AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

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Slipkid42
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AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

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In 1961, in Daytona Beach, Florida, 13 year-old Gregg Allman convinced his 14 year-old brother, Duane; to learn how to play guitar. Lucky for us, big brother took his advice. And so began the 50 year odyssey of musical triumph and tragedy that is the Allman Brothers Band.

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In 1963, Duane and Gregg formed the Escorts, a garage band that played covers. Duane dropped out of school to perfect his guitar playing.

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The Escorts evolved into the Allman Joys; combining the Southern blues and soul influences that they’d grown up hearing with the with rocking new sounds of the British Invasion bands (especially the Yardbirds). They auditioned for Bob Dylan's producer, Bob Johnston, at Columbia Records, backing a girl trio called The Sandpipers.

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From the back of the Early Allman compilation (Allman Joys - Early Allman):

"One quiet Nashville evening back in '66, songwriter John D. Loudermilk walked into a small club called the Briar Patch. Up on the bandstand was what looked like just another of the thousands of teen age rock bands of the era. When they started to play, Loudermilk could tell they weren't so typical after all. The two front men were both blond and very intense. One played a trebly, stinging slide guitar; the other sang in an anguished, world-weary voice. John D. wondered how it was that these two looked so young yet played with so much experience. Needless to say, he was very interested in the group, which called themselves the Allman Joys. Allman was the surname of the two blond brothers, Duane and Gregg, who led the band. Although he'd never produced before, Loudermilk decided to take the group into the studio and cut some sides on them.
One of the Allman Joys' sides, "Spoonful," was released locally and sold well. But Loudermilk had already decided to concentrate on song writing, so he brought the group to Buddy Killen, head of Dial Records. Killen thought the group was quite good, so he had John Hurley take them into the studio to record more tunes.
'They were really way ahead of their times, I realize now," Killen says. 'Nobody really understood what Duane and Gregg were all about at the time. Eventually I gave them their release and they went to California, leaving these tapes behind.'

Note: Loudermilk's memory is slightly inaccurate, since Duane did not learn to play slide guitar until the Hour Glass, a couple of years later.



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The Allman Joys disbanded in 1966. Duane and Gregg joined up with the remnants of the Alabama band the Five Minutes, Johnny Sandlin, Paul Hornsby & Mabron McKinney, and formed the Hour Glass. The group was booked in early 1967 into a month-long engagement in St. Louis, Missouri, where they met members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, whose manager, Bill McEuen, arranged for them a contract with Liberty Records. Moving to Los Angeles, they were soon opening for groups like The Doors and Buffalo Springfield and recording their eponymous debut album. The Hour Glass soon realized that the fledgling Liberty label wanted to use session musicians and songwriter's, running the gamut from Curtis Mayfield and Jackson Browne to Del Shannon and the Goffin-King team; instead of the relying on the bands talent alone. They tried to fight the process but won only a few concessions. The resulting album is, unsurprisingly, not really convincing and contains mainly pleasant pop/rock, the exceptions being the more electric tracks: Got To Get Away (the only Gregg original, already recorded with the Allman Joys), Jackson Browne's Cast Off All My Fears and Ed Cobb's Heartbeat. Duane Allman's guitar can be heard from time to time only.

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The album and the singles were a total commercial failure and McKinley left to be replaced by another former Five Minutes, Jesse Williard (Pete) Carr. The group then demanded artistic freedom from Liberty and Hourglass were allowed to choose its own material, and Dallas Smith remained as their producer. Released in March 1968, Power Of Love, their second album, was a vast improvement on its predecessor, being much bluesier, with seven Gregg Allman songs, a Solomon Burke song, two Eddie Hinton/Marlin Greene tracks (Down in Texas and Home For The Summer), one Penn/Oldham cover (the title track) and a really weird instrumental version of Beatles' Norwegian Wood, beginning with Duane's electric sitar before degenerating into a kind of raga rock. The sales were low once again.

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This one was written by Spooner Oldham & Dan Penn:


This one was written by Marlin Greene & Eddie Hinton:


Some early Gregg tunes:



Channeling Lennon/McCartney:


Electric sitar! Oh yeah! It wasn't enough to make Power of Love a chart topper (or even a make it to the charts). Hour Glass were then playing live a lot, being booked every month at the Whisky A Go-Go and sometimes at the Fillmore West, including three nights with Buffalo Springfield, indeed Neil Young and Steve Stills wrote the enthusiastic liner notes for Power Of Love. Hour Glass developed a strong reputation as a solid driving blues rock outfit but they were really unhappy with their records.

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Frustrated by the constraints imposed by Liberty, the band went to Rick Hall's Studio in Muscle Shoals and cut some tracks on their own in April 1968 (one of these tunes BB King Medley is included on Duane Allman Anthology).




The group returned to California with their tapes but Al Bennett at Liberty vetoed their release. After these tracks were rejected by the label, the group became dejected and broke up. Duane and Gregg went to Jacksonville, Florida where they jammed with folk-rockers The 31st of February, featuring drummer Butch Trucks. The others went to do session work in Muscle Shoals.

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Duane also did some session work in Muscle Shoals around this time (to put it mildly). We'll talk about that a bit more later; but here's one to whet your appetite.



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End of Part 1.
A thousand clusterfucks will not kill my tiny light

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by dime in the gutter »

mvp season, slpkid.

your general commentary throughout 3dd is always all-pro.....but your recent works for aotw have been exemplary. big subjects, too.

most excellent. thank you. can't wait to read.

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

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The Allman Brothers Band evolved out of jams in Jacksonville, Florida, involving Duane and members of the Second Coming (guitarist Dickey Betts, bassist Berry Oakley) and the 31st of February (drummer Butch Trucks). Another drummer, Jai Johanny Johanson (a.k.a. “Jaimoe”), was a veteran of the soul-music circuit, having played with Otis Redding and others. A magical five-hour jam among the musicians at Trucks’ house cemented the union and prompted this remark from Duane Allman: “Anybody who doesn’t want to be in my band is going to have to fight his way out the door.” Gregg was summoned back from California, where he was unhappily fulfilling a contractual obligation as a solo artist. The Allman Brothers Band were officially formed in March 1969 and signed to Phil Walden’s fledgling Capricorn label, which became the main driving force of the Southern-rock insurgence of the Seventies.

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In April of 1969, The Allman Brothers moved from Jacksonville, Florida to Macon, Georgia. They played gigs throughout the South & in November of '69 released their self-titled first album.

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Shedding the pop image that Liberty Records had tried to impose upon them, The Allman Brothers debut was a rock & blues masterpiece. It didn't sell well, except in the South (topping out at only #188 on the Billboard charts). Future concert staples 'Whipping Post' & 'Dreams' were on the album & so were some blue covers that ABB had transformed into something all their own. Lester Bangs said of the album: "... it is consistently is subtle, and honest, and moving."

Pretty good opening 1-2 punch (with a delicious segue):


You've got 16 lovely children ...


From the 1935 song Somebody's Baby Blues by Sleepy John Estes (later adapted by Muddy Waters):


I'm tired of all of your slippery ways ...


Went up on the mountain, to see what I could see ...


All for lovin' you ...


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The Allman Brothers Band gave us a glimpse of what was to come. Soulful & bluesy yet undeniably rock & roll, a fresh sound was emerging in the South. Considering how many of these songs are now Classic Rock radio staples, it is hard to believe how under the radar it was; but it was lost amid a variety of rock & pop greatness that was 1969/1970. Luckily, the band realized that they were a force to be reckoned with, and carried on.

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The band's 2nd album, Idlewild South was released in 1970. The album's title stemmed from the band's nickname for a farmhouse it rented in Georgia during the recording. Everbody always coming & going reminded them of New York City's Idlewild Airport.

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Idlewild South sold better than the debut album, bolstered by the radio play that Midnight Rider had garnered. It was a more polished album than the first one & put on full display the technical virtuosity of the Allman Brothers. Dickey Betts also emerged as a songwriting force, penning the bouncy 'Revival' & the timeless 'In Memory of Elizabeth Reed'. ABB created jams that had structure and 'Elizabeth Reed' is the finest example of that.



My heart ain't in it, but I'll hold the door ...


Tell me why when the phone rings baby, you're up & cross the floor ...


People can you hear it? A song is in the air ...


Berry Oakley's finest ABB moment (snazzy white boy blues):


Jazz & blues meet rock & soul:


The road goes on forever ...
(and they could scarcely have known how long forever was back then):



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The album Beginnings was released in 1973. It combined reissues of the band's first 2 records. I played this record approximately 27,000 times. It was released mainly for those of us who had missed the boat on the early records & had caught wind of them only through Midnight Rider on the radio. I was certainly glad I had dug deeper.

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At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In a contemporary review, George Kimball of Rolling Stone magazine said that "The Allman Brothers had many fine moments at the Fillmores, and this live double album (recorded March 12th and 13th of this year) must surely epitomize all of them. Kimball cited the band as "the best damn rock and roll band this country has produced in the past five years" and said of comparisons to the Grateful Dead at the time, "The range of their material and the more tenuous fact that they also use two drummers have led to what I suppose are inevitable comparisons to the Dead in its better days. In a less enthusiastic review, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave At Fillmore East a "B–" grade, indicating "a competent or mildly interesting record that will usually feature at least three worthwhile cuts. Christgau wrote that the songs "sure do boogie", although he ultimately found it musically aimless: "even if Duane Allman plus Dickey Betts does equal Jerry Garcia, the Dead know roads are for getting somewhere. That is, Garcia (not to bring in John Coltrane) always takes you someplace unexpected on a long solo. I guess the appeal here is the inevitability of it all." Seems like Christgau missed the boat on this one. In a more retrospective review, Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album five out of five stars and stated, "[it] remains the pinnacle of the Allmans and Southern rock at its most elastic, bluesy, and jazzy". I'd give it 5 and a 1/2 stars.

