich Robinson; #10 vocalist Chris Robinson; #15 guitarist Marc Ford; #10 drummer Steve Gorman; #8 miscellaneous/multi-instrumentalist (piano) Eddie Harsch
Recommended listening: Another Roadside Tragedy; Bad Luck Blues Eyes Goodbye; Ballad in Urgency; Ballad in Urgency (live in Glastonbury, 1995); Black Moon Creeping; Black Moon Creeping (live in Houston, 1993); Bring On, Bring On; Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’ (live at the Fillmore, 2010); Could I’ve Been So Blind; Cursed Diamond (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Descending; Don’t Wake Me; Downtown Money Waster; Driving Wheel (live in Des Moines, 2009); Girl from a Pawnshop; Gone; Hard to Handle (live at The Fillmore, 2005); Hotel Illness; Hotel Illness (live in Spain, 2009); Jealous Again; Jealous Again (live in London, 2013); Lay It All on Me; Let Me Share the Ride (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Midnight Rambler (live at the Fillmore, 2010); Movin’ on Down the Line (live); My Morning Song; My Morning Song (live at the Fillmore, 2005); No Speak, No Slave (live in Rotterdam, 1992); Nonfiction (live at Red Rocks, 2006); Oh the Rain (live in New York, 2010); Only Halfway to Everywhere (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Polly (live at Newport Folk Festival, 2008); Poor Elijah/Tribute to Johnson (live in Raleigh, 2008); Remedy; Remedy (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Roll Old Jeremiah (live at the Fillmore, 2010); Seeing Things; She Gave Good Sunflower; Sister Luck; Sister Luck (acoustic); Sometimes Salvation; Soul Singing (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Sting Me; Sting Me (live from High as the Moon, 1992); Thick n’ Thin (live in Houston, 1993); Thorn in My Pride; Thorn in My Pride (live at Oak Ridge, 2013); Title Song (live in New York, 2010); Torn and Frayed (live at the Fillmore, 2010); Tornado; Turn on Your Lovelight (live); Twice as Hard (live in Spain, 2009); Virtue and Vice; Virtue and Vice (live at Jones Beach, 2006); Waiting Guilty (live at Royal Albert Hall, 1995); Waiting Guilty (live in New York, 2010); Wee Who See the Deep Jam (live at Forecastle, 2009); Wiser Time; Wiser Time (live at the Fillmore, 2005); Wyoming and Me
Just to get this out of the way, no, this ranking does not mean I think that The Black Crowes are better than The Beatles. I firmly believe The Black Crowes are the most underrated band in rock history and they easily make my top 10 and likely my top 5. People who have seen them live have compared them favorably to The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, and members of both of those bands have played with them and been impressed. But I recognize they are not The Beatles.
Part of the reason the Crowes finish in the #3 spot is because, the exact opposite of The Beatles, they have a ton of easily accessible high-quality live music that I have compiled in my library. There was a time in the past when I was downloading new shows by them every day. I couldn’t get enough. I’m actually pretty sad and frustrated because it was harder to find good links to some of this material than I thought, so I don’t think the above recommendations really capture what they are like live or reflect what is in my library.
At their peak, though, they really were as exciting to listen to as anyone. Their career trajectory is interesting because when they started they were straight up rock and roll, blues based and very heavy. This was the group that was compared all the time to The Rolling Stones and The Faces and at one point earned the moniker “The Most Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World.” Later in their career they became WAY more jammy and tried to fashion themselves as the next Grateful Dead. Some of their later stuff even bordered on jamgrass. (continued in next post)
3. Black Crowes (continued)
Since my two favorite forms of music are heavy blues rock and jam, it’s not surprising, therefore, that they would be one of my favorite bands. And there definitely was a time when I would have called them my favorite band in the world.
Part of what has always impressed me about the Crowes is their extensive knowledge of a wide range of music. I have discovered more new music listening to the Black Crowes than any other band, even more than The Grateful Dead. Half of the Bob Dylan tunes I know are because I heard the Crowes play them first. But they also turned me on to more obscure stuff, everything from Blind Willie Johnson (the above track “Oh the Rain” is a reworking of Johnson’s “The Rain Don’t Fall on Me”) to Gene Clark (with the track “Polly” which has been mentioned a few times in the countdown).
