i finally got around to listening to this. it’s an interesting slice of history in the development of a band. i recall hitchhiking to atlanta (which was a stone drag) for the 1st atlanta pop festival where the allman brothers dominated the secondary stage. despite the abundence of talent on the main stage, i ended up hanging around the other one, as i was mesmerized by this band. outside of jazz, i’d never heard such interplay between not just the soloists, but the whole band as a working unit. as mentioned in the review, you could tell that the band “were living what they were doing” which even made them that much more authentic, and endearing.

typically, i abhor gratuitous solos (on the guitar especially) that run on for 88 bars when the ideas expressed could have easily been said in 8. but with the allmans, duane & dickey in particular, the ideas just kept on coming and the solos never wore out their welcome. they were a wonderful band in their early days, but after duane’s death, and butch trucks too, i lost interest as they could never match the greatness of the original band.

thanks for sharing this.