Not all Nudie suits were created for the benefit of the Nashville country music establishment:
http://www.crookedbrook.com/gram-par...nudie-suit.htm
Not all Nudie suits were created for the benefit of the Nashville country music establishment:
http://www.crookedbrook.com/gram-par...nudie-suit.htm
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
Yeah, yeah, I'm well aware that not all of Nudie's clients were country singers. The Grateful Dead wore Nudie suits (but reportedly only just the one time, in 72 or 73). But Nudie Cohen's name is strongly associated with his country music elite clients of the 50's-70's. I suspect that's probably what inspired Parsons and his band to go to Nudie for their duds.Originally Posted by spellbound
And anyway, I was being facetious. Can you imagine the Allmans in Nudie gear? That would be like the Dead in Nudie gear (even my mom, when I showed her the pictures of Jerry, Weir, and Kreutzman in their Nudie suits, thought it looked weird).
I know, Chris. I just wanted to share Parson's Nudie suit with those who hadn't seen it. Also, in the New Riders of the Purple Sage album Oh, What A Mighty Time, on the inner paper sleeve holding the LP, are photos of that band in what certainly appear to be Nudie suits. I have yet to find those photos online. Spencer Dryden's suit features playing cards. All I've been able to find is the front cover photo. I don't own the CD to know if the inner sleeve photos are reproduced there.And anyway, I was being facetious.
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
Just for the record, here's the Dead in their Nudies:
tumblr_lvstgpV1PR1qeo52vo1_400.jpg
037.jpg
i-f2H5Ck5-M.jpg
ark _38305_g4057f2z_is_1.jpg
I know there's also photos about of both Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzman in their Nudie suits, but I can't find them online. The pictures of Jerry show him playing two different guitars (the Alligator Strat and the Dan Earlwine walnut/maple Strat copy), suggesting that perhaps they wore these for at least two shows, or maybe Jerry switched guitars between sets (Jerry typically didn't swap guitars during a set very often, as far as I can tell, not even when he broke a string).
As far as Brothers of the Road goes, I think there's 2 good songs on there, Brothers of the Road and The Judgement. Outside of that the record is todally forgettable.A slight exaggeration.For instance, in the case of the Allmans, I still to this day have never heard Brothers Of The Road, which I think was the album that Dickey Betts once referred to as "not worth a...ya know".
But I did get to see the Allmans every time they came to Cleveland from 93-98. I saw the band twice when Allen Woody was playing bass, but he never broke out the 18 string bass at the shows I saw (though he did use either a 8 or 12 string Flying V style bass on Whipping Post the first time I saw them).
The first time, in 93, they did a short acoustic set in the middle of the show, as well as several songs that at the time hadn't been released yet (they would eventually appear on Where It All Begins, which didn't come out until a year or two later). I saw the band four time with Jack Pearson (Warren's replacement), and I think I've seen them about 5 times with Derek Trucks in the band. I think except maybe the second to last show I saw, they were all dynamite.
I also saw Dickey Betts And Great Southern back in...must have been about 2002 or 2003. That was a good show. It was cool to see Dickey playing with Dangerous Dan Toler again. If I remember correctly, they did a full band arrangement of Little Martha that night.
Shit, I sound like Roy Batty.
Rick
Yeah, that seems to be the consensus there. I've forgotten who it was, maybe Gregg or Dickey who was interviewed in the 80's, saying that Enlightened Rogues (the first reunion album) was a good album, Reach For The Sky (the second reunion album) "had some good moments but you could tell it was going in the wrong direction" (or words to that effect), and by the time of Brothers Of The Road "Whatever it was we had was gone by then".
The "It wasn't worth a...ya know" comment was made by Dickey when he was interviewed in Guitar Player in 89. At the time, the Allmans had just gotten back together for a tour ostensibly to promote the Dreams boxset and for the band's 20th annivesary. Dickey was asked if they had talked about recording a new album. He said something like "Yeah, we worked for Clive Davis for a couple albums in the early 80's.
Of course, working for Clive Davis has a tendency to cause people to make less than great records. How the hell Happy The Man and Anthony Braxton managed to avoid that curse, I'll never know.
I like Maybe We Can Go Back To Yesterday as well. Not their best, for sure. How about Peakin At The Beacon, which is known as Reekin At The Beacon. Betts was pretty out of it when that one was recorded. They released it after Betts was fired from the band to throw some money at him at that point. It's a shame that's how it ended up. I emailed David Goldflies for awhile maybe ten years ago and he said Dickey was the sweetest guy when he wasn't doing drugs or drinking, but when he was, watch out. Again, so sad. I saw Dickey's band with his son last year and everyone sounded great.
Yeah, that's the impression I got. When Dickey's on the wagon, he's the coolest guy, and really plays great. The problem is, he has been known to fall off that wagon, and that's where the problems start.
Another thing about him leaving the Allmans is, I started to get the impression there was some bad vibes between Dickey and either Warren and/or Allen. I remember it being pointed out somewhere that after Warren and Allen left the Allmans to focus on Gov't Mule full time, there was talk of the Allmans being pissed that Gov't Mule had signed to Capricorn Records (long story short: The Allmans were massively ripped off by Phil Walden back in the 70's, and they reportedly vowed they'd never work for him again).