As an aside, I have also discovered more great bands from seeing them open for the Crowes than I can name. That is how I first came to know J.J. Grey and Mofro, The Drive-By Truckers, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, and a number of others. In fact, the first time I saw The Tedeschi Trucks Band was opening for the Crowes, and they did a version of “Turn on Your Lovelight” together kind of like above.
If you aren’t that familiar with the Crowes, start with The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. It edges out Exile on Main Street and Led Zeppelin IV as my favorite studio album ever (and finishes only behind a certain live album that is still to come among my favorite albums period). After that, check out Freak n’ Roll, which is the best of their official live albums (the selections above from The Fillmore in 2005 are from that album).
As far as individual songs go, “My Morning Song” is my favorite and one of my favorite songs of all-time. A really good version of “Thorn in My Pride” is also really tough to beat. Again, I’m super disappointed because I couldn’t find any video to a great version of that song online. The above version is pretty good, but nowhere when the band was in their prime. “Seeing Things” has one of my favorite focal performances ever. One of the other things that I really love about the Crowes is that they have a lot of great songs with interesting closings. “Descending,” “Lay It All on Me,” “Virtue and Vice,” and “Bring On, Bring On” all come to mind here.
Their catalog is super deep too. “Another Roadside Tragedy,” “Don’t Wake Me,” and “Waiting Guilty” are all songs that weren’t even good enough to officially make one of their albums, but are better than anything 99.99% of bands will ever do in their career.
Of course, while they have so many great original songs, they also could cover songs as well as anyone. I think I might like the above version of “Midnight Rambler” better than any version I have heard from The Rolling Stones.
And while they are not The Beatles, they could do a Beatles tune pretty well. I unfortunately couldn’t find a good link online, but they do an incredible version of “Happiness is a Warm Gun.” I’ve also seen them do “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” in person. So @krista4, maybe that will help you keep the straight from The Black Keys.
Since my two favorite forms of music are heavy blues rock and jam, it’s not surprising, therefore, that they would be one of my favorite bands. And there definitely was a time when I would have called them my favorite band in the world.
Part of what has always impressed me about the Crowes is their extensive knowledge of a wide range of music. I have discovered more new music listening to the Black Crowes than any other band, even more than The Grateful Dead. Half of the Bob Dylan tunes I know are because I heard the Crowes play them first. But they also turned me on to more obscure stuff, everything from Blind Willie Johnson (the above track “Oh the Rain” is a reworking of Johnson’s “The Rain Don’t Fall on Me”) to Gene Clark (with the track “Polly” which has been mentioned a few times in the countdown).
As an aside, I have also discovered more great bands from seeing them open for the Crowes than I can name. That is how I first came to know J.J. Grey and Mofro, The Drive-By Truckers, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, and a number of others. In fact, the first time I saw The Tedeschi Trucks Band was opening for the Crowes, and they did a version of “Turn on Your Lovelight” together kind of like above.
If you aren’t that familiar with the Crowes, start with The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. It edges out Exile on Main Street and Led Zeppelin IV as my favorite studio album ever (and finishes only behind a certain live album that is still to come among my favorite albums period). After that, check out Freak n’ Roll, which is the best of their official live albums (the selections above from The Fillmore in 2005 are from that album).
As far as individual songs go, “My Morning Song” is my favorite and one of my favorite songs of all-time. A really good version of “Thorn in My Pride” is also really tough to beat. Again, I’m super disappointed because I couldn’t find any video to a great version of that song online. The above version is pretty good, but nowhere when the band was in their prime. “Seeing Things” has one of my favorite focal performances ever. One of the other things that I really love about the Crowes is that they have a lot of great songs with interesting closings. “Descending,” “Lay It All on Me,” “Virtue and Vice,” and “Bring On, Bring On” all come to mind here.
Their catalog is super deep too. “Another Roadside Tragedy,” “Don’t Wake Me,” and “Waiting Guilty” are all songs that weren’t even good enough to officially make one of their albums, but are better than anything 99.99% of bands will ever do in their career.
Of course, while they have so many great original songs, they also could cover songs as well as anyone. I think I might like the above version of “Midnight Rambler” better than any version I have heard from The Rolling Stones.
And while they are not The Beatles, they could do a Beatles tune pretty well. I unfortunately couldn’t find a good link online, but they do an incredible version of “Happiness is a Warm Gun.” I’ve also seen them do “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” in person. So @krista4, maybe that will help you keep the straight from The Black Keys.
I forgot to add:
Earlier when I was talking about brothers that hated each other ruining great bands and mentioned that top brother rivalry would be near the top of the countdown, the Robinson brothers are obviously who I was talking about. Read Steve Gorman's book Hard to Handle for some of the many stories. It's absolutely crazy.
Great book, BTW.
Earlier when I was talking about brothers that hated each other ruining great bands and mentioned that top brother rivalry would be near the top of the countdown, the Robinson brothers are obviously who I was talking about. Read Steve Gorman's book Hard to Handle for some of the many stories. It's absolutely crazy.
Great book, BTW.
ConstruxBoy
Kate's Daddy
And here I was thinking you had Oasis on top...
2. Rolling Stones (2,388 points)
Total number of songs: 598
Average song score: 3.56
# of 5-point songs: 111
# of 4-point songs: 205
Top 50 track bonus: #23 Midnight Rambler (live in Brussels, 1973); #28 Can’t You Hear Me Knocking; #38 Gimme Shelter
Personnel bonus: #1 songwriters Mick Jagger/Keith Richards; #18 vocalist Mick Jagger; #19 drummer Charlie Watts; #10 miscellaneous/multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones; #3 miscellaneous/multi-instrumentalist (piano) Chuck Leavell (partial bonus)
Recommended listening: 19th Nervous Breakdown; All Down the Line (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); Angie (live in Brussels, 1973); Around and Around (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); As Tears Go By; B*tch (extended version); B*tch (live at the Marquee Club, 1971); Boogie Chillen (live in Atlantic City, 1989); Brown Sugar; Brown Sugar (live in Atlantic City, 1989); Can’t You Hear Me Knocking; Can’t You Hear Me Knocking (live in Los Angeles, 2002); Dead Flowers; Dead Flowers (live in Amsterdam, 1995); Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Hearbreaker (live at the L.A. Forum, 1975); Gimme Shelter; Happy; Happy (live in Brussels, 1973); Honky Tonk Women (live in Atlantic City, 1989); Hoo Doo Blues; (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (live in Tokyo, 1990); I Got the Blues (live at the Marquee Club, 1971); If You Can’t Rock Me/Get Off My Cloud (live at the L.A. Forum, 1975); It’s All Over Now (live in Amsterdam, 1995); Jumpin’ Jack Flash (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); Just Your Fool; The Last Time (live in Ireland, 1965); Let It Bleed; Let It Bleed (live in Amsterdam, 1995); Let’s Spend the Night Together; Little by Little; Little Red Rooster (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); Live With Me (live at the Marquee Club, 1971); Love in Vain; Loving Cup; Loving Cup (alternate take); Mannish Boy (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); Midnight Rambler; Midnight Rambler (live in Brussels, 1973); Miss You (live in Texas, 1978); Moonlight Mile; No Expectations (live at The Rock and Roll Circus); Paint It, Black; Play with Fire; Respectable; Rip This Joint; Rip This Joint (live in Brussels, 1973); Rocks Off; Rocks Off (live in Tokyo, 1995); Ruby Tuesday; Salt of the Earth; She’s a Rainbow; Shine a Light; Silver Train; Sister Morphine; Stray Cat Blues (live at Madison Square Garden, 1969); Stop Breakin’ Down Blues (live in Miami, 1994); Street Fighting Man; Street Fighting Man (live at the L.A. Forum, 1975); Sway; Sweet Black Angel; Sweet Virginia; Sympathy for the Devil; Sympathy for the Devil (live from The Rock and Roll Circus); Time is on My Side; Torn and Frayed; Tumbling Dice; Tumbling Dice (live in Tokyo, 1990); Wild Horses; Winter; Worries Life Blues (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); You Can’t Always Get What You Want; You Can’t Always Get What You Want (live in Brussels, 1973); You Got the Silver; You Got Me Rocking (live in Amsterdam, 1998); You Got to Move (live in Paris, 1975)
Ok I may have exaggerated a little in the last post when I said I like the Crowes performing “Midnight Rambler” as better than any version by the Stones. Because obviously I love at least one (and in truth many) Stones recordings quite a bit. I just really love that song. It certainly isn’t anywhere near their most popular, but the driving rhythm, the harmonica, and the haunting lyrics get to me.
I’m not sure how many would have predicted The Rolling Stones to finish at #2 because I’ve spoken about them surprisingly little over the course of the countdown. They also don’t have virtuoso performers at each instrument with a tendency for 10-minute long solos like many of my other top groups. (continued in next post)
Total number of songs: 598
Average song score: 3.56
# of 5-point songs: 111
# of 4-point songs: 205
Top 50 track bonus: #23 Midnight Rambler (live in Brussels, 1973); #28 Can’t You Hear Me Knocking; #38 Gimme Shelter
Personnel bonus: #1 songwriters Mick Jagger/Keith Richards; #18 vocalist Mick Jagger; #19 drummer Charlie Watts; #10 miscellaneous/multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones; #3 miscellaneous/multi-instrumentalist (piano) Chuck Leavell (partial bonus)
Recommended listening: 19th Nervous Breakdown; All Down the Line (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); Angie (live in Brussels, 1973); Around and Around (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); As Tears Go By; B*tch (extended version); B*tch (live at the Marquee Club, 1971); Boogie Chillen (live in Atlantic City, 1989); Brown Sugar; Brown Sugar (live in Atlantic City, 1989); Can’t You Hear Me Knocking; Can’t You Hear Me Knocking (live in Los Angeles, 2002); Dead Flowers; Dead Flowers (live in Amsterdam, 1995); Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Hearbreaker (live at the L.A. Forum, 1975); Gimme Shelter; Happy; Happy (live in Brussels, 1973); Honky Tonk Women (live in Atlantic City, 1989); Hoo Doo Blues; (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction (live in Tokyo, 1990); I Got the Blues (live at the Marquee Club, 1971); If You Can’t Rock Me/Get Off My Cloud (live at the L.A. Forum, 1975); It’s All Over Now (live in Amsterdam, 1995); Jumpin’ Jack Flash (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); Just Your Fool; The Last Time (live in Ireland, 1965); Let It Bleed; Let It Bleed (live in Amsterdam, 1995); Let’s Spend the Night Together; Little by Little; Little Red Rooster (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); Live With Me (live at the Marquee Club, 1971); Love in Vain; Loving Cup; Loving Cup (alternate take); Mannish Boy (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); Midnight Rambler; Midnight Rambler (live in Brussels, 1973); Miss You (live in Texas, 1978); Moonlight Mile; No Expectations (live at The Rock and Roll Circus); Paint It, Black; Play with Fire; Respectable; Rip This Joint; Rip This Joint (live in Brussels, 1973); Rocks Off; Rocks Off (live in Tokyo, 1995); Ruby Tuesday; Salt of the Earth; She’s a Rainbow; Shine a Light; Silver Train; Sister Morphine; Stray Cat Blues (live at Madison Square Garden, 1969); Stop Breakin’ Down Blues (live in Miami, 1994); Street Fighting Man; Street Fighting Man (live at the L.A. Forum, 1975); Sway; Sweet Black Angel; Sweet Virginia; Sympathy for the Devil; Sympathy for the Devil (live from The Rock and Roll Circus); Time is on My Side; Torn and Frayed; Tumbling Dice; Tumbling Dice (live in Tokyo, 1990); Wild Horses; Winter; Worries Life Blues (live at the El Mocambo, 1977); You Can’t Always Get What You Want; You Can’t Always Get What You Want (live in Brussels, 1973); You Got the Silver; You Got Me Rocking (live in Amsterdam, 1998); You Got to Move (live in Paris, 1975)
Ok I may have exaggerated a little in the last post when I said I like the Crowes performing “Midnight Rambler” as better than any version by the Stones. Because obviously I love at least one (and in truth many) Stones recordings quite a bit. I just really love that song. It certainly isn’t anywhere near their most popular, but the driving rhythm, the harmonica, and the haunting lyrics get to me.
