I had read somewhere on the interwebs that Les was the man man who played the guitar solo along with Dickie Betts on the song Rambling Man. Not long after reading this I found a couple of his solo albums in a used vinyl store and picked them up for a couple of bucks each. I’ve been a fan ever since. The first LP I got was Ghost Town Parade. If you’re a fan of 70s guitar rock, give it listen.
His s/t debut was one of my favourite albums of the seventies.....and I still listen to it regularly. Les is someone clearly in need of a career-spanning compilation. If you read all of the Allman Brothers books it seems that Dudek ostracized himself from that community by claiming a lot of the credit for `Ramblin' Man' and `Jessica'.
An artist I hadn't thought about in years. I played both his s/t lp with the parrot sitting on his guitar's headstock and "Say No More". I remember that I really liked them both back in the day. Hadn't thought about him in quite some time. Thanks for reminding me about him. I'll put em' back in rotation to see how they've held up.
Funnily enough, Rock Candy Records have just re-released the Black Rose album with Les & Cher. Looking forward to that. I know him as a reliable session man. Haven't heard any of his solo records.
This album I had gotten originally when released but I sold all my vinyl back in 1986 and this album had been lost in time to me. I'm going to see if I can check it out on Tidal to see if it would interest me again all these years later. Les Dudek – Les Dudek Genre: Rock Style: Blues Rock, Southern Rock Year: 1976
I had the first 3 albums on vinyl (now long gone) and then got them on CD. I'll have to dig them out. Obviously I liked them enough to buy them twice but it has been a long time since I played any of them. I am going to dig them out and see if they are still as good as I recall. Thanks to the OP for the memory refresh.
I really dig his 1st album and "Ghost Town Parade". The DFK album never did much for me. I might have to revisit "Say No More" soon.
He claimed he helped write a part of Jessica…the part in "Jessica" from when it modulated into G then eventually back to A. See Alan Paul’s book.
I have Les Dudek's first two albums (S/T and Say No More) on vinyl and Say No More on CD. Enjoyed both albums back in the day. I'll have to give the Say No More CD a spin today.
I got the feeling that the issue was more that they felt that he had inserted himself too readily into Duane Allman shoes & that the other members were not ready or able to accept that. I think he would have been ideal in the band , however, their choice to get Chuck Leavell instead was inspired. It's interesting how intertwined things were when he was later to hook up with Gregg Allmans ex wife Cher. The earlier Les Dudek albums have a strong Boz Scaggs influence, probably because Silk Degrees was getting more than plenty of airplay & attention at the time
Ghost Town Parade is my favorite but I like most of his output. I have a terrific live recording of the DFK band where they also play a lot of their solo output. Was a Radio show that showed up on the internet. Really dig his fluid soloing.
I just recently discovered his first 2 solo albums, and love both S/T and "Say No More". Was pleasantly surprised when I first heard them. He and Chuck Leavell (Sea Level) put out some of the best music as Allman Bros alumni.
On the ABB/Dudek connection: He played the other guitar part on "Ramblin Man" & the acoustic guitar on "Jessica", (& helped with the songwriting on it, as mentioned), & then was running around Macon claiming he was "in" with the band & would soon be joining them to anyone that would listen. Word quickly got back to the ABB, & they were NOT amused. They'd made it clear after Duane's death that it would be too morbid & disturbing to hire someone to teach Duane's licks to. From all I've read on his working with them, he let his ego get in the way. He'd also apparently come up with an electric guitar part on "Jessica" as well, but Dickey didn't think it worked as well as the acoustic guitar & Leavell's piano part. The whole thing is laid out in Alan Paul's oral history of the ABB, including comments from Les. He comes across as someone that seems to think little highly of himself.
The Sanford Townsend Band did Smoke from a Distant Fire. I have Say no More on CD thanks to hearing Old Judge Jones. Thanks for the post.
