Yes the ARU re Jimmy/Derek, also the Frogwings gig after the 2000 tour - both truly different & brilliant bluesion CDs 
Duane & Dickey 1st, then all the many who followed 
[Edited on 2/22/2020 by Stephen]
1. Duane. Don’t think this needs explanation.
2. Dickey. Don’t think this needs explanation.
3. Warren. When he played slide with Dickey, that was as close to the original ABB sound as they ever got. I love songs like Nobody Knows and Liz Reed how he played rhythm behind Dickey. His lead on Back Where It All Begins is for me as distinctive, perfect and as essential to the ABB sound and catalog as Chuck’s solo on Jessica. His playing on Kind of Bird, Gambler’s Roll, True Gravity, Nobody Knows, Devil’s Sea, Desdemona, Rocking Horse. There are so many are just delicious rock performances. I get what people are saying about it being just about the guitar playing but Warren composed so much essential ABB music its hard to discount that.
4. Jimmy Herring - I am SO sorry I missed this tour. This is probably the most overlooked and underrated tour of the ABB’s career. This sounded A LOT like the original ABB sound, probably more than any other lineup save for the fact Dickey was not in the band. Every song I’ve heard Jimmy plays Betts perfectly yet updates it. He has all of Dickey’s tight melodic precision and a great tone (although no one can surpass Dickey in tone) but with faster chops and his own flavorful licks that fit Dickey’s place but are his own. And does Jimmy have chips! The fact that this tour was, from what I’ve heard, Derek’s most consistently melodic tour where he stuck most closely to Duane’s sound (while still adding his own voice) with the ABB certainly helped highlight Jimmy’s excellence. Jimmy was better than just a “Dickey substitute.” In a perfect world, I would have liked to see him play some shows in place of Dickey with the original lineup. Still prefer Dickey obviously but my point is, Jimmy is great and is more than just a hired gun, he really added to the ABB sound.
5. Jack Pearson - Jack is great obviously and has a tonetastic sound particularly on slide. As someone so perfectly put it on this site years ago, he has a much better curve ball than a fast ball. I love Jacks amazing performances with the ABB on songs like Dreams or Back Where It All Begins where he has mesmerizes you with his sustain and tone and by the time the solo ends and you look back at it you realize he’s taken you on this entire journey with very few notes. It is really amazing. Sort of like he hypnotizes you. I loved seeing him do Dimples. He also made You Don’t Love Me swing again. My only issue with Jack is I do need a little fast ball when I’m listening to ABB songs and he did not do that very often with the ABB. I saw a Hot ‘Lantas where his entire solo was holding one note through the whole solo section. Other songs, even on slide, he just takes a little too much time and hangs on notes too long - which is what makes home great but I would prefer some speed mixed in and he didn’t really do that during his stint with the ABB.
6. Derek - What makes Derek great are his chops which gives him the ability to pull out one of those special solos that only the all time greats can. Derek might, might, have the best chops of all the ABB guitarists including Duane and Jimmy. Some of his performances on Dreams, Desdemona or High Cost of Low Living just to name a few are spectacular. When Derek is on, he is second only to Duane for me. My problems with Derek is his tone can be grating at times and most importantly his sense of melody with the ABB would frequently go completely off the rails. There are a lot of times where his solos sound like they have all the direction of a balloon with a hole in it flying around the room. Even during his last tours he’d play intros or fills on songs like Ain’t Wanting Time or Trouble No More that were, frankly, awful. I don’t understand how someone with such unearthly chops and knowledge of music could play like that. Interestingly, That said, he was perfection on that tour with Jimmy Herring and I think Derek’s sense of melody and instincts for composing solos has VASTLY improved since he started playing with TTB. The inconsistency with the ABB though is what has him so low on the list for me.
The original two go together
Think that it is interesting that no one yet has listed any particular performance by a post-Duane lineup as better than the original, particularly as related to the Duane guitar solos that Blackey mentioned. Does that mean that everyone who is fully aware of all the eras is in agreement?
I'll bite. It's tough, because Duane conceived the slide parts for "Statesboro Blues" and "Dreams". It's like asking could Duane play "Volunteered Slavery" like Derek? It would be different.
Everyone coming after him in the ABB is playing Duane's part. Warren made the licks his own in his heavier style, but never really blew my mind. Derek and Jack are the only other slide players in the ABB to blow my mind like Duane did.
I often go to the Jazz Fest 2007 version of "Statesboro Blues". Derek's solo is unlike anyone else's, I think it's bonkers. I will also dial up March 23 2009 "Done Somebody Wrong" which includes a funky intro jam. Derek is crazy good on it. It's not "better", it's just a super fresh take. My go to version of "Dreams" is Jack Pearson from the Fox Box, it blows my mind. Not "better", just an insane fresh take.
