Loved It - I heard some tracks from this album while flipping through radio stations on a road trip. As soon as I got to a computer I had to get to amazon and find this.
It doesn t get any better than this - What a revelation to hear this again, almost 40 years after the fact. Possibly the finest debut album ever produced. Although the various live releases from the Fillmore display the Allmans at their absolute best, this one rocks from start to finish. About the only complaint is that Greg gets carried away at times with his howling. The whole band is tight, but the most talented were the two who died young, Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. This is a classic that will never sound outdated.
Trouble No More if you turn your old LP into a CD copy - As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book Take Me To A Circus Tent and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various music supplies and recordings from the 60 s and 70 s.The Allman Brother s self-titled debut has received universal praise for its incredible display of the blues, the musical interplay between Duane, Dickie, and Greg and such confidence in the material five of the seven tracks were penned by a band member. If you analyze the restrictive circumstances the group dealt with they should receive even larger accolades. The beauty of blues-rock is the ability to expand the song and take it in a different direction each night. Your only awareness of time is that you keep and not the length of a composition. The suits were more interested in making the record a calling card for the live dates. The entire LP didn t even reach thirty-four minutes! Shocking as may seem Whipping Post would not even be the longest tune on the album. How short is thirty some odd minutes to a blues band or a progressive rock group, Mountain Jam would appear years later on Eat A Peach tallied more ticks on the clock than the entire seven tracks on the debut.The legendary debut by the Allman s opens with a cover of the Spencer Davis/Eddie Hardin tune Don t Want You No More. Greg would show us what would became his signature organ sound. The Brothers didn t take the song past two and one half minutes but everything including the kitchen sink is there for us to soak up. It s Not My Cross To Bear wouldn t seem right if it didn t come from Greg s voice. The pure emotion of the vocals with the guitars left the masses speechless the first time this went on their turntable in 1969. Black Hearted Woman grabs you by the throat without mercy. The energy is indescribable and after three tracks your ears have encompassed three different sides of the Brothers. Trouble No More may say Muddy Waters on the writing credits but as the Beatles always did, the Allman s cover would be the definitive version. The classic riff and blues power at its best makes this one a must for a time capsule. Every Hungry Woman needs two listenings. The initial time you are so engrossed on the music, Greg s words may have escaped you. Dreams turns out to be the longest track on the record. At over seven minutes, the only blemish showing is it didn t go on forever. If you are still able to withstand the onslaught, the LP ends with Whipping Post. To this day it is served frequently on Classic Rock stations. The finishing combination of Dreams and Whipping Post is extraordinary.It took one listen and the legions of Allman fans it created were in unison with the hope the road would go on forever. Enjoy the music and be well,Craig FentonAuthor of the Jefferson Airplane book Take Me To A Circus Tent
Allman Brothers Debut - A great debut by the Allman Brothers Band. Though they would make even greater music, with Duane s guidance, this album still stands the test of time.
A Perfect Record - Despite much great music with a variety of players up to this day, nothing can really top this first Allman Brothers release. The tunes are solid from beginning to end. It s no surprise that most of them have become standards. It s also no surprise, that at the time of its release, the album was largely ignored. American blues-based rock was still not very popular, and these guys were Southerners to boot.But other musicians took note, one of them was Eric Clapton. (Give a listen some time to Eric and Duane dueting on Mean Old World.)Anyway, Idlewild South, as a whole was not up to this eponymous debut, and soon Duane would be gone. Eat A Peach was ambitious, but much dominated by Duane s playing on Mountain Jam. Then that wonderful and under-appreciated bassist Berry Oakley would be gone, too.The ABB would have its ups and downs and be a breeding ground for great musicians and a continuing fount of great music, but nothing has yet topped the tight, focused, writing, playing, and sequencing of this first album. It is a perfect record.