Great music, bad sound quality
M. Perini | 01/20/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This show is interesting for the changed lineup following the deaths of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. The music is very fine, with some very long jams. The recording quality is very poor. The mix is bad, and all the instruments have a slight bit of distortion, which gets tiring quickly. I'm not sure why ABB offered this show for commercial release when better tapes from 1973 exist..like the June Washington D.C. shows.
5 stars for music, 1 star for recording quality, 3 stars average."
Superb record of a band peaking
J. Johnson | Manassas, VA | 01/14/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After Duane Allman's untimely passing the Allman Brothers toured as a five piece band for about a year. They first added keyboardist Chuck Leavell to give the band new colors in sound, then added Lamar Williams after the death of original bassist Berry Oakley. This show, the fourth in the Allman Brothers archival series finds this band exploring how far they could take the music in this new context.
While Dickey Betts is a good slide player, his playing lacks that special touch Duane Allman had. Often times it seems he is playing in the holes that Duane would have left. Yet, his performance is satisfactory in its own right. The band features much of the material from Live At The Fillmore, with the additions of several songs from the uupcoming Brothers and Sisters record. Of special note is disc 2, backing up a solid Trouble No More with jam classics You Don't Love Me, Les Brers In A Minor, Whipping Post and Mountain Jam. On all these, especially Mountain Jam, Chuck Leavell shines. Gregg's voice is in great form and the rhythm section is dead on.
This is a scary good record, much better than the dreadful Wipe the Windows disc put out a couple of years later. An essential piece of the bands recorded history. Buy it yesterday"
...and by the way, this review's for you. Sincerely, Me
Exile 72 | 07/28/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Here's some info on how this release compares to some of the other in this series. Starting with the sound quality, sure it's not the best but I am happy with it considering the tape source and age. You have to expect some limitations and, yes, they do exist. In all the sound here is better than the American University release and most of the Stoney Brook release. But is not quite as good as the Boston Common release.
We all know that Duane and Barry are missing here but the band still rocks like only the Brothers can. The trademark Duane tunes are handled just fine by DB and Lamar fills in nicely. At first listen, it was hard for me to notice the absence of Duane but in the end it is noticeable. Chuck Leavell is present here as well and he adds a great touch.
The real gem here, however, is the track listing. "Wasted Words", "Jessica", and "Ramblin' Man" are real nice to hear this early in the history of the band. All of the other songs are familiar and played in a similar style to all previous releases. No suprises with these.
If you like the others in this series, this one will not disappoint you. Enjoy!"