Beginnings Review

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Beginnings ReviewBeginnings is the first two Allman Brothers Band albums, their self-titled debut and Idlewild South on one disc. This collection is a masterpiece, not aging one moment since its release. Several of the tracks here are still album rock standards. It also shows the band's incredible diversity from the classic blues of their first album to their more acoustic and jazz roots on Idlewild South.
The first half of the disc begins with the jazzy instrumental "Don't Want You No More" featuring an excellent organ solo from Gregg Allman and a very tasty guitar solo from Duane Allman before flowing into the slow blues of "It's Not My Cross To Bear." Gregg's vocals are fantastic, already possessing one of the best blues voices ever, which is amazing considering he was just 21 when they recorded this album. This is clearly one of his best collections of songs as his compositions "Dreams" and "Whipping Post" have become blues classics with the latter taken to new heights on their live album At Fillmore East. The other tracks, "Every Hungry Woman", the percussion heavy "Black Hearted Woman", and their killer version of Muddy Waters' "Trouble No More" are all fantastic. The fact that they still play every one of these songs live attest to the excellent material here.
The second half of the disc is best known as the emergence of guitarist Dickey Betts as a composer. His two contributions are among his best work. "Revival" with its memorable melody and its hippie lyrics has become one of their most popular songs. The jazz instrumental "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" is perhaps the best instrumental track released in modern rock music. This track, written as a tribute to Miles Davis, also lead to Betts contributing several other instrumental tracks in their career such as "Jessica." The most popular track here is Gregg Allman's acoustic "Midnight Rider", which would become his biggest solo hit and has remained as one of their most enduring tracks. "Leave My Blues At Home" and their version of "Hoochie Coochie Man", sung by bassist Berry Oakley, are among their best blues tracks. The lesser known ballad "Please Call Home" and "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" are also excellent tracks. The slide guitar playing of Duane Allman is among the best ever recorded and the aggressive drumming duo of Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson, now known as Jaimoe, only add to the intensity of this stunning collection. Highly recommended to all fans of blues and classic rock.Beginnings OverviewLimited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007.--This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

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An Anthology Review

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An Anthology ReviewThis Anthology is a great collection representing Duane's work & his legacy, especially outside of the ABB. The real keepers on this set are his session work with Muscle Shoals, when he worked with such artists as Aretha, Wilson Pickett, & etc. A fabulous bonus is cuts from his aborted solo album, which are extremely interesting. His work as a sideman is phenomenol, as he adds his own stamp to the cuts while never overwhelming the actual artist being recorded. It is also astounding on how GOOD he got after leaving Muscle Shoals & forming his own band. Within a 2-3 year span, he became one of the biggest talents to emerge in rock, all to end at his premature death.
This isn't a perfect "Anthology" for Duane. To begin with, this album has too many ABB cuts from their first three albums, as well as Layla from his work with the Dominos. Overlapping overkill. Chances are, if one was to pick this album up in the first place, more than likely, they would already own those albums.
A second knock on this set is, it is EXTREMELY dated. The powers to be haven't remastered a single track, & there are supposedly a wealth of unhidden treasures still unreleased commercially that was done by Duane. In the days of vinyl, this Anthology was quite a tribute to his legacy.... but now, they need to update it. Very badly.
In the mean time, this 2 disc set is still worthwhile until Duane finally gets the royal treatment with a box set. A monster talent, the heart & soul of the ABB, slide master, & much more. He pushed players such as Betts & Clapton to dig in a little deeper. A real inspiration.
Remember Duane Allman.An Anthology OverviewNow this is how to present a rounded portrait of Duane Allman: his key solo and Allman Brothers cuts plus his session work as guitarist-for-hire. Layla; Statesboro Blues; Dreams; Little Martha; Goin' Down Slow , and Stand Back join Hey Jude Wilson Pickett; Games People Play King Curtis; Loan Me a Dime Boz Scaggs; The Weight Aretha Franklin; The Road of Love Clarence Carter, and more!