Anyhow, so that was the rumor at the time, but after awhile, you started seeing the various original members of the Allmans playing with Warren and/or Allen. I think it was Warren who sat in with Gregg's solo band for an encore one night, then there was a jam at somebody's wedding reception, that sort of thing. Everyone from the Allmans was seen playing with the Gov't Mule guys like it was no big deal. Everyone, that is, except Dickey. Then after they kicked Dickey out of the band, Warren came back (well, there was that one tour with Jimmy Herring on board, but then the following year, Warren came back). So I started to wonder if there wasn't something going on there, which seemed weird to me, because Warren was playing in the Dickey Betts Band before the Allmans got back together that second time in 89.
I think Allen Woody was asked about it one time, and he said something the effect of "Oh, Dickey has a bee in his bonnet about power trios", then insinuated it had something to do with about how Duane originally intended his new band to be a power trio with just him, Berry and Jaimoe, before Dickey and Butch got involved. Maybe Dickey felt like Duane had hijacked Berry away from The Second Coming (the band Berry and Dickey had been playing in at the time) or something, who knows. (shrugs)
I do think it's odd how twice now, Gregg Allman has kinda hijacked, in a way, the second guitarist that Dickey brought into the band. When they regrouped the second time, they brought in Dangerous Dan Toler from the first couple iterations of Great Southern (if I remember correctly, there were two Great Southern albums, and Dickey and Dangerous Dan were the only two musicians who played on both of them), then when they fizzled out the second time after Brothers Of The Road, Toler (and his brother, who by now had replaced Jaimoe up on the drum riser) ran off with Gregg and they formed the mid 80's Gregg Allman Band (the group that recorded Gregg's hit I'm No Angel).
Then, Dickey brings Warren into the band, and well, this time Warren left the band, then came back after Dickey was squeezed out, but the upshot was basically the same: Gregg continued to work with Warren even after his "partnership in crime" with Dickey had ended.
BTW, I had the understanding the reason Peakin' At The Beacon was released was because they owed Epic Records one more album, and I guess they were unhappy about how things were going with the label, so they just tossed that one together so they could be free of their obligations. I've never actually heard it, but Wikipedia says it has a 27 minute High Falls. I can't imagine anything with THAT being unmemorable.
Peakin is not terrible, but it's not Dickey at his best. I believe he sued the band for money lost from touring after they tossed him out. The whole
thing is very sad, still. He made his own bed though. I love the Gregg Allman albums with Dan and Frankie Toler. RIP to both of them. Great in concert.
Dan was like a fusion/southern rock guitarist. Betts' Pattern Disruptive was a great one as well. His son Duane is a tasteful guitarist too.
I just wish that the Allmans would get back in the studio for one more recording with the current band. That last album just kicked all kinds of ass.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
I second that. It seemed like Warren pushed Gregg into putting it together. Gregg either doesn't care to write much anymore or just feels burned out of his writing abilities. Warren writes so much stuff that becomes Gov't Mule music that maybe him and Gregg aren't interested in doing another ABB release. Hittin' the Note got great reviews I thought and most people on here like me really love it. In a way I miss Dickey's writing though. He wrote some of the best ABB music.
Rick
What I recall hearing at the time was he sued them to stop them from continuing to perform with the ABB name but without him. Supposedly, they had a legal agreement that they couldn't call it "The Allman Brothers Band" without all the surviving original members being involved. Obviously, whatever agreement they may have had (or that Dickey may have thought they had) wasn't enough for him to be able to stop the band from going forth without him.
I do agree that Dan Toler was a pretty happening guitarist. He sounds great on Enlightened Rogues and Reach For The Sky. Somewhere around here, I have a VHS tape I recorded off PBS, of a Brothers Of The Road era show, I think in Gainesville, Florida. It's a strange concert, they've got backup singers and a second keyboardist named Mike Lawler. Lawler plays synths on a couple songs, typically playing what sounds to me like heavy metal guitar licks, and even straps on one of those portable remote keyboards for a song or two. There's moments of good jamming (nice version of Whipping Post and Jessica, and Lawler plays a piano solo during Blue Sky, which is a bit different), but at the same time, Lawler's synth playing is out of place, and you get the feeling "something's not right". Oh well.
I seem to recall there were actually another concert filmed from that tour, but I've never seen it. They were out on VHS in the 90's, and for a brief while, DVD, but I guess it's out of print again.
God, so do I!
Gregg continues to put out the periodic Gregg Allman Band album, with his originals on each one.
I just got copies of the two Wanee performances. Wow, Gregg really sounds good. They opened the second night's set with Hendrix's "1983." Warren sang it.
The whole band sounds great.
Yeah, those were great shows!
Release date was today. I'm interested in any reviews that anyone who has purchased this may have.
Rick
I got this yesterday but have not had a chance to dive into it yet.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks