Duane Allman Still the Best Slide Ever

[0isez]

I've seen a lot of Derek Trucks (hope the spellings right). Two times live; once with Clapton and once with the Allman Bros. as well as on albums and TV shows. Derek is considered among the very best today. But to my ears, Duane Allman is in a catagory of one. He's the Beethovan of the slide and I have yet to hear his equal. Does anybody else recognize this, or am I just sentimental?

[The Last Rebel]

Duane Allman was an incredible slide player and I love him to death, but I have a hard time saying he's the best. There are so many slide players that I love I'd have a hard time picking the best. I've got a five way tie between Duane Allman, Derek Trucks, Sonny Landreth, Warren Haynes, and Lowell George.

[6ringing]

It might be more accurate to say he was the Charlie Christian of slide. Others have taken it further, but it would not exist today as it does if not for Duane.

[Dickie Fredericks]

um yes... Duane. Been plenty of other greats though.

[slider313]

Well, he's my favorite. There are more technical players out there today but his emotion, touch, tone and phrasing are tops with me.

[0isez]

Thanks, Slider that's it. There was a raw kinda alive conversational thing going on in his playing. It was not a mechanical finger exercise.

[bsteff666]

I agree completely. Duane is number one for me.

I always hear Derek Trucks getting rave reviews & heaps of praise.
Honestly...I have nothing against Derek...I really want to like his playing...but for some reason...it always falls short for me & I'm not quite sure why.

[Pedro58]

You could build the argument easily... but not everyone would agree. He is my favorite due to phrasing and touch and tone. He just kills me. Trucks is a close second for me, and at times is Duane's equal in the aforementioned qualities. Also, Trucks has already recorded more slide than Duane and in a greater variety as far as genre and song structure goes. Still, I wish Duane had lived longer and recorded more!

[rwe333]

Duane is a high-water mark, mos def. Towering figure. The Hendrix of the slide perhaps...
But there are many doing incredible things post-Duane, all respectful of DA's legacy: Kevin Breit, Harry Manx, Sonny Landreth, Derek Trucks, Lowell George, David Lindley, Ry Cooder, post-Beatles George Harrison, Warren Haynes...

[0isez]

...Also, Trucks has already recorded more slide than Duane and in a greater variety as far as genre and song structure goes. Still, I wish Duane had lived longer and recorded more![/QUOTE]

Duane recorded an album with the late jazz great Herbie Mann (Memphis Underground) before he passed on. Duane was starting to explore new stuff before his passing. Would have been intersting for sure!

[jawjatek]

I love Duane, Ry, & Sonny. IMO Earl Hooker was the best slide player, ever. :D

[Austinrocks]

man a dozen post and no videos

here is one of the greatest guitar players in action on slide


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQsAxHk54x4

[BadCat]

I like Ry better, too.

[HiddenCharms]

When some of the great blues/rock pioneers like Allman, Clapton, and Hendrix are mentioned, people always remark that others have taken it farther. I would have to agree. But it begs the question -Is farther always better?

[johnzias]

In terms of pure soul - without peer, IMO.

[Jazzydave]

In the sense of what he was doing at the time and the impact he's had on that style - yes, by far.

Its kind of like Hendrix - he set that style up and haas continued to inspire guitarists all over the world. I know that when I started getting into slide, Duane was the first spirit I called up!

As for Derek, I absolutely love his playing and style - especially on his last two albums. Up until then, I felt he was still finding himself and justifiably so. I'd like to hear him playin gmore with Susan and Doyle Bramhall II. We used their song Our Love at our wedding a few months ago!

Like all great guitar heroes...it would be amazing to know what he could have emerged into...

[JohnK24]

Sorry...Derek Trucks is the king of slide electric...a total master, very much in the way Jerry Douglas is the king of dobro...those two are in another world compared to the "rest" of the crowd.....imho

[Bo Faulkner]

IMO Derek has taken what Duane left and carried it to the next level.. Sonny is up there too..

[Steve Foley]

Might as well throw Jerry Douglas, from Alison Krauss and the Union Station into the mix, as well.... a different style of slide, but definitely up there in the top of my favorites.