Duane and Dickey are by far the best because they created the most memorable and iconic music (solos and otherwise) in the history of the ABB.
Dickey did.
Duane didn't write. I am the first person to say that Gregg being the sole writer on those old tunes is insane. bUt that is how it went down.
Duane did amazing things on other peoples' songs.
I prefer a clean slide player which Derek is not. Derek always uses what I call the "whoosh" in between his phrases. Where he just runs the slide either up/down the neck causing the "whoosh". He is at the point where I doubt that he could not do it.
I love Derek and he always kicks my ass but he doesn't do for me what he does for some others which is cool.
Solely on slide - Jack would easily get my vote. Followed by Duane and Warren then Derek. But I will also say that Derek based his complete style on slide from a very early age and has done things that perhaps the others have not.
But Jack is on a different level to me.
I think Jack is probably the most underrated of them all. He's a fantastic player, but as far as the ABB I can't say his contribution compares because his time was short and he didn't get to make a record with the band.
To me it hardly matters that Duane only got writing credit for Little Martha and partly Hot Lanta. It's like Coltrane playing My Favorite Things. Does anyone care that he didn't write it? Duane's incredible improvisation and his ability to create harmonies on the fly were clearly a huge reason why the songs became the iconic masterpieces we know them as now. What's Dreams without Duane's beautiful solo, for example.
I don't think it's a coincidence that most all of the great ABB songs were created while Duane was in the band or shortly thereafter.
Agree 110% and the only reason he didn't get writing credit was because he laid down the law on who was getting writing credits in the band. It was the guy who brought the initial lyrics and basic chords in.
Period!
Anyone think Gregg sat down and wrote out how he wanted the electric and slide parts on Dreams played?
I agree DeadMallard. In some bands most of the members would have gotten a writing credit on ALL the new songs the way the ABB developed a song for an album. On Whipping Post, Berry Oakley wrote the bass intro and Butch Trucks came up with a new time signature. Duane and Dickey added cues and changes. The song was very different from how Gregg showed it to the band. It was a slow ballad. But under Duane's policy, ONLY Gregg got the writing credit.
Elizabeth Reed was only the melody line and the time changes in the intro when Dickey played it to Duane.. The rest of the song was developed by the entire band with Butch writing a new time signature for the jams and the drum break near the end. Indeed Butch on this site lamented his lack of a writing credit. Butch was irritated in the 1990's about the compilation (greatest hits) album 1969 - 1979 A Decade Of Hits which had select tracks from the band's first five albums plus Crazy Love from Enlighten Rogues. It was released by Polygram which owns the Capricorn Records catalog. The band is not connected to those recordings due to Phil Walden's contract BUT the song writers do get a royalty. Thus Butch got nothing while Gregg and Dickey made over a million dollars off the release each. Even Duane Allman's estate cashed in because Little Martha is on it. If Butch shared the credit for Liz Reed with Dickey, then Butch would have made something. Someone asked him here on the site why he didn't go to Duane. Butch said he did but Duane's position was the band member who brought the song in gets the credit and what changes and additions the band made is the arrangement. Allmanizing the song just as they did to One Way Out or Trouble No More which were covers but there are changes to those songs by the band. One Way Out was drastically changed but only Elmore James, Marshall Sehorn and Sonny Boy Williamson earn the royalties as the original writers.
There is Hot 'Lanta that is credited to all 6 of them. At rehearsals Gregg began playing a riff he thought up but that was all he had. Dickey suddenly thought of a melody line and rushed up to Gregg and hummed it in his ear. Afterward the entire band worked together to finish the song. I wish that had been on that album too. Butch was determined to find ways to earn money off the band that wouldn't be song writing so like Gregg and Dickey, have an additional income stream from the band but Dickey was opposed to everything Butch tried. That plus Butch's displeasure with Dickey over Liz Reed that had festered since 1970 was a big part of why Butch came to dislike Dickey so much and want him out of the band. When Warren and Allen quit in 1997, Warren mentioned the friction in the band as a reason. And that we have one member still angry about something from almost 30 years ago. I think Warren was talking about Butch and Liz Reed.
[Edited on 2/23/2020 by blackey]
There are a lot of times where his solos sound like they have all the direction of a balloon with a hole in it flying around the room. Even during his last tours he’d play intros or fills on songs like Ain’t Wanting Time or Trouble No More that were, frankly, awful.