Duane showcased his genius on slide on Blind Willie McTell's classic:


Rock & jazz fusion supreme:


Tuesday's just as bad:


Best 19 minute song ever:


My baby caught that train & gone ...


Good footage right here:


I got the Fillmore East album sometime in 1972. It was bittersweet as I had found out that my new guitar hero had already met his maker. I played it about 27,000 times in his honor.

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By: Jon Landau
For Rolling Stone

"Ol' Duane was married to his music, the truth be known," a close friend reflected after the funeral rites. "I guess him dyin' so young, though, was almost inevitable. He had a wild and reckless streak in him, and apart from pickin' his git-tar, he'd get...bored. I guess you could call it. On that account, he ran through a lotta chicks and a lotta mean dope in his green time, and he purely loved to smoke up the highways on bikes that was too fast for him. You don't live long if you live...impulsive like that. Duane was basically just a good ol' country boy, but he could jump salty, too, now and again. Hell, I'll miss him, myself. I'm just sorry he had to up and leave America so early. He had a fat lot left in him to do."

Duane Allman, the leader and driving force behind the Allman Brothers Band, died Friday, October 29th, from massive injuries received in a motorcycle crash. He was 24.

He and the rest of the band had currently been in the middle of their first real vacation in more than two years. Duane had been vsiting the band's "Big House" to wish Linda Oakley, wife of the band's bassist Berry Oakley, a happy birthday. Shortly after leaving the house - around 5:45 PM - he swerved to avoid a truck which was moving in the same direction, but which he had evidently not seen in time after it had turned onto the street. The cycle skidded and turned over, apparently pinning Allman underneath as it traveled another 50 feet.

Duane's girlfriend Dixie Meadows and Berry Oakley's sister Candy had been following him from some distance behind and had not seen the accident. They found him and stayed until an ambulance arrived. He reportedly ceased breathing twice in the ambulance but was revivied each time by mouth-to-mouth resuccitation. He died after three hours of emergency surgery at Macon Medical Center.

Dr. Charles Burden, the attending surgeon, said afterwards that any of the injuries sustained - a collapsed chest, resulting in massive internal injuries, including a ruptured coronary artery and a severely damaged liver - would have probably caused death, but that the combination of injuries left very little hope from the outset.

The news of Duane's death left his friends and relatives, and the burgeoning music community in Macon, in a state of shock. "Duane Allman's death is a very personal loss," said Phil Walden, the band's manager, "not only for the no-nonsense, straight-ahead music he created, but for the warm and sincere friendship we shared. To remember Duane is to recall his music, and that exactly is what the man was all about."

Johnny Sandlin, Capricorn Records' young head of A&R and a member of one of Duane's earliest groups, the Hourglass, said: "More than anyone else, Duane Allman was responsible for the musical revolution in the South," referring to the changes Duane had helped to bring about in many Southern musicians and the tremendous influence the band has had on the whole region.

Mrs. Geraldine Allman, Duane's mother, immediately flew in from Florida, where she still lives and where Duane and younger brother Greg spent most of the adolescent yeasr. Duane's divorced wife, Donna, and his daughter, Galadriel, were also present for the funeral.

Services were held the following Monday in Macon's Memorial Chapel. Nearly 300 friends, relatives and admirers attended. Duane's guitar case stood in the front of the floral-wreathed casket, and the band's equipment was set up in the rear.

At 3 PM the remaining members of the group, Greg, Berry Oakley, Dicky Betts, Jai Johanny Johnson, Butch Trucks, and the band's close friend, harpist Thom Doucette, took their places. They began with the familiar pattern of an introduction to a slow blues, and then from behind his dark glass, Greg sang out: "The sky is crying, look at the tears roll down my cheeks."

They played "Keys to the Highway" which Duane had recorded with Eric Clapton on Layla, then did "Stormy Monday" and "Elizabeth Reed." They played through the music they had been doing for the last year with Dicky playing for Duane in the places where Duane would have normally been heard and with the people who really knew Duane's music supplying from memory the missing lines to the long worked-out harmonies the band was famous for.

The young people in attendance began to applaud after each song and to respond visibly to the music. Red Dog, the legendary road manager of the group, encouraged the responsiveness, making it clear that the band's tribute to Duane lay in their performing the music for those who loved it best.

While some of Duane's close musical friends sat and watched - they included the entire Muscle Shoals rhythm section with which he had cut many records, Jimmy Johnson, David Hood, Roger Hawkins, and Barry Beckett - others joined the band on stage. Mac Rebennack, who had flown down from New York with Atlantic Records executive vice president Jerry Wexler, played guitar and Bobby Caldwell, formerly with Johnny Winters, joined in on drums.

Delaney Bramlett gradually gravitated to the center and led everyone in a hair-raising "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," which had people clapping their hands and crying at the same time. Delaney, by himself, then did a brief tribute to Duane, singing what he said was Duane's favorite song of his, "I Still Remember," and then one that he and Duane used to jam on, "Come in my Kitchen."

Greg Allman then sang a couple of songs by himself. The last one he introduced as a favorite of his brother, a song he wrote three years ago and of which he said "I never much cared for it but I'm going to sing it to him." When he was done, the nave was cleared but then the group decided to come back and do one last song, the one they had been using to open their set for the last year and a half: "Statesboro Blues."

When the band was finished, Dicky Betts took the Les Paul Gibson he had been playing - it was Duane's guitar - and stood it up next to Duane's guitar case in front of the casket, and walked off.

Jerry Wexler was then introduced to deliver the eulogy. Reading from a written statement, he frequently stopped to collect himself and managed to offer and affecting tribute to a friend and musician who he had first used on one of his sessions three years ago. Some of his statements included:

"It was at King Curtis' funeral that I last saw Duane Allman, and Duane with tears in his eyes told me that Curtis's encouragement and praise was valuable to him in the pursuit of his music and career. They were both gifted natural musicians with an umlimited ability for truly melodic improvisation. They were both born in the South and they both learned their music from great black musicians and blues singer. They were both utterly dedicated to their music, and both intolerant of the faults and the meretricous and they would never permit the incorporaton of the commercial compromise to their music - not for love or money.

"...I remember a magic summer night of music when Duane and Delaney sat on an outdoor patio overlooking the water both playing acoustic guitars as softly as they possibly could and both of them singing - Blind Willie Jonson, Robert Johnson, Jimmy Rodgers, and an unforgettable Jimmy Davis song called 'Shackled and Chained.' The music was incredibly pure - completely free of affect - and almost avoided personality as each of them gave himself over to the eneffable beauty of Southern gospel, country, and blues music as only Southern musicans can.

"...Those of us who were privileged to know Duane will remember him from all the studios, backstage dressing rooms, the Downtowners, the Holiday Inns, the Sheratons, the late nights, relaxing after the sessions, the whisky and the music talk, playing back cassettes until night gave way to dawn, the meals and the pool games, and fishing in Miami and Long Island, this young beautiful man who we love so dearly but who is not lost to us, because we have his music, and the music is imperishable."

The service ended shortly after the eulogy with the band playing for a while after it ended. Later the band and their friends headed back to their Big House while many of the guests joined Phil Walden in his home. Interment will be at a later date.

When Greg Allman performed by himself briefly during the funeral, he played on Duane's beautifully crafted antique guitar. When he finished singing he lowered his head and fingered the guitar nervously, and said, "This is a very old guitar, a very beautiful piece. It was made in 1920 and I'm very proud to have it." Then, looking up at the assembled guests, he added, "And I'm very proud that you all came."

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Here's one Duane played on right before he died.
One of my favorites:


End of Part 2.
Last edited by Slipkid42 on Wed Oct 02, 2013 2:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

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Duane's death left a gaping hole right in the middle of the Allman Brothers Band. It also ended the stellar career of one of Muscle Shoals finest studio musicians.
Here's a few more Duane clips:

I've had my fun, if I don't ever get well no more ...


So I can call my old time used-to-be ...


I guess you don't love me ...


How can I ever hope to forget you? ...


The dreams we never saw:


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Eat A Peach was not named after the fact that Duane splattered into the back of a peach truck (although that's what I believed for a long time).
From Wiki: The widespread story regarding the origin of the album's title, that the truck involved in Duane's fatal motorcycle accident was a peach truck, is not correct; the truck involved was a flatbed lumber truck. Rather the album name came from something Duane said in an interview shortly before he was killed. When asked what he was doing to help the revolution, Duane replied, "There ain't no revolution, it's evolution, but every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace." The album's name was originally slated to be The Kind We Grow in Dixie and the artwork for the album showed a peach. Band members were dissatisfied with the name and the image suggested Duane's quote instead. Eat A Peach was the last album Duane worked on.

