I will be the first to admit that I find most of these 'jam' bands to be redundant and downright boring.
Not that the genre is bad, it's just not my particular choice of listening preferance. But, I do admit for
having a soft spot for the Allman Brothers, because years ago, I saw them live with Warren Haynes,
and for a brief period of time, I didn't stop listening to 'An Evening with The Allman Brothers', damn
what a great live disc that was. But after a while, I couldn't bring myself to hearing another rendition
of 'Blue Sky' or 'Melissa' no matter how much you paid me.....and so the years passed.
Well, after seeing this double disc set sitting on my desk, I basically dreaded the idea of having to
sit through not one, but two full length discs of noodley guitar solos, busy rhythm sections and way
to much grandstanding for one day. But much to my surprise, this disc captures some truelly masterful
moments and a rejuvinated feeling for a band that has pretty much knocked on Death's door more than
once before (and I don't mean that in any cruel reference to the untimely and tragic passings of past
members). Ripping into 'Statesboro Blues' with abandon, guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks
simply level everything in their path and are by far, one of the best guitar teams in rock today, not to
mention the best version this band has seen in 20 years (THANK GOD DICKEY BETTS IS GONE!!!!!)
The material spans the entire Allman's catalog, from old faithful classics, like the way-to-long 'Whipping
Post' to more recent material from last year's 'Hittin The Note', the band bobs and weaves through many
musical stylings, often sending the listener along for a major ride. What keeps this band in such good
shape is that they have never really ventured far from their chosen path, and have never altered their
style to suit current musical trends (and hey, who would really want to see Gregg Allman try his hand
at pop-songwriting...not me thanks).
If anything can be said about the Allman Brothers, they are a band that deserves respect, because not
only have they weathered more problems than DEF LEPPARD, seen more players come and go in the past
10 years, they still manage to sell out 2 weeks straight at the Beacon Theater in New York without any
major radio airplay and still manage to show the young folks a thing or two on how it's done. Now get
out those lighters and scream "Play Whipping Post!" (kill me. Please)
