Dez's Rock & Roll Cage Match, vol. 1: The Greatest Jam Band of Them All?

As you can tell, I love ranking and comparing things. For the sake of full disclosure, I got this idea from a book I saw in the book store the other day. In Rock and Roll Cage Match, different writers each take a chapter and put two rock artists or things head to head to see who comes out on top. Van Halen vs. Van Hagar, Britney vs. Christina, Smiths vs. Cure, Devo vs. Kraftwerk, the album vs. the single (in graphic novel form), etc. Fun concept, and as you might expect, the quality of the chapters vary based on the skill and take (and writing style) of each writer. So, I figured I'd throw a few of my own out there from time to time.

I've always been a big Allman Brothers Band fan, but recently (and I have no idea why), I've been listening to a shitload of the Grateful Dead. I mean, exculsively, for weeks. Entire shows from the Dick's Picks vaults, as well as their admittedly spotty studio records. Which got me thinking, who is the ultimate jam band out of the two grand daddy rock jam bands of all time?

The Grateful Dead vs. The Allman Brothers Band



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1. Roots
Both bands pull from a wealth of American musical traditions for their inspiration. Jerry Garcia was an accomplished bluegrass player before The Dead even formed, while Duane Allman played guitar as a studio musician on records for Aretha Franklin and many other soul luminaries before the Brothers got together. Listening to The Grateful Dead throughout their career, they pull liberally from bluegrass, country, 50's rock, blues, psychedelia, and avante-garde noise (listen to live sets from the late 60's, especially, and you will find they were much more experimental than you might think). The Allmans pull from three main sources. Blues (and soul), country and jazz (Duane Allman stated that he listened to John Coltrane's music religiously, and it clearly influenced his guitar flights of fancy). The Dead seem to pull from a wider range of musical styles to create their musical stew.
ADVANTAGE: Dead

2. Beginnings
The Dead were The Warlocks early on. The Allmans were called The Allman Joys. While I do not have any recordings of the Warlock days, I do have some Allman Joy recordings, and they kicked ass even then. Plus, love the name.
ADVANTAGE: Allmans

3. Studio recordings
This is tough. Both have some acknowledged classics, underrated gems, and truly terrible records. The Dead have two real masterpieces in Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, while Mars Hotel is underrated, and they have some scattered great songs throughout mediocre to bad records. The Dead made no secret about hating the studio. The Allman's first two records, Allman Brothers Band and Idlewild South, are greatness. The studio half of Eat a Peach is brilliant, and Brothers and Sisters is solid to great. Everything else is spotty, with great songs scattered amongst filler.
ADVANTAGE: Allmans

4. Vocals
The Dead are charming with their ramshackle vocal styles. You really get used to Garcia's warm and inviting singing, while Bob Weir and Phil Lesh show every American that given the right circumstances, anyone can do this. On the Allman side of things, Dickey Betts is an excellent singer on their country-influenced material. Gregg Allman is one of the most soulful and powerful white singers we've ever had in rock. This one is easy.
ADVANTAGE: Allmans

5. Guitars
As with most jam bands, these two really lean on their guitarists. Whereas the Dead have clear roles of lead (Garcia) and rhythm (Weir), the Allmans have always used a double lead attack. Weir is serviceable, but Garcia was truly great and eclectic in his playing. One of the more underrated guitar heroes out there, Jerry Garcia had an identifiable style (a beautiful combination of speed, grace and fluidity), and he could throw that style comfortably in bluegrass chestnuts or 30 minute psychedelic ramblings. It was always identifiable as Garcia, yet he could be flexible enough to play many genres. As good as Garica was, Duane Allman was one of three of the greatest rock guitarists who ever lived (with Hendrix and Jeff Beck). An improviser on par with Coltrane or Miles Davis. Dickey Betts would be worshipped a lot more than he is if he did not have to play in Duane's shadow. He is brilliant as well. After Duane's death, the ABB were always careful to pair Betts with only top-notch co-lead players, like Warren Haynes and wunderkind Derek Trucks. They recently booted Betts (a ridiculous and offensive thing to do), but do have a formiddable line-up of Haynes and Trucks on guitar now. (Funny that Haynes also fills Garcia's shoes when the Dead get together for shows now).
ADVANTAGE: Allmans


ABOVE: Jerry Garcia is an underrated guitar great, but he's no Duane Allman.

6. The Bottom (bass)
The Dead's Phil Lesh is really underrated. Lesh is essentially a second lead improviser with Garcia on many Dead jams, and he is crucial to their jam magic. Original Allman bassist Berry Oakley was muscular and fluid, laying down a complex rhythmic bottom for Allman and Betts to stay tethered to as they soloed. After Oakley's death, the Allmans hired talented but unremarkable bassists.
ADVANTAGE: Dead

7. Other musicians
Both bands use interesting two drummer set-ups. None remarkably talented, though. If I had to pick the best out of the Dead's two drummers and the Allman's two stickmen, I guess I go with The Dead's Bill Kreutzmann. On the keys, neither really hired people that blow you away. Allman's organ playing is there to basically give Gregg something to do while the others solo for 45 minutes at a time. The Dead's Pigpen, Godcheaux, Mydland...all those guys were good but not stellar.
ADVANTAGE: Dead

8. Live records
This is where the jams are captured. The Dead have released a wealth of live shows for consumption. There are probably over 70 Grateful Dead live shows (from the late 60's to the late 80's) available for purchase. Naturally, they vary widely in quality. The Dead were the first band to welcome bootleggers to their shows (even reserving a special seating section for them to get the best sound recordings). The Allmans have released a decent number of live records, one of which, At the Fillmore East, may be the greatest live rock record ever released. I've got to give this to The Dead (barely) for creating such a unique live culture.
ADVANTAGE: The Dead

9. Fans
While the Allmans do have incredibly loyal fans, nothing in rock history compares to the subculture, extended family developed by The Deadheads. This is easy.
ADVANTAGE: The Dead

10. The Jams
This is what it's all really about, right? How do the actual jams compare? The Dead's quality varies widely, from sloppy or boring noodling to sublime and mesmerizing communication between the musicians. The Allmans can be boring at times, but never bad. And the mesmerizing communication is there at the best of times as well. I keep going back to what The Allmans do with Donovan's "There is a Mountain." This was a silly 3 minute pop tune, and the Allmans take the song and turn it into a 30 minute bohemoth jam with strength and intricate twists and turns ("Mountain Jam" on Eat a Peach.) So, I've got to take both bands at their peaks and compare there. The Allmans peaks are higher.
ADVANTAGE: Allmans

Winner: It is 5 to 5 (I did not plan it that way, I swear). The tiebreaker has to go with the Jams, since that is what this is all about. The Allman Brothers Band are the greatest jam band ever, but barely.


ABOVE: The greatest line-up of the greatest jam band ever, The Allman Brothers Band