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by J. F. Holmes and D. Powell of Wonder Graphics.
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Duane contributed the timeless Little Martha (my picture window song):


Duane also played on Berry Oakley's rocker:


Thank the gods of rock, Duane was on this one too:


Duane was also on this one.
Taken from the Fillmore outtakes it became a radio smash:


Mountain Jam took up 2 sides of the album. It was a 33 minute improvisation on Donovan's 'There Is A Mountain'. It was a cumbersome thing all divided up like that (just a blip delay on 8-track). It is much better when listened to as a whole. Here's another version:

From the Love Valley Festival July 1970
(with some very cool crowd shots):


Dickey Betts tried his best to fill the void
(had a party @ my house circa 1975. had all my hip friends over. bet anyone a dollar they couldn't name this band. no one did):


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Here's an exerpt from Sloppy Seconds, a poemella I wrote about meeting my wife:

“Hey!” she suddenly grabbed my arm; “This is my favorite song, let’s dance.”
I didn’t see that one comin’. It was my boys, the Allman Brothers; but I’m not sure I’m up for any shakin’a the leg (least not them 2, anyway).
“C’mon it’s a slow dance;” she implored, as she pulled me to my feet.
Aw, what the hell.

Crossroads, seem to come and go, yeah
The gypsy flies from coast to coast

Knowing many, loving none,
Bearing sorrow havin fun,
But back home he’ll always run
To sweet Melissa...mmm...


I was feelin’ warmth in places that hadn’t been warm for quite some time.

Freight train, each car looks the same, all the same
And no one knows the gypsy’s name

No one hears his lonely sigh,
There are no blankets where he lies
In all his deepest dreams the gypsy flies
With sweet Melissa...mmm...


‘Melissa’ is not my favorite song (or even my favorite Allman Brothers song); but damn if it ain’t flyin’ up the charts right quickly. We weren’t flashin’ any fancy footwork, mostly just rockin’ and swayin’ (but that is substance over style in my book). I dunno who was holdin’ up whom; but I hung on for dear life. I was pressed so tightly to her that I could feel her heartbeat next to mine (actually, ‘coz of our pronounced height differential, her heavin’ bosom was smushed up against my tummy [but who’s keepin’ score]). Mutual admiration was certainly afoot. I was startin’ to have one of those ‘This Magic Moment’ moments,
but I caught myself. No sense puttin’ on my shoes before my socks.

But I know that he won’t stay without Melissa
Yes I know that he won’t stay without Melissa


At songs end she stirred gently, and looked up at me soulfully. Her lips parted slightly as if to say, “Plant one on me, big boy.” I resisted that temptation as bein’ a tad presumptuous. I did give her a little pat on the ass, though (as a show of my appreciation). She slapped at my hand playfully (as if to indicate that was territory not yet conquered).
“What happened to you playing hard to get?” she wondered aloud.
My special blend of rural sophistication and aloof nonchalance could be misconstrued as playin’ hard to get, I guess; but that is hardly its intended effect.
“Just weedin’ out the undesirables,” I drawled (as if I could afford to weed out anyone).
“Well, did I pass inspection?” she retorted coyly.
“With flyin’ colors,” I assured her (and I meant it).
The smile on my face felt genuine for a change.
Our whistles needed wettin’ so we gravitated toward the bar. We were intercepted by a sultry babe with bodacious ta-tas (who was obviously chummy with my new best girl).
“Cindy this is Randy; Randy, Cindy,” said Paula (?) smoothly.
This Cindy was scrutinizin’ me somethin’ fierce. I felt like filthy bacteria on a slide under a microfuckin’scope. She even looked into my eyes as if they were the windows to my soul (instead of bein’ just bloodshot roadmaps to Bumfuck Nowhere). Looks like I’m gonna hafta make yet another good 1st impression (if it’s not too late already).
“Nice to meet you,” I said suavely; and then turned on the charm.
“Usually, the hot chick’s got an ugly friend; but you sure don’t fit that bill,” I gushed unabashedly (praisin’ both birds with one stone). I am absolutely hittin’ on all cylinders.
Paula (?) looked at me with eyes that twinkled like they were dancin’ in pixie dust.
Cindy shot her a disapprovin’ glare, then turned to me (eyebrows arched to the max).
“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” she asked me tartly.
“I, uh, guess it was, um, intended as such;” I hemmed and hawed (did I just throw a rod?).
Miss Hard to Please remarked gruffly, “I think I liked you better before you said anything.”
So much for a good 1st impression (oh that’s right, it was a shitty 2nd impression this time).
Paula (?) thwarted the potential fireworks with tact; “Let’s go freshen up, Hon.”
“Back in a jiff,” she promised over her shoulder; as she towed Miss Priss to the Little Girl’s Room.
Swing and a miss (and the runner is thrown out tryin’ to steal 2nd).


This one''s still movin' up my charts:


Last (first actually) but not least, this angry anthem:


Eat A Peach was a triumphant effort for the Allman Brothers. They had regrouped & persevered. The group played some concerts as a five-man band, then decided to add Chuck Leavell, a pianist, to gain another lead instrument but without, however, directly replacing Duane. This new configuration debuted on November 2, 1972, on ABC's In Concert late-night television program:



Days later, on November 11, 1972, Berry Oakley died from head injuries he received in another motorcycle accident near Napier Avenue and Inverness Street, only three blocks from the site of Duane's accident the previous year. The common retelling that it was at exactly the same site as Duane's death is incorrect. Both Duane and Berry were 24 years old, yet another coincidence. "I know it was very tough to continue that group with the loss of Duane," Betts said, "but then we lost Berry also it was pretty hard to recover from that one. It kind of seemed like the end of an era."

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Oakley was replaced by Lamar Williams at the end of 1972, in time to finish the next album, Brothers and Sisters, released in August 1973.

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From Wiki:
Brothers and Sisters is the fifth album by The Allman Brothers Band, released in 1973.

The group's first album recorded completely after the death of leader Duane Allman, and mostly after the death of bassist Berry Oakley, Brothers and Sisters saw the Allmans reach a commercial peak. The album logged five weeks at #1 on the U.S. albums chart, and moreover contained their only hit single, Dickey Betts' country-tinged "Ramblin' Man", which climbed to #2 on the U.S. singles chart. Betts, billed as Richard on this album, came to the forefront by also writing the album's other most prominent tracks, the buoyant instrumental "Jessica", the FM radio-friendly "Southbound" (sung by Gregg Allman), and the country blues hybrid "Pony Boy". The group's sound was also somewhat different, with new pianist Chuck Leavell acting as the other lead instrument instead of the band's former trademark dual lead guitars.

The front album cover features a photograph of Vaylor Trucks, the son of drummer Butch Trucks and his wife Linda. The back cover features a photograph of Brittany Oakley, the daughter of bassist Berry Oakley and his wife Linda.

The album's inner gatefold cover art featured a large photograph of the extended Allmans family — band members, roadies, wives, girlfriends, children, dogs, all in a seemingly idyllic, long-haired, multi-racial Southern setting — a setting that would be rent asunder by internal frictions and outside developments over the next few years.

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Oh Lord, carry me home ...


Here's a rare version w/Johnny Winter subbing for Dickey (and Duane):


I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus, rollin' down highway 41 ...


I wouldn't cut you loose, baby, if I could ...


I'm as lonesome as a man can be ...


Lord, I'm comin' home to you ...


Dickey's radio smash instrumental:


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In spite of the tragedies (or maybe because of them), the Allman Brothers popularity was at an all-time high. Headlining festivals & arena shows, they continued their legacy as a band that would give you your money's worth. Soon the drugs and the miles would take their toll on the band.

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End of Part 3.
Last edited by Slipkid42 on Wed Oct 02, 2013 3:51 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Iowan »

God damn, Slip.

This was a total gut punch:
My special blend of rural sophistication and aloof nonchalance could be misconstrued as playin’ hard to get, I guess; but that is hardly its intended effect

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Gang Green »

Great piece Slip, how many times did you see the Allmans, and did you see them when Duane was still around?

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by mhc »

Very nice. I saw the Allmans for the first time in 1991 with Little Feat. Caught 13 shows between 91 and 2009. I didn't see the Allmans from 2000 to 2008 simply because Dickey Betts was not in the band anymore. Hammered or not, I am convinced Dickey's sound is what made the Brothers who they were from 1972 on. I did bury the hatchet in 2009 when they were doing a co headlining tour with Widespread Panic. It was good, but there were moments where Dickey was missed.
That being said I love the Brothers.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by psychobillycadillac »

Great piece of work Slip, can't wait for the next installment, thanks for doing this! I caught their show in Alpharetta Ga last night, it was my 48th show and I'm struggling right now with deciding if it was the best show I've ever seen them perform. The set list was incredible, the energy was great, Gregg had a perfect show and hit every note and word in every song. I grew up on these guys and their music makes up a very large part of who I am as a musician and a person. :D

09/02/2013 - Verizon ampitheater, Alphareatta Ga

1)Statesboro Blues
2)Midnight Rider
3)I walk on Guilded Splinters
4)Blue Sky
5)Trouble No More
6)Rain
7)Stormy Monday
8)Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More
9) In Memory of Elizabeth Reed w/ Jimmy Herring
10)Melissa
11)One Way Out>
12)Drums>
13 One Way Out
14 Nobody Left to Run

Encore

15) Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody’s Home
16) Whippin’ Post

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Tyler »

We got a great set in Raleigh on Friday, as well. Lots of covers.

1. Statesboro Blues
2. Done Somebody Wrong
3. You DOn't Love Me
4. Spots of Time
5. Every Hungry Woman
6. Breaking Up SSomebody's Home (w/ Richard Dally (drums) and Paul Booth (sax) from Steve Winwood's band)
7. Ain't Wastin' Time No More
8. The Sky Is Crying
9. I Found Love (w/ Steve Winwood, vocals)
10. The Weight (Gregg/Warren/Steve W vocals)
11. Melissa
12. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (w/ Edsin da Silva (guitar) from Steve Winwood's Band)
13. No One Left To Run WIth Anymore

E: Whipping Post

Was the best I've seen them do out of 4 or 5. I can't really compare other lineups as I didn't see them pre-2000.

