Search - Allman Brothers :: At Fillmore East (Dlx) (Dig)

Notes on how this differs from other versions

Dennis L. Myers Jr. | CHICAGO, IL | 09/26/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"You've probably noticed that there are at least two other versions of the ABB March 1971 gigs at the Fillmore East. So how is this one different? First, be aware that there are NO previously unreleased tracks (including the fact that there are no alternate versions, taken from different shows). This version contains the entire original AT FILLMORE EAST album from July 1971 (still available in a one-disc edition). Specifically, I mean these are the EXACT same performances (and mix, I believe) featured on the original. Of course, this new set adds the extra Fillmore material that was later released on EAT A PEACH, DUANE ALLMAN AN ANTHOLOGY 1 & 2, and the DREAMS box set. Again, these are all the exact same versions of these songs.At first glance, the new "Deluxe Edition" looks similar to 1992's THE FILLMORE CONCERTS, with the notable addition of "Midnight Rider," taken from ANTHOLOGY 2. However, THE FILLMORE CONCERTS contains several alternate versions of songs, and is completely remixed (controversial among fans, but provides an interesting comparison). These alternate versions are not available elsewhere, though this may be an issue only for fanatics like myself. THE FILLMORE CONCERTS also had the benefit of original producer Tom Dowd, who recently died. I have a few problems with the new "Deluxe Edition." First, the edits are shoddy. In some places, attempts are made to mix the songs together without the fade-outs between songs. In other places, the fade-outs are intact. I can't figure out this inconsistency. It seems like laziness to me, as if they just crammed together the existing mixes of the songs. Additionally, Dave Thompson's essay doesn't offer any new information, and seems rather short and lightweight. It's hard to not see the "Deluxe Edition" as some sort of cash-cow for the record company.What are the pros? The photographs are fantastic. The prints of the front and back album cover are the best I have seen. Again, most of these photos can be seen elsewhere, but the prints are excellent. Aside from the price, I like that this gives an ABB neophyte the opportunity to hear all the songs together. After all, the performances left of the original LP are some of the finest of their career. This new "Deluxe Version" of AT FILLMORE EAST is great for new fans and will be my recommendation when asked which Allman Brothers album to purchase first. For hardcore fans who have this material already, I think you will be let down overall. Those fans should pick up THE FILLMORE CONCERTS for a fresher perspective on these recordings. With five Fillmore shows on tape in the vaults, what the record company should have done was release each show, fully intact, perhaps in a box set. That would truly be a deluxe edition, but it would require much more work than was put into THIS set. So it gets knocked down to four stars for that reason."

Copy and paste job

Blues Bro | Lakewood, Colorado USA | 12/09/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Dont be fooled by a previous reviewer; this is not a complete show. All of these material has been previously released, and comes from different shows. Sometimes, the performances are edited/faded as they were originally issued. Love the packaging as with most Deluxe editions, the linear notes are not so great. I was not impressed by the sound, to my ears it sounds just the same as the earlier one disc released from Capricorn. There is so much material in the vaults from these shows, that this just doesnt cut it. Now, If you DONT own the Fillmore Concerts, this is still the best version available and the one you should get."

Deluxe indeed

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 05/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This repackaged double-disc reissue of the Allman Brothers Band's classic 1971 Fillmore West concert restores the original mixes, and presents them in truly stellar sound quality.



On the previous CD issue of the Fillmore concerts, producer Tom Dowd chose alternate takes and messed around with them, trying to create the ultimate listening experience by mixing bits of various takes together. However well-intentioned his attempt was, it didn't always improve the music (and sometimes it ended up doing the oppostite).

Now, this is not a complete end-to-end recording of one of the four Fillmore shows either, but it does restore the original un-tampered-with LP mixes, presenting a more authentic picture of what it was that people heard on those two days in March, 1971. And it is magnificent. The sound is crystal clear, with depth and nuances, and each instrument, Thom Doucette's harmonica in particular, sounds better and crisper than ever before. Honestly, I'm listening to it right now on my computer, with its standart-equipment speakers, and it sounds GREAT!



The first disc opens with a biting four-minute "Statesboro Blues", followed by an equally lean and mean rendition of the riff-driven "Trouble No More" with searing slide guitar by Duane Allman and Dickey Betts (wonderful solo about half way through the song). And then comes Gregg Allman's "Don't Keep Me Wondering", a superb performance with lots of great harp playing and a galvanizing slide guitar solo.



Gregg Allman then introduces "an old Elmore James song" (James had been dead less than eight years at the time), and the band lay down a terrific, muscular rendition of "Done Somebody Wrong" with more wonderful harmonica playing, including a gritty solo, after which the tempo goes down for a nine-minute "They Call It Stormy Monday", one of the band's finest pure blues covers, featuring a stellar 99-second guitar solo.



Rice Miller's "One Way Out" is performed as an up-tempo boogie with a rock n' roll-like urgency, and then comes "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed", Dickey Bett's classic instrumental, and a 19-minute (!) take on Willie Cobbs' "You Don't Love Me", which breaks down half way through to allow for a lengthy instrumental jam. (The Allmans' lenghty jams sometimes have the ability to bore casual listerers to tears, but this one is actually really good.)



Disc one winds down with a lovely, mellow, three-minute version of "Midnight Rider", and disc two opens with "Hot 'Lanta", a slightly psychedelic instrumental which isn't the most memorable thing the Allmans ever did, followed by an extravagant 22-minute take on the epic blues lament "Whipping Post".



Also featured here is the relatively rare "Drunken Hearted Boy", and the same never-ending "Mountain Jam" which first appeared on "Eat A Peach", including Duane Allman's stunning solo after the drum break, culminating in a grand instrumental rendition of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". Everything is logically sequenced to resemble an actual 1971 Allman Brothers set list with the tight, bluesy stuff coming first, followed by the extended jamming, and this, to me, is the defintive reissue of the Fillmore tapes, better than "The Fillmore Concerts", and much better than the original seven-track LP.



Equipped with excellent liner notes which include a fine essay, this is the one to get. This is one of the greatest "guitar albums" of all time, and the sublime first disc earns it all five stars."