For my own part, I think they've got a damn good case, encompassing as they do the full gamut of rock and roll from its country and blues origins, then forging through the extremities of psychedelia right through to better-than-CSNY country harmonics to state-of-the-art-better-than-anyone-else AOR. Okay, they never pinned you to the wall like prime Stooges or MC5, but overall which Yank band gave as much value for money and fun per cent as the Dead?