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

dime in the gutter wrote:mvp season, slpkid.
....but your recent works for aotw have been exemplary. big subjects, too.


thanks for the love, dime. shit's easy when the subject matter is so juicy.

Iowan wrote:God damn, Slip.
This was a total gut punch:
My special blend of rural sophistication and aloof nonchalance could be misconstrued as playin’ hard to get, I guess; but that is hardly its intended effect


Yeah, it hit me somewhere south of the solar plexus too.

Gang Green wrote:Great piece Slip, how many times did you see the Allmans, and did you see them when Duane was still around?


Never did see Duane (sniff sniff). I was just a little too young. My first actual going to an arena show was Dec. 1973. The first concert ever @ the Capital Center. It was the Allman Brothers. I had barely turned 16 (and now the Cap Center is 10 years demolished). Wow, I just looked up that show on the Capital Center database & they show no record that the show ever happened. List starts off with The Who on Dec. 6th, 1973 (a show I was also at, w/Lynyrd Skynyrd as the opener. I also was at the Alice Cooper show listed on Dec. 19, 1973 w/ZZ Top as the opener). That's weird. I can assure you that the Allman Brothers opened the Cap Center on the 3rd of December, 1973 w/the James Cotton Blues Band as the opener & I was there in the nosebleed section @ the rear. I remember it so well because it was the last time I saw my beloved Allman Brothers until July of 2012 @ Merriweather Post Pavillion. 38 1/2 years later.

mhc wrote:Very nice. I saw the Allmans for the first time in 1991 with Little Feat. Caught 13 shows between 91 and 2009. I didn't see the Allmans from 2000 to 2008 simply because Dickey Betts was not in the band anymore. Hammered or not, I am convinced Dickey's sound is what made the Brothers who they were from 1972 on. I did bury the hatchet in 2009 when they were doing a co headlining tour with Widespread Panic. It was good, but there were moments where Dickey was missed.
That being said I love the Brothers.


Dickey was pretty incredible.

psycho & Tyler, those sound like great shows. This current lineup is incredibly proficient at recreating (and improvising) that unique Allman's sound. Steve Winwood is a great sidekick too. Saw him & Clapton a few years back & it was special. psycho, I grew up on these cats too. They were like my big brothers.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Hud »

I was at the 8/31 show in Charlotte on Saturday and it was one of the most solid shows I have ever seen. Great crowd! Derek and Warren were taking it to peeks unknown. Greg sounded great. I used to could take it or leave it, but with Derek and Warren, I'm hooked.

Thanks for the write up, I'm looking forward to checking it out tonight
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

"Rock 'n' roll was born in the South. So Southern rock is like saying rock rock."
—Gregg Allman

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Another peak of the Allmans' success came on New Year's Eve, 1973, when promoter Bill Graham arranged for a nationwide radio broadcast of their concert from San Francisco's Cow Palace. New arrangements of familiar tunes such as "You Don't Love Me" went out over the airwaves, as the show stretched out over three sets, with Boz Scaggs sitting in, along with Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann (Allmans and Grateful Dead members guested at each other's shows multiple times in the early 1970s). Here's some songs from that magical show:

Image





Sweet stuff for sure
(but a little jammier than I want my ABB to be).

Image

Despite this success, Butch Trucks recalls of the time that, “celebrity is the worse thing that ever happened to the Allman Brothers." In an interview, Trucks recalled that after Duane Allman’s death in 1971, the band “got away from the music," producing “country-fried hit records,” which created egos that “ripped [them] all apart.”

Image

Indeed Dickey & Gregg both had solo projects going on. Dickey & Chuck Leavell had artistic differences (perhaps over country-fried radio hits). There were drugs & there was alcohol. And then there was Cher.

Image
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Not surprisingly, 1975's Win, Lose or Draw was not up to snuff.

Image

From Wiki:
Win, Lose or Draw is the sixth album by The Allman Brothers Band, released in 1975. The record was the end of the line for the band at the time. After the very successful Brothers and Sisters two years previously, the group had fallen prey to internal tensions. Dickey Betts (continuing to be billed as Richard Betts for this album) had seemingly taken over from Gregg Allman as the de facto bandleader, while both had issued solo albums.

Due to being tied to the West Coast, much of Allman's vocals and instrumentation were recorded at the Record Plant Studios in Los Angeles, California, with the vocals and instrumentation of the rest being recorded at Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia. Additionally, drummers Butch Trucks and Jaimoe went missing from "Louisiana Lou and Three Card Monty John" and the Billy Joe Shaver cover "Sweet Mama (Lay Your Burdens Down)", replaced with producer Johnny Sandlin (who had drummed in the pre-Allman Brothers Band group The Hour Glass) and occasional road drummer Bill Stewart.

In any case, there were a few modest highlights on Win, Lose or Draw: the dynamic Muddy Waters cover "Can't Lose What You Never Had", sung strongly by Allman with start-stop mini-false endings; the long, fluid Betts instrumental "High Falls"; and the title track, which reflected Allman's Jackson Browne-influenced work from his Laid Back solo album. But in general, reviews of the album were negative, commenting on a lack of energy, formulaic songwriting, and indifferent sound.

The album reached #5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart based on their previous popularity. The record had been highly anticipated a year earlier, but now the Allmans' moment was passing. Long ethereal jams were out of vogue; by autumn 1975 other trends were in the air, from Bruce Springsteen's high-energy Jersey dramas to Patti Smith's intense proto-punk poetry, with punk rock and disco music just around the corner.

The album cover depicts the Old West interior decor of Muhlenbrinks Saloon in Underground Atlanta. A poker table topped with half-empty whiskey bottles, playing cards and poker chips is in view. Six chairs representing the present members of the band surround the table. The influence of the band's deceased members, Duane Allman and Berry Oakley, is in the room. Just behind the larger table, two empty chairs lean against a small unused table.

That's a pretty fair assessment of why shit went wrong. Still, it's another one of those records that I like more than I remember.

Nice twist on the Muddy Waters song:


I guess I can see the JB influence here:


Seems like Chuck & Dickey got along on this one.
(guess it's one of those ethereal jams that were
out of vogue by then):


No Butch, No Jaimoe, No problem
Dickey's got it under control:


Seems like they all got along on this one:


Image

From angelfire.com:
Win, Lose or Draw turned to out to be this band's last gasp. Gregg had become involved in a heavily publicized relationship with Cher during the recording of the album (they were married in June of '75) and the delays caused by his absence irritated the other band members.
But there were larger forces at work to drive the band apart. The Allman Brothers and local Macon pharmacists had been targeted for investigation by a federal drug probe. Allman was offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony, which was used in part to indict Macon pharmacist Joe Fuchs and Allman Brothers tour director John "Scooter" Herring on charges of conspiracy to distribute narcotics.

Fuchs pleaded guilty, but Herring's case went to trial, and in late June Allman testified against his former bodyguard, saying he had purchased drugs from Herring on at least 15 occasions.
Herring also pled guilty and served a couple of years in jail. The rest of the band was outraged at Allman, and Betts said he would form his own group. Johanson, Leavell and Williams had already joined together as Sea Level. All four swore that they would never work with Allman again. The Allman Brothers Band no longer existed.
Allman fled to Los Angeles and his tempestuous marriage to Cher, vowing never to return to Macon again.
Gregg recalls that period of his life like a haunted man talking about a recurrent nightmare. "I was in L.A. for three years," he said. "I went into a slump there. I could exist out there but I couldn't live."

Sang like a canary he did.
Image

Oh well, all good things must come to an end. Of course this turned out to just be a hiatus, but there was some decent stuff that came out of those side projects:

Image




Image




Image




I'll spare y'all this one
Image

Most great rock bands had drug problems & internal dissension. I'm blaming the Allman Brothers breakup on the bitch.
He should've known that shit was too good to be true.

Image

End of Part 4.
Last edited by Slipkid42 on Wed Oct 02, 2013 4:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Gang Green »

Slip, I found record of your Allman Brothers show at the following two links. It was December 4th, 1973.

The last event I saw at the Crap Center was Monster Trucks in March of 1995.



https://www.songkick.com/concerts/86983 ... tal-centre

www.allmanbrothersband.com/modules.php? ... howtapes=1

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

Really been enjoying reading this. The Allman Brothers in Savannah, GA in '75 was my first big rock show (ticket stub below). Their roadies were the opening band. This was during Gregg's Cher years, something the audience wasn't too fond of, which meant whiskey bottles busting across his grand piano all night. When we left at roughly midnight, they were still playing "Whippin' Post". My entire family was in town for my Grandfather's funeral. I'm sure if it had been under different circumstances, we would have stayed around. Still, a pretty memorable experience for my first big concert.

One of my older brothers saw them with Duane at Love Valley in the mountains of NC many years ago. I love hearing all the stories of the big outdoor rock festivals back then, especially that one. There's a good bit of footage of the Allmans' set on YouTube, including "Mountain Jam".

I never saw them again until they played Walnut Creek in Raleigh in the early 90's. Aside from the Savannah show, those early 90's shows at the Creek were the only times I ever saw them with Dickey. The last time I saw them was in '07 when JJ Grey & Mofro and the DBT's opened for them at the Creek. I was mightily impressed. I'd seen them with Derek before but he was only about 14 at the time and he only sat in on a song or two. When the Allmans played here on Friday, Dickey was playing with Great Southern over in Durham. As you might imagine, lots of fans weren't too happy about that. From everything I've read, it was just a case of poor scheduling. I'm curious to know how the turnout was for Dickey though.

