Don’t get me rambling about Drive-By Truckers. They’re one of my favorite bands, and if I’ve had a beer or two and they come up, you might be in for an excruciating tangent about how, as good as their records are, the triple live album It’s Great to Be Alive! is really what best captures the spirit and power of the band, and how… Ah, see, there I go.
I bring this up because the Truckers’ two leaders, singer/songwriter/guitarists Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, happen to be my favorite guitar duo of all time. The vivid stories they tell of the South – of rotten politicians, dirtbag romances, gut-wrenching tragedies, and larger-than-life figures from the history books – wouldn’t be what they are without Hood and Cooley’s glorious call-and-response playing.
Cooley has an answer for all of Hood’s barreling rhythm work – swaggering fills, sneering solos, sweet or nasty phrases. And never mind when they were fully a guitar trio, augmented by the great Jason Isbell.
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Anyway, I wouldn’t call them the best guitar duo of all time, that’s not for me to say, but they’re my personal favorite.
You, however, can say what the best guitar duo of all time is. In fact, we’d like you to tell us who you feel should wear that crown. And yes, you can name a trio if you’re partial to, say, Skynyrd.
Who had the greatest chemistry? Who pushed each other to the greatest heights? Who best knew how to serve the song together? Let us know in the comments below.
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