[monstermike]

I'm more of a Robert Nighthawk and George Harrison man, myself, but Duane was fantastic. Derek pushes the boundaries a little more relentlessly, and often brilliantly, but Duane's blues and R&B roots kept him grounded in the song even on his most genius flights of fancy.

I don't know, though - how can you really pick a "best" in a world with both Muddy Waters and Leon McAuliffe?

[Bankston]

Duane was awesome no doubt, but I don't agree that he was in a league of his own. Ry Cooder is in that same league. In fact, seeing Ry play is what inspired Duane to pick up the slide.

One guy who never gets mentioned among the great slide players but deserves to be included is Billy Gibbons.

[jtm622]

Gotta throw Leroy Parnell's name in there... that guy's smooth as silk - to me, he sounds like David Linley playing slide on a Strat.

[Stew]

Others have taken it further, but it would not exist today as it does if not for Duane.

Change that to Elmore James and I would agree with you. Duane probably would too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNBk1faWI-k

[Mark EL]

Johnny Winter and Muddy Waters deserve somewhat of a mention, dontcha think?

[wpod]

Well there is best and there is favorite...in my humble view Duane is my favorite!

[R Morrow]

Hooker was the best (IMO), but I love Landreth, Allman, and Winter.

[Catoogie]

Ry Cooder

[Tallhorses]

Duane was an original... an amazing player and songwriter. Live at the Filmore East is one of the greatest live albums of our time. I wish I could have watched Duane live. I've seen Derek live a bunch. My fav was a small club in CT (under 200 people). He was playing his SG through the Super Reverb and it was the best live tone I'd ever heard. In fact it was one of the best live shows I've seen period! Watching him makes me want to play slide.

Here's how I see it... Duane is an original... Derek is to Duane as Stevie Ray was to Jimi! Take it one step further... Guys like Mayer are the next generation, Mayer is to SRV as SRV was to Jimi.

Guys like Duane and Jimi grew up listening to Elvis, the Beatles, Robert Johnson, Elmore James, BB King maybe. They took that and created their own genre and music. Their music still stands today as a standard that people aspire to. Guys like Derek, Mayer even SRV had the advantage of listing to Hendrix, Clapton, Duane. I’d argue that they've really created nothing that new. It's an evolution in playing and style... DT mixes elements of jazz and world into some of his stuff which is cool. It doesn't mean they're not great players. They're taking it to the next step. The next step doesn't necessarily mean better either.

[bobotwt]

I cant believe no mention of Jack Pearson yet. Unreal slide player. I used to love Warren and I still think he's a great player, but IMO Derek and Jack both leave him behind in slide. I also agree with the comments that Derek took what Duane did and expanded it.

Josh

[ken budd]

I have to throw Jeff Beck in there.

[Jim Jones]

Change that to Elmore James and I would agree with you. Duane probably would too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNBk1faWI-k

Elmore would be my favourite even if he had no hands - THAT VOICE, OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

Jim

[jiml]

It might be more accurate to say he was the Charlie Christian of slide. Others have taken it further, but it would not exist today as it does if not for Duane.

+1 could not a gree more.

I love Duane too, but Trucks does some amazing stuff, and David Lindley is TONS more melodic than Duane....

[0isez]

+1 could not a gree more.

I love Duane too, but Trucks does some amazing stuff, and David Lindley is TONS more melodic than Duane....
Duane was a blues player and rarely played anything else, so it's unknown how melodic he would have been if given the pallatte Lindley had to work with (pallette? is that right?). Anyway, that's my two centavos...

[jiml]

Duane was a blues player and rarely played anything else, so it's unknown how melodic he would have been if given the pallatte Lindley had to work with (pallette? is that right?). Anyway, that's my two centavos...

True, although the coda to Layla hinted at what Duane could do outside of the classic open E stuff he did with the Allmans.

[KazJY]

It might be more accurate to say he was the Charlie Christian of slide. Others have taken it further, but it would not exist today as it does if not for Duane.

+1 I agree with this. He was ahead of his time, but is still as tasty as ever.

[booch]

Mick Taylor is right up there too

[Bongo Jonny]

...Also, Trucks has already recorded more slide than Duane and in a greater variety as far as genre and song structure goes. Still, I wish Duane had lived longer and recorded more!

Duane recorded an album with the late jazz great Herbie Mann (Memphis Underground) before he passed on. Duane was starting to explore new stuff before his passing. Would have been intersting for sure!

I have to jump in here...
The album w/ Duane was Push Push.

[0isez]

I have to jump in here...
The album w/ Duane was Push Push.
Yep. Thanks, that's the one!

[drgonzoguitar]

It might be more accurate to say he was the Charlie Christian of slide. Others have taken it further, but it would not exist today as it does if not for Duane.
:agree

[Catoogie]

Duane was a blues player and rarely played anything else, so it's unknown how melodic he would have been if given the pallatte Lindley had to work with (pallette? is that right?). Anyway, that's my two centavos...

Mmmmmmmmm, not sure about that......Dickey and Duane played LOTS of melodic, non-typical blues stuff. And Lindley smokes him in my opinion. It's ALWAYS about the melody!

[0isez]

Mmmmmmmmm, not sure about that......Dickey and Duane played LOTS of melodic, non-typical blues stuff. And Lindley smokes him in my opinion. It's ALWAYS about the melody!

I am going to have to listen to more of Lindley. Any suggestions?

[hudpucker]

Duane the BEST ever?


Not IMO. Besides, there ain't no "best."

I'll take Sonny, Ry or Lindley any day over Duane.

[guitbeef]

Duane the BEST ever?


Not IMO. Besides, there ain't no "best."

I'll take Sonny, Ry or Lindley any day over Duane.

+1, and I'd add Jack Pearson (my fave) to that list.

But no disrespect to Duane at all. He of course WAS the cloth that many others that are "better" are cut from. The beauty of Duane is that he's similar to Mozart in that if someone had never heard that style of slide/ classical music from that period you could point them to Duane/ Mozart and the listener would get everything they need to understand from that one guy alone. And to me that's what makes Duane timeless, legendary, historically important and valid to this day.

[rhp52]

Jack Pearson for me. Nobody mentioned Rick Vito, another accomplished player.

But Jack's got it all....Whereas most of the players mentioned earlier are great in their own right, some better than others, Pearson eclipses all of them. He's got more tools to work with.

[Scott Auld]

For blues slide, yep it's Duane. IMHO.

Love the guys who are doing it today, though, like Sonny Landreth & Derek Trucks... they are not strictly blues players & do things with a slide that Duane could only have dreamed of.

As always, music moves forwards.

[Tuberoast]

How about Dave Hole?

[SkydogFan81]

They are lots of great slide players, but Duane is head and shoulders above everyone for me.

[KBR]

I like Duane & Elmo (James)
Robert Nighthawk also is awesome.


DT is, too. But those 3 are My faves, no question.

[hasserl]

Johnny Winter and Muddy Waters deserve somewhat of a mention, dontcha think?

+! Big time!!!

You can't talk "Best" without JW being in the group, at least in my book.

I would pick Duanne as my all time favorite though, other's may also be great, but none cop the same combination of tone, feel, & note selection (all the "right" notes, no extras and none left behind).

Derek is great, love the guy, but he does that thing where he runs the slide about half way down the neck before landing on the note he wants. It's a cool effect, but he does it over & over again to where it becomes annoying to me. Listen to most any of his solo's, he does it repeatedly. It reminds me of a speaker that says "ahhhh' every few seconds or so, while he's reaching for the right words to say. After awhile it starts to detract from the message, and I think Derek is guilty of that to a degree. He used to worse about it, seems to be getting away from it, but I still see him doing it.

[skydawg]

It might be more accurate to say he was the Charlie Christian of slide. Others have taken it further, but it would not exist today as it does if not for Duane.what he said:munch

[rah3]

Love Duane and the other mentioned, they all have contributed to electric slide.

WHY no mention of Johnny Winter? "The ultimate white blues guitarist" as the promoters would refer to him as.

One of wildest slide players out there.

-RAH3

[HHB]

LOL, I know some rednecks who think Duane and Derek are the same person so to speak

[Mattbedrock]

It all starts with Duane for me. Pretty much ends there to.

[KBR]

Y'all need to go back to Elmore James, Duane got a lot from Elmo.

[mignano]

Jack Pearson and Dave Hole are at the top of the list, but don't get as much recognition as the other slide greats

[mignano]

its also worth mentioning that BB King's favorite slide player ever is Bonnie Raitt.. that says something for sure.

[Red Suede]

David Lindley, Johnny Winter, Warren Haynes, and Billy Gibbons for me.

[shane88]

Ry Cooder is the best I've seen.
+ 73 ........ didn't elmore james play slide? er sorry KBR already said it :)

[BadAssBill]

Put me in the Derek camp. His playing is unique, melodic, yet can sound like a nest of hornets when it needs too.

[FREELESSONSNOW]

What about Sonny Landreth? I think he is the best there is today. I love Duane too but I think Sonny could give Duane and all of us a few lessons on playing behind the slide. He has taken slide playing to a new level. Another great slide player is Arlen Roth. Gotta love Johnny Winter too.

[khromagi]

he never was "the best", no one is "the best", just appreciate listening if you like it.

[bluesbreaker59]

If it weren't for Elmore James there would not be a Duane Allman, nor many other slide players.

I'd say Elmore definitely invented his licks. Going back and listening to "the old dead black guys" is truly a great thing for slide playing. Really it comes back to 2 different schools for slide:

1. Son House and his disciples - all the Open G stuff (Muddy was a Son House follower as was Robert Johnson)
2. Elmore James and his disciples - all the Open D stuff

Chances are if you play slide you're recycling licks from one of the 2 of these schools of thought.

My favorite slide players are:

1. Bo Ramsey - incredible stuff for Lucinda Williams, Greg Brown, Pieta Brown, David Zollo, himself, etc.
2. Hound Dog Taylor
3. Elmore James
4. Muddy Waters
5. Duane Allman
6. Ry Cooder
7. Johnny Winter

[Crazyquilt]

Duane "the best"? Maybe the best electric slide guitarist playing in open E in a blues/rock setting, but, um...

First of all, to quote a mediocre but still correct movie, "Muddy Waters invented electricity."

Second: Tampa Red, Son House, Robert Johnson, Bob Brozman, Debashish Bhattacharya, V. M. Bhatt, Elmore James, Jack Rose, Derek Trucks, Cooder, Jerry Douglas....etc., etc. etc. All these guys do stuff that, imo, Allman couldn't touch and, for the most part, didn't even try.

I don't mean any disrespect whatsoever, nor do I mean to take away from Allman's unquestioned talent and effect. But saying Duane Allman is or was the best slide player ever is, again, imo, disrespectful (or at least ignorant) of the many possibilities presented by slide guitar that don't fit inside the comparatively narrow confines within which the ABB operate. If you don't like or have any interest in those other styles, that's fair enough. And saying "[X] is my favorite [Y]" is an unassailable position; we like what we like -- end of story.

But "the best slide ever"? Nope. Sorry. That is simply, objectively, an untenable assertion -- at the very least -- until you define your terms.

[Julia343]

I like Bonnie Raitt.

[Cue Dog]

What about Sonny Landreth? I think he is the best there is today. I love Duane too but I think Sonny could give Duane and all of us a few lessons on playing behind the slide. He has taken slide playing to a new level. Another great slide player is Arlen Roth. Gotta love Johnny Winter too.

I agree - Mr. Landreth is the best slide player alive in my opinion (and maybe not alive as well!) I guess 'best' is pretty subjective, but I feel confident in saying that he is at least the most unique and interesting. I think Duane and Derek are great, but they are (or were) doing one thing, while Sonny is doing quite another....

[aquadog]

I love them all for different reasons, no point in picking favorites.

This has been one of my favorites for a while though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-XeHmrNSoc

[zombywoof]

Saw Duane with the ABB and loved him but the best? Think ya gotta look at guys like Blind Willie Johnson and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Willing to betcha Duane just might agree.

[mattwasserman]

Few people played with as much fire and soul as Duane, he was a hell of a player. Fillmore East is probably my favorite guitar album and there is some gut wrenching slide playing on there. His solo on Layla is also unbelievable, very intense and to the point.
I think there are plenty of people that have more technical ability when it comes to slide (Trucks, Landreth), but I haven't heard anyone play with more heart than Duane.

[diego]

Five pages talking about slide guitar and no mention of Dave Tronzo? WOW! A complete monster.

[59flo]

I always hear Derek Trucks getting rave reviews & heaps of praise.
Honestly...I have nothing against Derek...I really want to like his playing...but for some reason...it always falls short for me & I'm not quite sure why.[/QUOTE]
++1

[harvestmark]

Derek is the best I've heard. I had always held Duane Allman as the gold standard, until I heard Derek. And he's gotten better as time goes on.

Mark Miller

[thewhit]

Best.......hard to say because all mentioned so far have been great contributors. What I like about Duane's playing is the great mid-rangy tones he was able to pull out of his Lester. It's like getting behind the wheel of a fine car loaded with american horsepower. The anticipation when Duane started moving his slide was like being in idle and you knew the throttle was about to go down.

I never liked trebley slide playing which to me sounds it sounds like a cat trying to scratch it's way out of a metal garbage can. i appreciate the pioneers but I like the evolution of slide playing...........Sonny through his Dumble......now that's just fine with me. Johnny Winter with Muddy Waters, I'm a big fan.

[harmonicator]

I want to toss in a vote for Warren. Nobody gets that molasses-thick tone and money phrasing like him. Derek is killer with his pedal-steel vocal inflections, but I honestly think he overplays a bit. Landreth is also accomplished but a bit mechanical sounding to me.

[steelers88]

Of the guys around today I really like Luther Dickison, he just has that swampy
soul thing going that I find missing in so many more accomplished slide artist.
Also agree though not actually a slide player Jeff Beck (like with almost everything he does) takes bottleneck someplace so totally original and creative.

[Franklin]

I love them all, but Duane is probably the best if I was forced to decide. Anyone mention Lowell?

Derek, Ry, Sonny, etc are all innovative for sure, but Duane's passion is hard to match let alone beat!

[Guitar Dave T]

I've seen a lot of Derek Trucks (hope the spellings right). Two times live; once with Clapton and once with the Allman Bros. as well as on albums and TV shows. Derek is considered among the very best today. But to my ears, Duane Allman is in a catagory of one. He's the Beethovan of the slide and I have yet to hear his equal. Does anybody else recognize this, or am I just sentimental?

Don't get me wrong; I'm like the biggest Duane Allman Fan ever. In 1978 when Corcedin (sp?) started the switch from glass bottles to plastic to comply with with child safety laws, I went to Ekerd Drug store on North Street in Nacogdoches, Tx and bought every glass bottle in stock, about 2 dozen of 'em. I've still got one left that hasn't been broken or lost. My slide style is heavily copped from Duane's.

But I just don't buy the "best" thing. The reason is simple: It's never an apples-to-apples comparison. Everyone has their own, sometimes diverse approach. Sonny Landredth kicks ass with a strong, almost coonass flavor (Lowsy-anna influence?); Derek Trucks has a stronger Miles and Coltrane flavor; And Lowell George had an incredibly steel-singing-yet-sweet & yearning flavor that complimented his yearning vocal style. There's a Japanese guy that comes over to the states and sits in at a soul & blues jam we have here at Nate's Seafood in Dallas (strong New-Awlins flavor crowd in North Texas) who can cover a lot of different slide style, all good.

I just love good slide, and it seems there are some wonderfull practitioners of the art out there, all good.

[TommyMambo]

I love Duane, Ry, & Sonny. IMO Earl Hooker was the best slide player, ever. :D

Word!

[guitgator]

I'm partial to Lowell but Duane's tone was a trend setter.I think my fav slide tone on record is Lowell's on Two Trains from the Dixie Chicken album. Ed King ain't no slacker as a slide player either......and the Rev needs mention IMO.

[Steve Foley]

Hmmmm .....


I like pretty much all of the ones mentioned. I can't play slide worth a doggoned, myself, so I have a lot of respect for a slide player who's able to play skillfully, and add their own personality into it.

It's not a "who's best/who's worse" issue, with me - just who do I enjoy listening to, today, and who do I like tomorrow...... so far, I like pretty much all the artists whose names were thrown into the ring...