Image

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

GG - thanks so much for finding those links. I lost my stubb (along with all my other stubbs & most everything else) over 30 years ago & was pretty sure I remembered it as the 3rd. I was beginning to think I'd slipped a nut. Glad you you came to the rescue. Great set list too!:

1. Wasted Words
2. Done Somebody Wrong
3. One Way Out
4. Stormy Monday
5. Southbound
6. Come and Go Blues
7. Blue Sky
8. Midnight Rider
9. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
10. Statesboro Blues
11. Jessica
12. Don't Keep Me Wonderin'
13. Ramblin' Man
14. You Don't Love Me
15. Les Brers In A Minor
16. Whipping Post

The 'Crap' Center had some acoustical difficulties to say the least. If you were up in the saddle's rafters, the sound could get spotty & lost in the crowd noise.
Thinking about this has reminded me that I actually did see the Allman Brothers again @ the Capital Center. It was the 1975 show (with Muddy Waters no less). I should not have forgotten it because that is the show at which my red-headed step-child of a brother, fell from the top of the Cap Center. We were trashed (naturally and unfortunately) as was our custom at the time (and at least for me occasionally still). Anyway, we were waaaay up in the saddle's rafters. All the way at the top, where you couldn't see the people on the other side (that had the same shitty seats as you did). Up where the sound was spotty & the band looked 4 inches tall. Anthony tells me he's gotta take a piss. I drunkenly, but clearly, pointed to this girl who was sitting on the 3rd step from the top. "Watch out for that girl," I told him (although I guess in fairness, that could've been muffled by the music that was trying to waft it's way up to us). Knucklehead doesn't walk around her, but instead tries to step over her. Then he was airborne. I watched in semi-horror & semi-hilarious delirium as he bounced off of heads until he landed in a limp heap on the landing at the bottom. I think he crossed the aisle one time just so he could bounce off of the people on that side too; but I can't swear, 'coz it happened so fast. I walked around the girl (which wasn't that hard) & scrambled down the steps lickety-split. I expected a broken neck at the very least. I get down there & he's all groggy & like what happened? I started berating him for his stupidity (once I could see he was still alive), and he tells me he lost his glasses. I looked back up the stairs & couldn't even see the top. So usually cooler than cool ass me has to climb back up; asking all these people whose head's he had just bounced off, if they had found his glasses. I told them I didn't know him of course & somehow miraculously found his glasses 1/2 way up. Some of those folks were far more cordial than I would've been. So I reunited him & his glasses & took him out to the concourse. I sat him down & propped him up against the wall & told him to stay there until I came back. After the rest of what I'm sure was an amazing show, that I can't even barely remember, I came back for him. He wasn't there of course.

KG - I remember reading something you had written about the Love Valley Fest. It made me wish I had been there. Oh, and I wish I still had all my ticket stubbs.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Kudzu Guillotine »

Slipkid42 wrote:GG - thanks so much for finding those links. I lost my stubb (along with all my other stubbs & most everything else) over 30 years ago & was pretty sure I remembered it as the 3rd. I was beginning to think I'd slipped a nut. Glad you you came to the rescue. Great set list too!:

1. Wasted Words
2. Done Somebody Wrong
3. One Way Out
4. Stormy Monday
5. Southbound
6. Come and Go Blues
7. Blue Sky
8. Midnight Rider
9. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
10. Statesboro Blues
11. Jessica
12. Don't Keep Me Wonderin'
13. Ramblin' Man
14. You Don't Love Me
15. Les Brers In A Minor
16. Whipping Post

The 'Crap' Center had some acoustical difficulties to say the least. If you were up in the saddle's rafters, the sound could get spotty & lost in the crowd noise.
Thinking about this has reminded me that I actually did see the Allman Brothers again @ the Capital Center. It was the 1975 show (with Muddy Waters no less). I should not have forgotten it because that is the show at which my red-headed step-child of a brother, fell from the top of the Cap Center. We were trashed (naturally and unfortunately) as was our custom at the time (and at least for me occasionally still). Anyway, we were waaaay up in the saddle's rafters. All the way at the top (where you couldn't see the people on the other side, that had the same shitty seats as you did) Up where the sound was spotty & the band looked 4 inches tall. Anthony tells me he's gotta take a piss. I drunkenly, but clearly, pointed to this girl who was sitting on the 3rd step from the top. "Watch out for that girl," I told him (although I guess in fairness, that could've been muffled by the music that was trying to waft it's way up to us). Knucklehead doesn't walk around her, but instead tries to step over her. Then he was airborne. I watched in semi-horror & semi-hilarious delirium as he bounced off of heads until he landed in a limp heap on the landing at the bottom. I think he crossed the aisle one time just so he could bounce off of the people on that side too; but I can't swear, 'coz it happened so fast. I walked around the girl (which wasn't that hard) & scrambled down the steps lickety-split. I expected a broken neck at the very least. I get down there & he's all groggy & like what happened? I started berating him for his stupidity (once I could see he was still alive), and he tells me he lost his glasses. I looked back up the stairs & couldn't even see the top. So usually cooler than cool ass me has to climb back up; asking all these people whose head's he had just bounced off, if they had found his glasses. I told them I didn't know him of course & somehow miraculously found his glasses 1/2 way up. Some of those folks were far more cordial than I would've been. So I reunited him & his glasses & took him out to the concourse. I sat him down & propped him up against the wall & told him to stay there until I came back. After the rest of what I'm sure was an amazing show, that I can't even barely remember, I came back for him. He wasn't there of course.

KG - I remember reading something you had written about the Love Valley Fest. It made me wish I had been there. Oh, and I wish I still had all my ticket stubbs.


People are still talking about that concert to this day. As for my ticket stubs, I have a fairly good collection of them but they represent only a small fraction of the concerts I've seen in my lifetime. Loved your Crap Center story, that's exactly the kind of stuff I was talking about. The one that probably stands out the most to me is seeing some guy's face go up in flames at a Kiss show in Raleigh back in '76 when he tried to imitate Gene Simmons. I also remember hearing about people latching their belts together as a makeshift rope so they could lower themselves down to the floor from the upper reaches of the balcony. Sometimes they made it, sometimes they fell. You don't really see that sort of thing so much at concerts anymore, maybe that's a good thing...

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

Slip this has been terrific stuff. I'm waiting with bated breath on the next installment where we learn about Warren Haynes and the birth of the modern ABB. I think what he brought to the table and how they not only became vital but venerable is one of the great stories of Rock & Roll, not to mention the arrival a decade or so later of the brilliant Derek Trucks but I defer those stories to your able hands.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Tyler »

There are a lot of days when I feel that Warren Haynes is the most gifted guitarist of the last 25 years. He may not excel at any one area...can't play the blues as well as Stevie Ray, can't play slide as well as Derek Trucks, can't play a delicate ballad as well as Steve Kimock, can't shred as well as Satriani...but he's about 80-90% as good as any of those guys at what they specialize in, and he can sing while doing it.

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Gang Green »

Slip, My Crap Center stories are all, well crap. I just saw a bunch of Crap Bullets and Caps games and the Police and Go Go's show which we talked about in the past. My Monster Truck experience may have been the most interesting, oh yea, when AU beat Georgetown in 1982 in Patrick's sophomore year. But your Crap Center story was absolutely, spot-on awesome.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't appreciate and start listening to the Allmans until much later in life, actually when I got into country and alt country living in England in the late 90's. But, I did see a Gregg Allman solo at the American University spring fling in 1986. At that time, I was smack in the middle of my post punk listening years and had no time for the old guy who was married to Cher, but the show was free so I went. I was sitting about four rows from the stage, and, needless to say, Gregg was a pretty imposing figure, as he was belting out blues tunes on the keys. The hair, the jean suite, the boots, I thought, I better start listening to this guy, or he's going to kick my ass. Strangely, he was opening for Chaka Kahn on this day, who I didn't stick around for, but, who, from what I did hear, was pretty imposing as well.

I also enjoyed Gregg's brief performance as a drug lord in the movie Rush.

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

Image

In 1976, while the Allman Brothers were split up, Capricorn Records released Wipe The Windows, Check The Oil, Dollar Gas. It was another live album, that was taken from shows between 1973 & 1975. It was the version of the band that I saw play (w/o Duane & Berry). It included songs from Brothers & Sisters that perhaps sounded better than the studio versions (Jessica, Southbound, Ramblin' Man) & a reworked In Memory of Elizabeth Reed w/Dickey solo on guitar & Gregg & Chuck Leavell swapping keyboard licks. Wipe the Windows ... was not too shabby.



Image

Capricorn also released The Road Goes On Forever, a Greatest Hits record, at this time. They were trying to capitalize on ABB's quickly fading popularity; but neither album sold very well. Gregg droppin' dime & selling out w/Cher left a bad taste in many fans mouths (mine included). I figured the boys were toast. All that was left was a beautiful & tragic legacy & a whole lotta wondering about what might've been. Oh well at least we had Skynyrd still (until of course we suddenly didn't have them either).

Image

Then all of a sudden I heard rumblings that the Allman Brothers were getting back together. Apparently Dickey would work with Gregg again, after all (and vice versa). So would Butch & Jaimoe. Chuck Leavell & Lamar Williams remained w/Sea Level, though; so Dan Toler (who had played w/Dickey in Great Southern) came on as a 2nd guitar & David 'Rook" Goldflies was the new bass player. If they weren't too proud to eat their words, then I wasn't too proud to not give them another chance. 'Sides, it wasn't like they hadn't made a triumphant return before.



Image

Image

1979's Enlightened Rogues was a solid comeback effort. Dan Toler & Dickey had chemistry & the dual guitar attack was back. Tom Dowd who was the producer on Idlewild South, Eat A Peach & the Fillmore East records, was brought back to try and recapture that magic sound. It was a valiant effort as Enlightened Rogues is a fine record with a few great Dickey songs and solid playing throughout. The album garnered strong reviews, but the sales were not enough to save Capricorn Records. They filed for bankruptcy & Polydor Records gained control of the ABB's catalog. Here's a few from ER (Pegasus & Can't Take It With You are very solid but I couldn't find any clips for them):

Ooh, I just can't forget about you baby ...


I wonder why I ever thought you'd stay ...


Your head severely poundin' from the night before ...


Image

Here's Geraldo Rivera's take on their comeback
(w/some concert footage w/Bonnie Bramlett):


Volunteer Jam:


After Capricorn went under, the Allman Brothers signed with Arista Records. ABB ushered in the 80's with Reach For The Sky with the same lineup that was on Enlightened Rogues. It doesn't quite measure up to its predecessor, but there were still a few keepers to be found. Plus, the album cover is sorta spiffy.

Image

They might name a street after us one of these days ...


I got a right to be lonely when you're gone ...


Just a tinge of 80's overproduction, still nice:


Reach For The Sky was panned & didn't sell well either.

Image

Image
And of course I wasn't in Maryland when this show happened.

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By late 1980, Jaimoe was having back problems (which stemmed from a 1974 auto accident). The group supposedly took a vote and fired him. Yeah. To make matters worse they then released 1981's Brothers of the Road (w/only Butch on drums).

Image

The less said about Brothers of the Road the better. In fact I'll not say another word, except that it had some dude who played clarinet on it. Yeah.

At least they still played the good shit on the road
(w/the Brothers of the Road lineup):



Image

In early 1982 the Brothers disbanded once again.

From Wiki:
Allman quickly formed the Gregg Allman Band with the Toler brothers Dan and David ("Frankie") (drums) in 1982 and began touring small venues and clubs. Betts, Leavell, Trucks and Goldflies formed the band Betts Hall Leavell Trucks (BHLT). Neither garnered attention from any record labels. BHLT would dissolve two years later. Chuck Leavell would go on to tour extensively with the Rolling Stones.

The Allman Brothers Band reunited in 1986 for a pair of benefit concerts for promoter Bill Graham in New York and Macon. Allman, Betts, Trucks, Jaimoe, Leavell, and Dan Toler performed together but no subsequent reunion plans for the band were made. The following year, the Gregg Allman Band and the Dickey Betts Band co-headlined a theatre and club tour. After each band played a set of music, Betts, Allman and the Tolers performed a closing set of Allman Brothers music together.

In 1987, Epic Records signed both Allman and Betts to separate solo contracts. The Gregg Allman Band had a surprise FM hit single with the title track to the 1987 album I'm No Angel. Just Before the Bullets Fly quickly followed from Allman in 1988. The Dickey Betts Band, including Warren Haynes, was also formed during this time and released the album Pattern Disruptive in 1988. This series of collaboration among bandmembers and interest from a major label during the late 1980s laid the groundwork for the next era of Allman Brothers Band activity and success.

From 1989's Pattern Disruptive
(the intro of Warren Haynes):


Let me show you my tattoo ...


This is a damn good album.


The Gregg Allman Band & the Dickey Betts Band @ the Stone Pony Asbury Park March 1986:
Image

End of Part 5.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

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From angelfire.com:
1988 was the best year for Betts and Allman since the Enlightened Rogues reunion. While Allman's band was tearing up the concert circuit with its blistering live performances, Betts was putting the finishing touches on Pattern Disruptive, an album that featured a two-guitar sound to rival the heights of invention he'd scaled with Duane Allman.

The Betts band had been gradually coming together since his mid-'80s Nashville period. Drummer Matt Abts, bassist Marty Privette and keyboardist Johnny Neel were in the country lineup before Betts switched back to a straight-ahead rock lineup.
The most dramatic addition to the Betts band, though, was guitarist Warren Haynes, a firebrand player with enough ingenuity in his style to make the inevitable comparisons to Duane Allman beside the point. Haynes was part of a generation of musicians who grew up emulating Duane Allman. "As a kid the Allman Brothers were a huge influence on me," Haynes said, "so the first time that Dickey and I ever played together was a real big thrill."
"Obviously Duane is a huge influence on my slide playing, or any slide player for that matter;" said Haynes. On the old songs I try to play his licks because that's what belongs there, but I keep away from copying the solos. I know how they go in my head because I've heard the stuff so many times, but it's real hard not to play like him if we're doing, say 'Statesboro Blues'."

The high point of Pattern Disruptive is "Duane's Tune," a classic Betts instrumental reminiscent of the ones he wrote for the Allman Brothers.
"We'd be in th rehearsal studio playing and not knowing how it would go across live," said Haynes. "So we went to this little blues club called Turtles on Anna Marie Island in Florida and had a little late night jam session."
"We did "Duane's Tune" and several of the new things, but that was really highlight. You could tell because people had not heard the song and they were just really in touch with it, they loved it. It made us feel really good because we had been rehearsing our brains out and wondering what was gonna happen."

Haynes and Betts put on a series of spectacular shows as '88 drew to a close, spinning magical collective improvisations that had audiences standing on their chairs and cheering themselves hoarse.
During one live broadcast from the Lone Star Roadhouse in New York they jammed with an all-star cast that included bassist Jack Bruce and guitarist Mick Taylor.



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In 1989 The Allman Brothers reunited and returned to the popular consciousness of the American public, spurred by Gregg's recent FM radio success, the release of archival material by PolyGram, and the start of regular appearances on the American summer outdoor amphitheatre circuit. Warren Haynes (guitar, vocals), Johnny Neel (keyboards and harmonica), and Allen Woody (bass guitar) joined originals Allman, Betts, Jaimoe and Trucks.

The new lineup reinvigorated the band, which signed with Epic Records and surprised everyone with their first release, Seven Turns. Issued in 1990, it got some of the best reviews and healthiest sales they'd had in more than a decade.

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allmusic says:
The Allman Brothers Band's comeback album, and their best blues-based outing since Idlewild South restored a lot of their reputation. With Tom Dowd running the session, and the group free to make the music they wanted to, they ended up producing this bold, rock-hard album, made up mostly of songs by Dickey Betts (with contributions by new keyboardman Johnny Neel and lead guitarist Warren Haynes), almost every one of them a winner. Apart from the rippling opening number, "Good Clean Fun," which he co-authored, Gregg Allman's contribution is limited to singing and the organ, but the band seem more confident than ever, ripping through numbers like "Low Down Dirty Mean," "Shine It On," and "Let Me Ride" like they were inventing blues-rock here, and the Ornette Coleman-inspired "True Gravity" is their best instrumental since "Jessica."

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Whoever said it was:


Warren fits right in:


Don't let some rainy day steal your heart away ...


The boys were back in the groove:


Germany meets Georgia:


No harm done ...


How in the world could you ever know
we'd ever meet again? ...


Just when you think they're worm food, or pushin' up daisies, they crawl outta whatever hole they'd been in & deliver the goods again. Gotta admire their comeback capabilities. Warren Haynes absolutely brought pizzazz back to the Allman Brothers Band & served notice that there was a new sheriff in town. Dickey had this to say about Warren; "We work exceptionally well together and it's really hard to find a guitar player, especially in the style I play, that fits in just right." You can get into these guitar duels and it starts sounding like a couple of cats fighting if you're not careful."

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1991's Shades of 2 Worlds is a very worthy followup to the critically acclaimed Seven Turns. While Grunge was staking its claim in full force, the Allman Brothers managed to sneak in yet another great set of blues, jazz & twangy rock:

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Poets they come & poets they go ...


Took trouble on the chin ...


ABB & Doc Severinsen:


As good as they've ever sounded:


Fuckin' A Baby:


Even I would have to say the boys were back in the saddle again.

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In 1994 the Allman Brothers released Where It All Begins. It was to be the last studio album Dickey Betts would appear on. While it sold better than Shades of 2 Worlds, it wasn't as vital as that album was. Still, it is worth a listen.

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Lately I don't know where I went wrong ...


You say you want to be a rolling stone ...


The doctor said things ain't ever gonna change ...


Go somewhere & start all over again ...
(Dickey still, but no Warren [still pretty good]):


Raw, but outstanding:


Where It All Begins was the meat that was sandwiched between 1992's An Evening with the Allman Brothers First Set & 1995's An Evening with the Allman Brothers Second Set. Don't let the triteness of the names fool you. They are 2 more tight ass live albums from a band that excelled at that sort of thing. Set 2 is better than Set 1, but they are both worthy additions to anyone's collection. The 90's lineup w/ Dickey & Warren sizzled.

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I can tell my baby when I hear her in the dark ...


Dickey & Warren channel Dickey & Duane:


Not the version from An Evening With but too good to not include:


About An Evening with the Allman Brothers Set 2, Allmusic says:
The Allman Brothers Band's fifth live release in 25 years, cut during 1994 in Raleigh, NC, and at the Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey, is a high-water mark in their Epic Records catalog. If anything, they're even better here than they were on the earlier Evening With the Allman Brothers Band, the old material getting fresh new approaches -- the band was on for both nights, and presented sets, including an acoustic version of "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Jessica" (which won a Grammy Award), that soared and flowed, especially Dickey Betts and Warren Haynes' guitars. What's more, the clarity of the recording and the volume at which it was recorded make this a most rewarding 70 minutes of live music on a purely technical level -- you can practically hear the action on the guitars during the acoustic set. It won't replace Live at Fillmore East or the live portions of Eat a Peach, but it deserves a place on the shelf not very far from them.