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Eat a Peach Review

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Eat a Peach ReviewReleased in February 1972, less than four months after Duane Allman's death, EAT A PEACH gathers together the final tracks laid down by the original Allman Brothers Band, the only studio documentation of the short-lived five-man, one-guitar ABB lineup and the remaining performances from the concerts which had yielded the epochal AT FILLMORE EAST album. Far from being a stereotypical posthumous odds and ends collection, however, EAT A PEACH is a treasure trove containing much of the Brothers' best work, and stands right beside FILLMORE at the very apex of their stupendous body of recordings.
Opening with the post-Duane tracks, EAT A PEACH demonstrates from its very first notes that there was - and is - far more to the ABB than one amazing guitarist. Brother Gregg's "Ain't Wastin' Time No More," though written before Duane's crash, is an effective and all-too-poignant rumination on uprushing mortality with excellent playing from the whole quintet. Dickey Betts, tossed into the unenviable position of sole guitar player in rock's most celebrated two-guitar band, more than holds his own here, contributing top-notch picking on every track - most notably his own thunderstorm instrumental, "Les Brers in A Minor," which starts out as a grinding tribute to amplification before morphing into a Santana-esque Latin funk workout liberally spiced with impressive displays of chops all around. "Melissa," a beautiful old ballad co-written by Gregg which the Brothers had first recorded with their previous group the Hourglass, is by contrast epitomally delicate and genuinely moving; Dickey's ethereal lead is a dream.
Next up: thirty-three minutes of "Mountain Jam," longest of the ABB's many long onstage workouts, the Duane-drenched final third of which is at least the equal of anything on FILLMORE and makes me wonder why that album wasn't simply released as a triple, with this LP-length track included, in the first place. Also recorded during the Fillmore East engagement, "One Way Out" and "Trouble No More," which the Brothers had first tackled on their 1969 debut album, are solid blues jams in the classic Allmans vein.
Finally, there are the last three studio tunes featuring Duane, which with fitting irony point to yet more new directions this band might well have explored had it only had the opportunity. "Stand Back," a bouncing number from Gregg, would've been equally at home on IDLEWILD SOUTH; but Dickey's sublime country ballad "Blue Sky," with its brilliant solos from both guitarists, and Duane's only ABB composition, the brief dobro/guitar duet "Little Martha," mine and master new territory and suggest that a more varied range of material, from an expanded group of songwriters, would have kept this band firmly at the front of the pack through all those gigs that might have been.
More than thirty years later, the original ABB's handful of recordings remain one of the great listening experiences to be had anywhere. EAT A PEACH and AT FILLMORE EAST are the very best of the great, which really leaves nothing to say.Eat a Peach OverviewNot the Remastered Version.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition Review

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The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition ReviewFirst,we'll start with the first disc,which is a remaster/remix of the origanal "Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs" album.
First,nothing was really taken or added to these tracks.The origanal album is 77:06 minutes long.This remaster is 77:00 minutes long.I can live with an album that is six seconds shorter.
The origanal version of this album,even the re-released remaster,sounds a bit muddy.By that I mean you can hear vocals,bass,drums,and in the background the other guitar and organ.
This new remix changes all of that.You can hear everything clearly,including all of Clapton and Allman's guitar parts.
Take for example the exellent song,"Why Does Love Got To Be Sad".In the origanal mix,when Clapton comes in twards the end of Allman's solo,it sounds like Allman stopped playing after a few notes.In this remixed version you can hear that he just moved lower on the neck,playing some very deep guitar lines.In the origanal mix this is burried under Clapton's playing.Now you can hear how it was meant to be heard,with both Allman and Clapton playing leads.
Plus,on tracks like "Anyday" and "Key To The Highway",you can hear Allman's slide parts much clearer.They ring out much more than the origanal versions.
Now,onto the jams disc.It should be noted that there are no vocals on this disc,just insturmental jamming.The first three jams are just Clapton and the other Dominos.Exellent playing,some of Clapton's best for sure.On the fourth jam,everything changes.This jam not only has Eric and the Dominos playing with Duane Allman,but also Dickey Betts,Berry Oakley,Butch Trucks and Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers.It is an insturmental take on Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor".There is no real virtuoso playing on this track (though Clapton,Allman and Betts were the most capable of any to do that),just clean guitar lines and a wonderful beat provided by Jim Gordon and Butch Trucks.Each guitarist takes turns playing.It is probibly the most exellent guitar playing ever put on disc.It was taken from the night Eric and Duane met,and the Allman Brothers came into the studio to jam with the Dominos.Out of an unreal 15 hours of jamming,all of which Tom Dowd smartly put on tape,this 12 minute track is the only part of it released.
On the fifth jam,it is what turned out to be the origanal line up of Derek&The Dominos,with Duane Allman.This jam is simmilar to the D&D/AB jam just before it for the first 8 minutes or so-just good easy playing between the two.Just at 8 minutes or so,things change.Allman slips on a slide and for the next 10 minutes you hear some of the most unreal slide playing ever.When Duane described his playing on this album,he called his own playing "something like a full tilt screech".That's about what it is on this track,and it is certainly the best screeching I have ever heard.
Now,for the alternate takes disc.Out of the three discs,I enjoy this one the least.The Tell The Truth jams are interesting,but after awhile seem boring and pointless without Allman's slide parts,which really make the album version of the song what it is.The tracks on this album that Duane perform on,which are all the Mean Old World takes and a few blues improvisions,are fantastic.The two versions of "Have You Ever Loved A Woman" on this disc,even though they do not have Duane Allman performing on them,are without a doubt much better than the album version.
Overall,if you are a Clapton fan and liked the origanal version of this album,you will LOVE this boxed set.It is worth every penny.The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition Overview

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