The Grateful Dead. Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Phil Lesh has been smokin' everyone about for the last 30 years. They are even still smokin' them with Jerry long dead. Go check out Dicks Picks volumns 1-18. All live recordings, all very different, all make with love and care. They will keep on truckin' long into the future. You can even see the remaining members live here in the BAy Area. Two new years eves shows, Phil and Friends at the HJK in Oakland (site of the numerous New Years show for the GD)and Ratdog at the Oakland Arena. Hmmm, which of the above bands can you go see??? Evolution my freinds!
Greatest Guitar Band
I thought just before Christmas I'd get a good thread going. IMHO,the greatest guitar band was the Yardbirds, not because E Clapton,or J Beck, or J Page was in it but because Chris Deja, and Paul Samwell-Smith were great rhythm and bass guitarists that could rock and keep up with the above. Plus Jim McCarty the drummer could keep the group in line and fine harmonica work from Keith Relf(ok not the greatest vocalist, more of a finesse singer).They had it all, I cannot think of another band that had three great guitarists in the band at one time(J Beck, C Deja, P Samwell-Smith). In 1967, when J Beck and J Page were in the band togther as co-lead guitars, they were the lead in band for the rolling stones, they just blow them away,ok, that is not a fair comparison considering the rolling stones still cannot play their instruments very well. But in comparison to say Led Zepplin, LZ did not have a rhthym guitarist(except J Page would overdub that part on recordings). That made them sound not as well rounded live as far as guitar work is concerned. I am not saying LZ was a bad band on the contrary,they put on probably the best show ever, but I do not consider them a guitar band per se. Besides, J Page stole vitually from his former band anyway. Remember "How Many More Times" is a repackaged version of the YBs "Smokestack Lightning", a Howlin Wolf tune. YBs version is in my mind the best rock song ever. So what do you think????