That's interesting, I loved that Derek didn't play the exact same licks Dickey played on "Ain't Wasting Time". That was always one of the songs I thought Derek blew out of the water and took to new heights and places. I felt it was almost unfair to Warren to follow that. Different strokes...
Duane and Dickey are by far the best because they created the most memorable and iconic music (solos and otherwise) in the history of the ABB.
Dickey did.
Duane didn't write. I am the first person to say that Gregg being the sole writer on those old tunes is insane. bUt that is how it went down.
Duane did amazing things on other peoples' songs.
I prefer a clean slide player which Derek is not. Derek always uses what I call the "whoosh" in between his phrases. Where he just runs the slide either up/down the neck causing the "whoosh". He is at the point where I doubt that he could not do it.
I love Derek and he always kicks my ass but he doesn't do for me what he does for some others which is cool.
Solely on slide - Jack would easily get my vote. Followed by Duane and Warren then
Agree 110% and the only reason he didn't get writing credit was because he laid down the law on who was getting writing credits in the band. It was the guy who brought the initial lyrics and basic chords in.
Period!
Anyone think Gregg sat down and wrote out how he wanted the electric and slide parts on Dreams played?
Yeah, that would be a big fat no. Just my opinion, but I'm thinking if Duane had the chance to do it over, he'd have a more liberal policy. I know that's pretty much what was the industry standard and Duane was reflecting that. But in a band like the ABB the arrangements, harmonies and jams were as integral to the song as the lyrics and main melodies. I think it probably should have been worked out on a song by song basis. A song like Midnight Rider should rightfully just be Gregg's but Whipping Post, that should have been shared. Maybe not equally, but not solely Gregg.
[Edited on 2/23/2020 by philipag]
The liner notes in the new Big Band of Brothers CD say it well
“The original ABB undeniably ranks among the very best bands born in America, and their melding of blues, rock, gospel and Jazz was unique. Their collective genius left behind a musical legacy as rich as any....it is my hope that our big band jazz reimagining of their works reflects the reverence we hold for that genius”
It’s why the singular force known as Duane & Dickey is always mentioned 1st/4most
Love them all in any combination.
But to my ear, Dickey had the best feel for knowing when not to play, or not playing too many notes too quickly.
In my opinion, that is what makes Dickey's style and tone the best of them all.
That aspect is also what makes Carlos Santana and Robin Trower special to me.
There are a lot of times where his solos sound like they have all the direction of a balloon with a hole in it flying around the room. Even during his last tours he’d play intros or fills on songs like Ain’t Wanting Time or Trouble No More that were, frankly, awful.
That's interesting, I loved that Derek didn't play the exact same licks Dickey played on "Ain't Wasting Time". That was always one of the songs I thought Derek blew out of the water and took to new heights and places. I felt it was almost unfair to Warren to follow that. Different strokes...
Oh, I think Derek is stellar on AWTNM and most songs but his intro on AWTNM has always been directionless and limp most of the times that I’ve heard. To be fair, I feel like the band kind of blew off the intro and that started back in 95.
When Derek’s on he is fantastic. That Jazzfest 2007 show is one of the best he played with the ABB imho. The Guilded Splinters and Every Hungry Women are all time performances.
My problem with Derek is he was frequenters off. Way off. Not just solos but little fills on songs like Trouble No More where I just can’t understand how he could be so disconnected so often from songs he knows so well.
I do love Derek but he was very inconsistent when it came to melody and constructing solos to my ears. His tone can also be grating sometimes. He’s a great player though and when he hits it, he’s second only to Duane for me.
There are a lot of times where his solos sound like they have all the direction of a balloon with a hole in it flying around the room. Even during his last tours he’d play intros or fills on songs like Ain’t Wanting Time or Trouble No More that were, frankly, awful.
That's interesting, I loved that Derek didn't play the exact same licks Dickey played on "Ain't Wasting Time". That was always one of the songs I thought Derek blew out of the water and took to new heights and places. I felt it was almost unfair to Warren to follow that. Different strokes...
Oh, I think Derek is stellar on AWTNM and most songs but his intro on AWTNM has always been directionless and limp most of the times that I’ve heard. To be fair, I feel like the band kind of blew off the intro and that started back in 95.
When Derek’s on he is fantastic. That Jazzfest 2007 show is one of the best he played with the ABB imho. The Guilded Splinters and Every Hungry Women are all time performances.
My problem with Derek is he was frequenters off. Way off. Not just solos but little fills on songs like Trouble No More where I just can’t understand how he could be so disconnected so often from songs he knows so well.
I do love Derek but he was very inconsistent when it came to melody and constructing solos to my ears. His tone can also be grating sometimes. He’s a great player though and when he hits it, he’s second only to Duane for me.