[JSeth]

Got to see Duane at the Whiskey A Go Go in 1971... the band just played their asses off, and to no one 'cept me and my two buddies!!!! (second set on a wednesday night!). He was truly amazing, really just "into" every tune and listening for what he could do with it... absolutely one of a kind. Hard to say what he may have done, if...

Ry Cooder has a wonderful style and i love it... and Lowell George was another amazing slide player...

Everyone else is just another take on the real deal, IMHO...

btw, I love Howlin' Wolf and Elmore James - and Bukka White, too... wish they'd have lived in an era where recording was decent...

[Soundhound]

My favorite slide players today are Sonny Landreth and Derek Trucks. They are both monsters, each in their own way. Derek has a jazz player's vocabulary and an unequaled talent for playing melodically and dramatically. Same for Sonny, along with the scariest technique on the planet. I've always loved Lindley, but haven't listened to him much the last decade or so, he's amazing though, gorgeous player.

Mick Taylor's slide always killed me, and Jack Pearson can sit on a bare stage with a Les Paul and an little epiphone amp (okay, and a stomp box) and play slide as beautifully as you've ever heard it.

Lowell George was the most exciting slide player I ever saw play live. I saw him in small clubs, and then later in the the bigger halls when the Feats hit the big time. That guy was as musical, as soulful as it gets.

I never saw Duane play, but I've spent a lifetime learning from him (and from Dickey as well). Whoever said earlier in this thread that he was the Charlie Christian of electric slide put it beautifully, I think that's right on the mark.

You can't argue who was/is better, that's a matter of personal taste. But you can have a productive discussion about who's more influential, who changed the music more. Duane lived in a time when things were ripe for change, an incredibly creative time. But here's the kicker, when Duane died, he had been playing slide for 2 years. 2 years. Think about that. The guy was a f*cking genius.

[philipag]

For me, Duane was and is the heavyweight champ of electric slide. Best is a funny word - don't like it much - music is an interactive experience and we don't all hear the same, so who's to say what's best? I know Duane's playing MOVES me more than anybody else's, so that's good enough for me.

I wouldn't put acoustic bottleneck and lap steel in the same catagory as electric slide guitar anymore than I'd compare pedal steel players to electric slide - it's a different trip.

Duane played some beautiful melodic slide on Mountain Jam, Layla and Dreams - he wasn't just great at blues/rock.

As Soundhound put it succinctly - the guy was an effing genius!! 2 years? Amazing.

[bunuel]

Fred McDowell beat all in my book. Many pop rock listeners have never heard of him, but that's fixable. You might discount my op., but B. Raitt & K. Richards & many slide monsters are big fans of his delta insanity. His worst day trumped DA's best in my book.

[philipag]

I was lucky enough to have studied slide for a while with Honest Tom Pomposello, who was Mississippi Fred McDowell's bass player for a while and learend slide from Fred. Tom taught me "You've Got To Move" like Fred played it. Great memories.

I don't compare FM and DA because they're from different eras, really. Fred was the old school blues player and slide was mainly used to accompany and augment the vocal - while Duane was a modern player playing lead guitar with a slide. To me it's like comparing Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis. Or maybe Lester Young to Coltrane.

Or maybe I'm thinking too much! It's all damn good music!

[xmentalpilot]

Duane is a high-water mark, mos def. Towering figure. The Hendrix of the slide perhaps...
But there are many doing incredible things post-Duane, all respectful of DA's legacy: Kevin Breit, Harry Manx, Sonny Landreth, Derek Trucks, Lowell George, David Lindley, Ry Cooder, post-Beatles George Harrison, Warren Haynes...

+1, I agree DA was good and inspired a lot of folks.

[dohootowl]

There is no "best" in anything as far as guitar players go. All the greats have their own special traits that set them apart. I'm sitting here watching and listening to a Derek Trucks concert on HDNET and it blows me away! Right now he's bringing the Delta to India or vice versa! Amazing! And Sonny Landreth--fingering behind the slide? Whoa. Lowell going up past the end of the fretboard to sear the notes into your brain. How about Beck tapping the slide on the strings above the pickups? Then the soul of Duane--unmistakable sweetness and fire. And then there's Jerry Douglas, merging Appalachia with everything else under the sun. It's ALL good. Errr....GREAT!

[Oasis.Guitar]

Both great...neither is best...Besides it's not a competition.