I’m not sure how many would have predicted The Rolling Stones to finish at #2 because I’ve spoken about them surprisingly little over the course of the countdown. They also don’t have virtuoso performers at each instrument with a tendency for 10-minute long solos like many of my other top groups. (continued in next post)
2. Rolling Stones (continued)
But in the end they finish here just because they have more great songs that I really, really like than basically anyone else. Simple. In my mind, the catalog of The Rolling Stones is the catalog of rock music more than any other group. That’s why the Jagger/Richards songwriting team finishes #1.
And while they may not be Led Zeppelin, it isn’t like they don’t have great musicians. They have had 3 top-tier guitarists in Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, and Ronnie Wood. While none finished in the top 20, all were close. And more than any other combination not named Allman/Betts, Keith and Ronnie play off of each other so well. While not technically official members, Bobby Keys on sax and many of the great keyboardists to play with them (Ian Stewart, Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preston, and of course Chuck Leavell) seem like members of the band as much as the core members. Mick might be a controversial pick as a vocalist, and he doesn’t have a great voice, but his delivery is as good as anyone and he defines what it means to be a rock frontman. Charlie was rocksteady on drums. And Brian Jones was just awesome at everything he did.
Longevity certainly plays a role here. With a nearly 60-year career and counting, there is a lot of music available to gather into my library. Unlike with the Crowes, it was not difficult at all to find video of a lot of great performances. And I drew from basically their entire career, with live tracks from the mid 1960’s up to tunes from Blue and Lonesome, which was released in 2016.
I’ll close with a brief rant about something that always annoys the heck out of me. I can’t stand when people criticize the Stones as just a blues rock band. They certainly are that, maybe the best ever in that regard. But they are so much more. They wrote not just the best, but in my opinion the two best country songs ever (“Dead Flowers” and “Wild Horses”). They did incredible psychedelic pop (“She’s a Rainbow”). They wrote the best dance rock/disco song ever (“Miss You”). They had songs featuring sitar, theremin, Mellotron, dulcimer, French horn, and full choruses. Did The Beatles have the edge on them in a lot of innovation and new musical ideas? Sure. As they did on every other single band. But to describe the Stones as just a blues rock band is, in my opinion, the epitome of laziness in musical analysis.
End rant. The Rolling Stones are awesome.
But in the end they finish here just because they have more great songs that I really, really like than basically anyone else. Simple. In my mind, the catalog of The Rolling Stones is the catalog of rock music more than any other group. That’s why the Jagger/Richards songwriting team finishes #1.
And while they may not be Led Zeppelin, it isn’t like they don’t have great musicians. They have had 3 top-tier guitarists in Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, and Ronnie Wood. While none finished in the top 20, all were close. And more than any other combination not named Allman/Betts, Keith and Ronnie play off of each other so well. While not technically official members, Bobby Keys on sax and many of the great keyboardists to play with them (Ian Stewart, Nicky Hopkins, Billy Preston, and of course Chuck Leavell) seem like members of the band as much as the core members. Mick might be a controversial pick as a vocalist, and he doesn’t have a great voice, but his delivery is as good as anyone and he defines what it means to be a rock frontman. Charlie was rocksteady on drums. And Brian Jones was just awesome at everything he did.
