An Evening With The Allman Brothers Band

timeless songs, timeless voice, great musicians, the allman brothers band - need i say more?

Now that's what I'm talking about! Warren Haynes is the man! Dickey's pretty good, too! So let's get as much footage of them jamming as humanly possible. Because the chemistry between Dickey and Warren is just perfect. Listen to their playing on "Southbound", my favorite take of that song, for an example. Or "Blue Sky". See, you have to be pretty good guitarists to pull of "Blue Sky", and that's how I'd describe both of our heroes. The setlist leans heavily towards Shades of Two Worlds, and for the most part they do a fine job recreating my favorite of their '90s albums: "End of the Line" is one of their few straight-ahead rock songs, and it's quite satisfying; the jamming on "Get on with Your Life" and the always epic "Nobody Knows" is comparable to what happened live during the classic years. There's even a brief acoustic set: while Dickey Betts' age shows on the disappointing "Midnight Blues" (a Blind Willie McTell cover), Gregg's ragged vocals give "Melissa" extra weight. It's also interesting to note that they skip over a lot of the warhorses - there's no "Whippin' Post", "Trouble No More", "Mountain Jam", "You Don't Love Me", "Statesboro Blues", "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" or "Stormy Monday" here, though they do provide yet another elongated version of "Dreams". Now, you can call me a purist if you want, but there is no replacing Duane on that track. Dickey and Warren do their best, but it's a letdown. A slower "Revival" fares much better, with the group sinking into one of those "unstoppable Allmans grooves". You know, for a group that's supposed to be "past it", the Allmans do a fantastic job here overall.

An Evening With The Allman Brothers Band (1992) was recorded in 1991-92 at shows in Boston, MA., Macon, GA., and at New York City's Beacon Theater. This was during The Shades Of Two Worlds period, and the album features three songs from that album, including the opening song, End Of The Line. It sounds great, not much different from the studio version, but what really jumps out and grabs you immediately is the exquisite sound on the album. Produced by At Fillmore East producer, Tom Dowd, the sound is clean and crisp, and you just couldn't ask for better. Other At Fillmore East connections are harmonica player Thom Doucette, who was brought in to play on Southbound and Midnight Blues, and Gregg's organ solo on Get On With Your Life, which is an almost note-for-note flashback to his Stormy Monday solo on At Fillmore East, and is really quite enjoyable. Dickey Betts takes center stage and sings lead vocals on this funky version of Southbound and the classic Blue Sky, and he and Warren Haynes trade fantastic guitar solos on both. The guitar playing from both of these guys on this album is sure to please any Allman Brothers fan. The band does a nice two-song acoustic set, that includes the slide guitar laden Midnight Blues, and a solid version of Melissa. Gregg Allman's legendary singing voice is at it's soulful, growling best on this album, and is one of the many highlights of the epic Nobody Knows. Dickey and Warren are in top form on this, too, and at over fifteen minutes long, this take blows the studio version out of the water. Dreams also sounds great and has lots of trademark ABB guitar and Gregg's vocals are right on the mark. The set closes with a warm and energetic rendition of Revival. Every song in the set is fun, interesting, and well performed. The packaging is really nice, too, with lots of great photos of the band and crew. This was a good place in time for the Allmans, and it really shows, in the music and in the pictures. No, An Evening With The Allman Brothers Band isn't At Fillmore East, and that's just fine, because in 1992, this was right where the ABB was supposed to be, and if you ask this long-time Allman Brothers fan, it just couldn't have been any better!

With Haynes on lead and Woody on bass, An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band including the 2nd Set is an evening that brings you back to the time when Duane was on lead and Oakley on bass and they were Live At the Fillmore East. Get all three CDs and you can stop adding to your ABB collection because I have always thought these were definitive. Nobody Knows and Sailing Across the Devil's Sea could have been played by the orignal band and you would not notice any difference in the sound. The rhythm section smokes, the guitars growl and whine, and Gregg's voice, while older, is still darn near perfect for the material.

The Alman Brothers live CD with a different sound to it .