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Berry Oakley: Why Doesn't He Get More Respect
- Thread starter martinmcfly
- Start date
Is this some kind of twisted joke???
Greg is playing a Strat... who is that on the keys??
I agree with this comment....I think ABB are no longer main stream and have an older fan base..
Berry Oakley is one of the greats..what about his replacement Lamar Williams...I very rarely see his name mentioned
Is this some kind of twisted joke???
Greg is playing a Strat... who is that on the keys??
This was after Duane's death and before Berry's death.
Chuck Leavell was brought in to play electric piano, and Gregg did play some guitar (he actually played guitar before Duane did).
Gregg Allman is a very good guitar player.
Chuck Leavell has been playing keyboards with the Rolling Stones
for like the past 30 years.
Chuck Leavell has been playing keyboards with the Rolling Stones
for like the past 30 years.
When I first heard about the Allman Brothers, they hadn't really even become the Allman Brothers Band. They were known as the Hour Glass. Even then, though, what they were doing was great music. It's kind of a downer that the ABB aren't in the mainstream anymore, but time marches on.
Berry, definately an influence for me and a great groove guy. One of the milestone bassists though ? Not in my book. He was not Jamerson, Dunn, Macca, Porter jr, Harvey Brooks, etc. What he was was really damned good, in a really damned good band. That he went too young goes without saying. What he could have become ? Now that is tragic. He had the potential for sure...
i love berry....the album Live at Filmore Berry doesn't misplace one note, he is like a machine and he doesn't make any mistakes, holds the groove tight with the organ
Except where he comes in about a half-count late after the solo. He catches up quite well, tho. Most of the time I play "One Way Out", I'll also come in late out of respect. Unfortunately, most of my band mates don't get it and they get hosed up while I continue to drive thru it.
One of these days, they'll listen to the record. And yes I have it on vinyl.
dcr
I think he isn't thought of much because he was a very good bass player in an incredible band, with an incredible band sound, and incredible songs, rather than an incredible bass player in an ok band, etc. Further, he was overshadowed by the guitarists and 2-drummer thing etc.
As to his bass playing, he was much better than most and always under-rated overall. If you actually listen to him you can hear jazz, a chordal approach, a bit of counter-melody or even contrapuntal stuff to a point, and of course scale stuff that is more sophisticated than most bother trying to lay down or even attempt.
All of that in the context was very good indeed and almost no one today takes notice or cares. Bass players know, but few others. Kinda like Phil Lesh in that way.
As to his bass playing, he was much better than most and always under-rated overall. If you actually listen to him you can hear jazz, a chordal approach, a bit of counter-melody or even contrapuntal stuff to a point, and of course scale stuff that is more sophisticated than most bother trying to lay down or even attempt.
All of that in the context was very good indeed and almost no one today takes notice or cares. Bass players know, but few others. Kinda like Phil Lesh in that way.
It's interesting how some dead rock stars become icons while others are, sadly, almost forgotten. Brian Jones comes to mind. It's probably to do with the fact that they weren't lead singers or guitar gods.
Berry was such a great bass player in an amazing band.....I think the interplay between him and Duane were the best I've ever heard.
Berry was the center of the band, with everything swirling around him. His written lines were so inventive and of course his improvisation skills were ridiculous. Musicians and especially bass players have not forgotten him, and Allman Bros. fans who are not musicians as well. I play bass in an Allman Bros. tribute band. Link Removed
I also love fusion and Weather Report have always done it for me. All four bassists that were in that band were and are amazing.
I also love fusion and Weather Report have always done it for me. All four bassists that were in that band were and are amazing.
For younger players listening to the ABB will give you a sense of them, but if you had been around to see them live you would understand completely what some of us older players get. In a lot of ways they were a jam band and a tune you recognize on a record, in concert would have been performed way different quite often. They had the ability to take off with a tune and flow with it. Having been in the south while they were around I saw them dozens of times and remember very well the songs being so different from concert to concert. Look up "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" for example and you can find a whole lot of different versions of it. Learning that song on the bass, get the essentials, but I found Berry playing his parts different so often when I first learned it, that I gave up on a note for note learning after a while. He was very good at adapting to the moment.