Longevity certainly plays a role here. With a nearly 60-year career and counting, there is a lot of music available to gather into my library. Unlike with the Crowes, it was not difficult at all to find video of a lot of great performances. And I drew from basically their entire career, with live tracks from the mid 1960’s up to tunes from Blue and Lonesome, which was released in 2016.
I’ll close with a brief rant about something that always annoys the heck out of me. I can’t stand when people criticize the Stones as just a blues rock band. They certainly are that, maybe the best ever in that regard. But they are so much more. They wrote not just the best, but in my opinion the two best country songs ever (“Dead Flowers” and “Wild Horses”). They did incredible psychedelic pop (“She’s a Rainbow”). They wrote the best dance rock/disco song ever (“Miss You”). They had songs featuring sitar, theremin, Mellotron, dulcimer, French horn, and full choruses. Did The Beatles have the edge on them in a lot of innovation and new musical ideas? Sure. As they did on every other single band. But to describe the Stones as just a blues rock band is, in my opinion, the epitome of laziness in musical analysis.
End rant. The Rolling Stones are awesome.
1. Allman Brothers Band (3,067 points)
Total number of songs: 653
Average song score: 3.53
# of 5-point songs: 146
# of 4-point songs: 191
Top 50 track bonus: #1 In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Live at Fillmore East, 3/13/1971); #2 Whipping Post (Live at Fillmore East, 3/13/1971); #6 In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (live at the R&R Club, 6/11/1992); #9 You Don’t Love Me/Soul Serenade (live at A&R Studios, 8/26/1971); #16 Little Martha; #21 Mountain Jam (live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival, 7/5/1970;
Personnel bonus: #3 songwriter Dickey Betts; #10 songwriter Gregg Allman; #11 songwriter Warren Haynes (partial bonus); #4 singer Gregg Allman; #1 guitarist Duane Allman; #4 guitarist Derek Trucks (partial bonus); #8 guitarist Warren Haynes (partial bonus); #19 guitarist Jimmy Herring (partial bonus); #1 bassist Oteil Burbridge; #2 bassist Berry Oakley; #9 bassist Allen Woody (partial bonus); #16 drummer Butch Trucks; #18 bonus Jaimoe; #3 miscellaneous/multi-instrumentalist (piano) Chuck Leavell (partial bonus)
Recommended listening: There’s a whole thread for this
Was there ever any doubt? The Allman Brothers Band finishing in the top spot was as sure of a thing as death and taxes if you have read any of my posts.
I’m not going to rehash the history of the Allman Brothers and all the different eras and lineups because there is plenty of that in my other thread if you are interested.
I will say that even I am surprised by the point total. The songs bonuses play a big role, of course, with six tracks in my top 50, including four in the top ten. The personnel bonuses also play a role. Giving the bonus for Jimmy Herring might be a little bit of a stretch since he was an official member for such a short time, but that only accounted for a few points. And they could just as easily have had more personnel bonus. We’ve already discussed Warren just missing out on a vocal bonus. Dickey just missed a guitar bonus. The group’s fourth best bassist, Lamar Williams, also got strong consideration.
Even if you take out all the bonus points, however, The Allman Brothers easily finish in the top spot (assuming, of course, you do the same with the Crowes and the Stones).
Actually, if anything the Allmans had the potential to dominate even more. To some extent they suffer form the same audio quality issue I described in the Beatles entry. The recording quality on some of their tracks is very poor. This is the case, for instance, in the Owings Mills 1971 album released as The Final Note. It is the last concert Duane ever played so I keep the entire show, but the quality is so poor you can barely hear the music. Other recordings aren’t that bad and are listenable, but when I already have 15 other versions of the same song ranked highly, I just err on the side of dropping it down in my playlists. That’s why, despite having hundreds of 4- and 5-point songs, the average score for the group is only middle-of-the-pack among the top 10 artists.
One album that does not have poor audio quality is At Fillmore East. That is, of course, the album I was talking about a few posts ago when referring to my favorite album ever.
Anyway, this is one spot on the list where the methodology seemed to work. They are certainly my favorite group of all time, and I’m glad the system made them a clear #1 as well.