I'm gonna tell everybody - what those young girls are trying to do ...


Acoustic Elizabeth?:


Everybody wants to know where Jimmy has gone ...


In 1995 the Allman Brothers were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
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Now if they'd just let Warren Zevon, Deep Purple & Paul Revere & the Raiders in, that might mean more to me.

In 1997, Warren Haynes & Allen Woody split & concentrated fulll-time on Govt. Mule. Warren was replaced (as if that was feasible) by Jack Pearson, Woody's spot was filled by Otiel Burbridge (and by the way Marc Quinones had slithered in way back in '91 on Shades of 2 Worlds). Derek Trucks, nephew of original Brother Butch Trucks, replaced Pearson in 1999 (now we're gettin' somewhere [again]).

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In 2000, the band forced Dickey Betts out (by fax no less) for "personal and professional reasons." For this tour, he was replaced (as if that were possible) by Jimmy Herring.

William Ruhlmann recounts Gregg Allman's abbreviated explanation for founding member Dickey Betts's unceremonious, fax-mediated dismissal from the band as being amply evidenced by the guitarist's allegedly poor performance on that live recording. Ruhlmann appropriately disposes of that sad straw man argument, ultimately giving credit to both Allman Brothers and Richard Betts for being the creative spark for the 35-year old band.

For the record, Betts was fired from the band in May 2000. Betts quoted from a fax he received May 17, 2000 from the band stating, "You have not been performing well and our shows have been repeatedly disappointing to both us and our fans as a result." While band members cited creative differences, a candid Gregg Allman stated in interviews that the guitarist's drinking and drug use and their results led to the firing. The same vices could possibly be said of the other remaining founding band members—but no matter.

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Jaan Uhelszki
May 23, 2000 12:00 AM ET

Dickey Betts is not taking his suspension from the Allman Brothers lying down. On May 20 Betts fired off a missive to the Allman Brothers official Web site http://www.allmanbrothersband.com, explaining the content of the infamous fax sent to him last week telling him his services would no longer be needed: "Last Thursday I received a fax notifying me that I would not be performing this summer with ABB. It said, 'You have not been performing well and our shows have been repeatedly disappointing to both us and our fans as a result.' The implication was that I was suffering from some sort of health or drug problem. THIS IS TOTALLY, ABSOLUTELY, UNFOUNDED!" wrote the guitarist.

Immediately after receiving the fax, the grizzled fifty-six-year-old picker called up fellow founding member Gregg Allman for an explanation. "His response was 'If you don't know, I can't tell you -- listen to the fucking tapes.' After nine days, I have still not received as much as a phone call from Butch, Gregg or Jaimoe. I have been in a state of shock and bewilderment and have been trying to make some sense out of all of this. I sat down and listened to the tapes from the Beacon and the last tour and was impressed with the quality of the music. I thought the band sounded great and I was particularly proud of my guitar work. There was never any discussion or indication that there was any problem in the band. Therefore, I am as hurt and shocked as all of you! I certainly don't have any answers, but I feel an obligation to share with all of you what I know about this."

On the same day, ABB drummer Butch Trucks added his thoughts, asserting his belief that the rift is not a permanent split: "Ain't no way we can fire Dickey. We will be doing the summer tour without him. I will not get into the details. I will not comment further about what is going on with Dickey. Do any of you remember a summer a few years ago when we had to tour without him?" Trucks asked, referring to Betts' well-publicized bout with drugs and alcohol, which landed him in a Florida rehab center in 1994.

In an interview with their hometown newspaper, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Betts' wife Donna echoed her husband's sentiments about his involuntary sabbatical, explaining, "They're intimating that there's a drug problem, but it just ain't happening. It certainly is not drug- or alcohol-related."

Allman Brothers manager Bert Hollman declined to offer to comment.

Betts then filed a lawsuit against the other three original members and the summer separation turned into a permanent divorce.

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End of Part 6.
A thousand clusterfucks will not kill my tiny light

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Markalanbishop »

Just an unbelievably great job, Slip. Thank you for this. The ABB were the soundtrack to my youth. My friend John Lyndon recently sent out an email with this story about Phil Walden sending John's brother, Twiggs, up to Muscle Shoals to check out Duane:

As most of you know Duane Allman was hanging out in Muscle Shoals picking up some studio work when Phil Walden became interested in possibly signing him. Phil sent my brother Twiggs over to check him out.

This is how Twiggs described his initial impression upon hearing Duane play:

“I had been in the music business for five years, and I had heard some fine music. I’d heard Jimi Hendrix playing with Little Richard and Hendrix was almost as good then as he was later. And while I sat in that studio in Muscle Shoals, I thought to myself, if all the headaches and all the problems I had had to go through as road manager with all those bands were the dues I had to pay to bring me to that studio for that moment in time, to hear this fellow Duane Allman play guitar for this one jam, it would have been worth it. And if Phil Walden walked right in then, as a spokesman of fate, and said, okay Twiggs, back on the road for another five years with Percy Sledge and Little Richard, and after that I’ll let you come back and you can hear him play again – I would have gone right out that studio and done another five years. That’s the thought that went through my mind.”
Kick out the jams motherfuckers.

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

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From William Ruhlmann in Allmusic:
When Gregg Allman was asked why Dickey Betts was kicked out of the Allman Brothers Band in the spring of 2000, he is reported to have suggested the answer lay in the tapes from the group's two-week stand at the Beacon Theatre in New York. That makes it surprising that the Allmans would turn to those tapes to assemble their first new album release in five and a half years, Peakin' at the Beacon. Happily, however, there is no evidence of Betts' alleged shortcomings on the disc, though it must be admitted that, since he is one of two lead guitarists (the other being Derek Trucks, making his recorded debut with the band), it isn't always easy to tell who is playing. There is plenty of guitar work, and it is up to the Allmans' usual standard. Following the instrumental opener, Gregg Allman sings lead on seven straight songs, all of which come from the band's first three studio albums. Betts finally appears as a vocalist on the ninth track, the 1990 folk-country tune "Seven Turns." Finally, there is a 27-and-a-half-minute version of the 1975 Betts instrumental "High Falls," a typical extended workout complete with jazzy interludes and a lengthy percussion section. the Allmans may not have been due for another live album (two of their last three releases being concert recordings), but the series of Beacon shows has become an annual event, and the disc serves as a souvenir from the March 2000 shows. Fans who attended those shows, or who just want to be reassured that the Allmans sound much the same as ever, may enjoy the album; less devoted listeners probably shouldn't bother.

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Peakin' at the Beacon chronicled the now-annual March tradition of a many-night stand at the Beacon Theater in New York City. The band has sold out the 2900-seat Upper West Side Manhattan theatre over 200 times since 1989. The tradition is known as the "Beacon Run" among fans, who travel from across the United States, Canada and Western Europe to see these annual March and April shows.

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One of the first shows without Dickey or Warren
(Butch's nephew picks up the slack [and Jimmy Herring is actually pretty good as well]):



Warren Haynes began appearing with the Allmans again in 2000 and rejoined full-time in 2001, while also maintaining his active schedule with Gov't Mule. (Haynes also toured during this time and later in the decade with former members of the Grateful Dead). Haynes' return marked a new period of stability and productivity for the band after nearly four years of lineup shifts.

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In 2003, the Allman Brothers released Hittin' The Note, their first album without Dickey:
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From Thom Jurek's Allmusic review:
There have been many tales of terror, nervousness, and depression -- as well as raw excitement and anticipation -- since the Allmans went into the studio to make their first album of new material in a decade, and the band's first record ever without guitarist Dickey Betts, who wrote and sang the last of the band's true hits in the 1970s. The result weighs on the latter side of the equation -- nervousness and fear that the old-road dogs didn't have it in them to make new music are completely unfounded. Hittin' the Note is the band's finest studio outing since Brothers and Sisters over 20 years before. The level of songwriting, inspiration, and execution is more than admirable; it's downright bone-chilling in places. The Allman/Haynes collaboration "Desdemona," while centered in Southern soul and earthy blues, is a rock & roll powerhouse with glorious jazz overtones à la "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" in the instrumental break. Haynes, whose ringing, stinging tone cuts through the mix like a fine-edged stiletto, is complemented beautifully by Derek Trucks. Trucks displays the round-toned beauty that adds warmth and dimension to the twin-guitar interplay that is very much built on the Duane Allman/Betts model, but creates shadowy chord figures that come more from jazz than blues, adding another shade to the tonal palette. But it's the sheer melodic power and soul feel that comes right through a studio soundboard that is most astonishing. It feels like the Allmans live, which is the thing they most wanted to get across. Instrumentally, the band's fiery exuberance is in abundance -- the organ-guitar duel in "Woman Across the River," which features a fine Haynes vocal, is given more thudding intensity by drummers Jaimoe and Butch Trucks and percussionist Marc Quiñones. The bass chair is held down by newcomer Oteil Burbridge, who, like Derek Trucks, adds a younger, more ambitious feel to the rootsy sound of the brothers, with his popped and thumped basslines that pay often just behind the beat to add space to the framework of a given track. The sprawling "Instrumental Illness" displays the awesome guitar power that the Allmans have at their disposal, as well as their ability to improvise off cues and feelings in a way that would make some jazz musicians jealous. "Old Before My Time," a Haynes/Allman collaboration, is the most haunting song on the record. Allman sings with all the world-weariness that has truly been his lot as a road dog who has endured his share of tragedy. It begins as a folk song, with Haynes' acoustic under Allman's voice before the band enters with slide guitar; staggered in 4/4 time and littered with hand drums and a swell that transforms it into a country song of regret, remorse, and resignation, it literally stops the listener in his or her tracks. There's little time to think about the tune, however, before the spooky, dark, bluesed-out funk of "Who to Believe" comes uncoiling from the speakers like a crawling king snake from the swamp. A wonderful surprise on this set is an absolutely riveting cover of the Rolling Stones' "Heart of Stone," transformed into a rock & roll version of a Ray Price honky tonk song as if it were reinterpreted by Albert King. In sum, Hittin' the Note does exactly what its title claims -- 11 tracks' worth and it burns on every one. This album is in-the-pocket, deep-grooving Allman Brothers Band blues-rock at its best.

