On the turntable...The Allman Brothers Band-At Fillmore East (1971)

After two successful studio albums, the Allman Brothers' third release was a live recording, and turned out to be the album that truly revealed the power and genius of the band. A double-LP set, At Fillmore East was taken from recordings of two gigs at the famous New York venue, on the 12th and 13th of March 1971. It consisted of mainly new material, the vast majority of which were blues covers (Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues", Elmore James' "One Way Out", T. Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" and Willie Cobbs' "You Don't Love Me"), all given fantastic, creative arrangements. Two old songs were present, "Whipping Post" from their first album and "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" from their second, and a new band original, the instrumental "Hot 'Lanta". Though it only consisted of seven songs, many of them ran over ten minutes (and some up to twenty), so it covered four sides of vinyl. 

At Fillmore East perfectly showcased the band's fusion of blues, jazz and rock, balancing the three genres perfectly. It took their instrumental abilities to the fore, with a strong focus on jams. Of particular note, this is the album where Duane Allman's reputation as one of the greatest slide guitarists of all time was founded. His slide playing here sounded like nothing that had come before, taking the style of guitar into new, exciting and previously unheard of territories. Not to forget fellow guitarist Dickey Betts, whose solo on "Whipping Post" is particularly worthy of praise. Guest musician Thom Doucette also contributed harmonica to three songs. The backing of Gregg Allman's organ, Berry Oakley's roving bass, and the twin drum sets of Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson made for an exquisite jam-band sound that has never been bettered. Of course they had been doing this for a while, but this album was where the record-buying public first got to hear it in the comfort of their own homes.
The album was a massive success, and today is considered the band's greatest achievement in their long career, and also one of the greatest live albums of all time. However just as they were reaching new levels of success, tragedy was around the corner... 


Originally appeared in "Stuck In The Past!"