Total number of songs: 653
Average song score: 3.53
# of 5-point songs: 146
# of 4-point songs: 191
Top 50 track bonus: #1 In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Live at Fillmore East, 3/13/1971); #2 Whipping Post (Live at Fillmore East, 3/13/1971); #6 In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (live at the R&R Club, 6/11/1992); #9 You Don’t Love Me/Soul Serenade (live at A&R Studios, 8/26/1971); #16 Little Martha; #21 Mountain Jam (live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival, 7/5/1970;
Personnel bonus: #3 songwriter Dickey Betts; #10 songwriter Gregg Allman; #11 songwriter Warren Haynes (partial bonus); #4 singer Gregg Allman; #1 guitarist Duane Allman; #4 guitarist Derek Trucks (partial bonus); #8 guitarist Warren Haynes (partial bonus); #19 guitarist Jimmy Herring (partial bonus); #1 bassist Oteil Burbridge; #2 bassist Berry Oakley; #9 bassist Allen Woody (partial bonus); #16 drummer Butch Trucks; #18 bonus Jaimoe; #3 miscellaneous/multi-instrumentalist (piano) Chuck Leavell (partial bonus)
Recommended listening: There’s a whole thread for this
Was there ever any doubt? The Allman Brothers Band finishing in the top spot was as sure of a thing as death and taxes if you have read any of my posts.
I’m not going to rehash the history of the Allman Brothers and all the different eras and lineups because there is plenty of that in my other thread if you are interested.
I will say that even I am surprised by the point total. The songs bonuses play a big role, of course, with six tracks in my top 50, including four in the top ten. The personnel bonuses also play a role. Giving the bonus for Jimmy Herring might be a little bit of a stretch since he was an official member for such a short time, but that only accounted for a few points. And they could just as easily have had more personnel bonus. We’ve already discussed Warren just missing out on a vocal bonus. Dickey just missed a guitar bonus. The group’s fourth best bassist, Lamar Williams, also got strong consideration.
Even if you take out all the bonus points, however, The Allman Brothers easily finish in the top spot (assuming, of course, you do the same with the Crowes and the Stones).
Actually, if anything the Allmans had the potential to dominate even more. To some extent they suffer form the same audio quality issue I described in the Beatles entry. The recording quality on some of their tracks is very poor. This is the case, for instance, in the Owings Mills 1971 album released as The Final Note. It is the last concert Duane ever played so I keep the entire show, but the quality is so poor you can barely hear the music. Other recordings aren’t that bad and are listenable, but when I already have 15 other versions of the same song ranked highly, I just err on the side of dropping it down in my playlists. That’s why, despite having hundreds of 4- and 5-point songs, the average score for the group is only middle-of-the-pack among the top 10 artists.
One album that does not have poor audio quality is At Fillmore East. That is, of course, the album I was talking about a few posts ago when referring to my favorite album ever.
Anyway, this is one spot on the list where the methodology seemed to work. They are certainly my favorite group of all time, and I’m glad the system made them a clear #1 as well.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I haven't seen much in the way of the Stones being "just" a blues rock band, but I don't read much from music critics these days. That certainly wasn't the take from Boomer critics like Christgau.
I think what has hurt the Rolling Stones' rep a bit over the last few decades is that they are still there. So, they've had a long "decline" that other artists like the Beatles didn't and people got bored with them (with some merit, though I think some of their recent music is pretty damned good).
On the other hand, I don't think the Stones would be nearly as diverse as they were in their prime without the Beatles. They could have just rewritten "Satisfaction" for 50 years (and they did, at times) and sold records.
They had one of the greatest front-men in music history (James Brown was better, but it's a race for second place). They were not as good and diverse as the Beatles, nor were they as good as your #1 choice. But they were a damned fine musical force, and we'd be living in a different musical world without them.
UncleZen
Footballguy
I'm good with 4 of your top 5 but sorry, I believe the Stones are the most overrated band in the history of music. I am a fan of several of their songs but I think they released a lot of garbage as well, such as "Miss You." I don't think they suck or anything, just not deserving of the hype they get.
