The Allman Brothers Band – At Fillmore East

by | May 24, 2005 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews | 0 comments

The Allman Brothers Band – At Fillmore East; Mercury Records B0000400-36 (2-discs) Hybrid Multichannel SACD, ****:

Some
bands are good studio bands and some bands only perform their best in
front of a live audience. The Allman Brothers are equally comfortable
in both settings, but on this disc they just light it up! Thankfully,
the recording quality is very good, so it doesn’t get in the way of the
enjoyment of the record. There are only a handful of country/blues rock
bands that I really dig, and this band is at the top of the list. Eat A
Peach is a fantastic record, but if you want to hear the band (live)
really open it up and jam with songs up to and over 20 minutes in
length then this record is worthy of your time. Most of the songs are
from other blues artists, although the lengthiest song, “Whipping
Post,” is an Allman original. On the first disc there is an inspired
version of “Stormy Monday”—mellow and smooth with great percussion and
guitar work. It is easy to get lost in the musical experience on tunes
like “You Don’t Love Me,” but there are shorter tunes in between to mix
up the pace as well. If the album were half as long it would still be
recommended, but with an hour and 20 minutes of music what you have
here is a real winner. As for the multichannel sound, the focus is
mainly up front with some effects and crowd noise in the back to help
pull the sound out into the room. Songs included are: Statesboro Blues;
Done Somebody Wrong; Stormy Monday; You Don’t Love Me; Hot ‘Lanta; In
Memory of Elizabeth Reed; Whipping Post.

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