And so began the latest transformation of the Allman Brothers:

It's bound to put you 6' in the ground ...


Some sweet slide on this one.


Wish I'da been more discreet ...


Snazzy & jazzy.


Still out running wild ...


Made the Glimmer Twins proud.


The rain falls on a sleepy Southern town ...


Hittin' The Note sure did. It's one of this century's best albums.

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In 2004 ABB released their kajillionth live album, One Way Out: Live From The Beacon:
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Thom Jurkek had this to say:
Do we really need another live double CD by the Allman Brothers Band? Oh yeah. In fact, when they play this well, we need them in droves. This collection marks the second time the Allman Brothers have issued music from their storied shows at the Beacon Theater in New York. The first, Peakin' at the Beacon, was issued in 2000 with Dickey Betts and Derek Trucks in the lineup. Betts had not yet been fired and Warren Haynes was yet to return to the fold. While Betts is a singular voice and is one of the pillars of the ABB's sound, this new version of the band with Trucks and Haynes manning the guitars has gelled into a formidable unit; in fact, they are something spectacular. Add to the fact that Gregg Allman is singing and playing better than at any time in his life (and Haynes is no slouch either), and you have the best live band in the world, bar none. A major plus on this outing is that with the exception of a handful of tracks -- "Statesboro Blues," "Wasted Words," "Ain't Wastin Time No More," "Dreams," and "Whipping Post" (which closes the set) -- the other 13 cuts are not usually found on the Brothers' live sets. The versions of the classics are as tough and reverent as can be expected; there is no burden placed on these tracks by virtue of their weight and status in the band's canon -- which speaks plenty for the power and acumen of these versions. And on the other tunes, including classics like "Midnight Rider" and "Trouble No More," Gregg's powerful country ballad "Old Before My Time," the funky, burning read of "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," "Woman Across the River," and "Worried Down With the Blues," the band is completely unified. Jaimoe and Butch Trucks weave in and through one another to provide an edgy, rollicking ballast to the separate-channel guitars of Derek Trucks and Haynes, who don't duel so much as propel one another to flights of six-string soulfulness and dizzying high-wire pyrotechnics -- Derek's slide playing is otherworldly; it's full of Indian modal and jazz scales, and Haynes, is, well, Warren Haynes. The other notable thing about One Way Out is its sound. Never has a live mix come across with such immediacy and dynamic tension. This is the sound of a band in the room with you. You are hearing the music as it was made from the stage; the listener is in the mix, not in front of it. Pair this with Hittin' the Note, the studio album from 2003, and you have the sound of a band that has no peers. One Way Out is essential for anyone interested in rock & roll. Period.

I'm a little schoolboy too ...


She was mine ...


Now she's with one of my good-time buddies, drinkin' in some crosstown bar ...


Living will be the death of me ...


The road does go on forever.


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The Allman Brothers garnered back to back Grammy Award nominations in 2003 and 2004 in the category of Best Rock Instrumental for performances of "Instrumental Illness" from Hittin' The Note and One Way Out. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named Duane Allman, Warren Haynes, Dickey Betts, and Derek Trucks to their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,[14] with Allman coming in at No. 2 and Trucks being the youngest guitarist on their list.

The Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks lineup continued the band's connection with younger music fans via concert pairings with popular jam bands The String Cheese Incident, moe, and Dave Matthews Band among others. The Allman Brothers Band continue to be a major attraction at the Bonnaroo Music Festival since 2003.

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At the New York State Fair 2005:


Since 2005, the Allmans have staged their own two day Wanee Music Festival at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida. The Allmans, Gov't Mule and The Derek Trucks Band perform on different stages along with younger roots artists including the North Mississippi Allstars, Robert Randolph and The Family Band, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Devon Allman's Honeytribe, Nickel Creek, Mofro and others. My good buddy Jimmy goes down to Wanee every April & raves about it. I am going with him in 2014 (wouldn't it be nice if the Truckers were in the lineup?).

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Looks like a real good time was had by all.


New twist on old fave.


30 minutes after my ship set sail ...


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The band cancelled their Beacon run for 2008 due to Gregg Allman recovering from hepatitis C treatments, but they were back on the road that summer for the amphitheater circuit. On November 20, 2008, The Allman Brothers Band received the Legend Of Live Award at the 2008 Billboard Touring Awards ceremony in New York. The award recognized "a touring professional who has had a significant and lasting impact on the concert industry." At the ceremony, Gregg Allman talked about his brother Duane, saying: "It happens to be today would have been his 62nd birthday and I'm sure he's looking down on this and is really proud of us. We'll keep coming back until we can't come back no more."

The Allman Brothers Band celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2009. That year's Beacon run also marked the 20th anniversary of their appearances in that venue; and the band focused on paying tribute to Duane, inviting guest appearances from those who had played with him. The 15-night stand was considered to be the best Beacon run of all, highlighted by two nights of the first-ever stage appearance of Eric Clapton with the band and performances of numbers from Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. Guests on other nights included members of the Grateful Dead, Phish, Levon Helm and his band, and represented genres from bluesman Buddy Guy to jazz great Lenny White to rap-rock-country eccentric Kid Rock. On March 26, three days after the actual anniversary of the band's 1969 forming, what's been known as the "Legendary Jacksonville Jam", the band featured no guests but performed their first two albums in their entirety.

In March 2010, The Allman Brothers Band's New York run changed venues from the Beacon Theater to the far uptown United Palace Theatre, but in March 2011, the Allman Brothers returned to the Beacon Theater, playing their 200th show there on March 26.

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ABB do Van the Man.


I've gotta go, but my friend(s) can stick around.
(w/Joan Osborne):


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In 2012, the Allman Brothers Band was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

This is the tour I saw in 2012.
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The Allman Brothers Band, in all their many configurations, have given me a lifetime of listening pleasure.
Now if they'd only have that Dickey reunion tour.

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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by cortez the killer »

Nice job, Slip. Although I found it to be lacking on videos & photos.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Beebs »

EPIC Slip. Your love for the music shines through all the hard work.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by beantownbubba »

Great job slip! I learned a lot about a band I had lost track of. You also beat the crap out of Fios - my system's having a tough time w/ this thread :lol:
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Tequila Cowboy »

beantownbubba wrote:You also beat the crap out of Fios - my system's having a tough time w/ this thread :lol:


Mine too, and when I try opening it on my phone it crashes every time! Still, amazing job Slip!
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Bill in CT »

Awesome job Slipkid! I love the Allman Brothers Band but have only seen them three times. All 3 shows were at the Beacon. The first was in 2000, the second in 2001, and the third was the 3/26/09 show you mention where they played the first 2 albums in their entirety.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

Markalanbishop wrote:Just an unbelievably great job, Slip. Thank you for this. The ABB were the soundtrack to my youth. My friend John Lyndon recently sent out an email with this story about Phil Walden sending John's brother, Twiggs, up to Muscle Shoals to check out Duane:

As most of you know Duane Allman was hanging out in Muscle Shoals picking up some studio work when Phil Walden became interested in possibly signing him. Phil sent my brother Twiggs over to check him out.

This is how Twiggs described his initial impression upon hearing Duane play:

“I had been in the music business for five years, and I had heard some fine music. I’d heard Jimi Hendrix playing with Little Richard and Hendrix was almost as good then as he was later. And while I sat in that studio in Muscle Shoals, I thought to myself, if all the headaches and all the problems I had had to go through as road manager with all those bands were the dues I had to pay to bring me to that studio for that moment in time, to hear this fellow Duane Allman play guitar for this one jam, it would have been worth it. And if Phil Walden walked right in then, as a spokesman of fate, and said, okay Twiggs, back on the road for another five years with Percy Sledge and Little Richard, and after that I’ll let you come back and you can hear him play again – I would have gone right out that studio and done another five years. That’s the thought that went through my mind.”


Thanks for that fabulous Twiggs story, Mark. And to think that Allman kid was probably only 20 or 21 at the time makes it even more amazing.
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Re: AoTW - 9/2/13 - Allman Brothers Band

Post by Slipkid42 »

Thanks everybody, for the kind words. It was actually fun gathering this intel. Sorry for the technical difficulties. It loads really slow on my laptop, too (although it pops right up on my Android phone). Like cortez says, it was lacking on the videos & photos (although I'm pretty sure the videos are the problem). I couldn't help it. I kept finding good shit & it got contagious. I guess I could've done full album videos, but that's not as much fun. Anyway, the next post brings up a new page & it has plenty of room for more vids & photos (oh and actual discussion too).
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