The members of the Allman Brothers Band have been sitting on some personal recordings of their shows which they've never released to the public -- until now. They're mining their vaults for two new albums, both of which capture the band's early-1970s live performances. I don't know about you, but I never had a chance to see them back in the glory days, so these two releases should go a long way toward illuminating just what the band was all about and why their live shows were so legendary back in the day.
Here's the scoop from
AllmanBrothersBand.com:
The 2/11/72 concert in their Macon, GA hometown is the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND’s first show there after the death of founding guitarist DUANE ALLMAN and features the group as a five-piece with all original members: keyboardist GREGG ALLMAN, drummers BUTCH TRUCKS and JAIMOE, bassist BERRY OAKLEY and guitarist DICKEY BETTS. Never-before-heard in the bootleg market, the Macon performance showed the band in ferocious form, just two months before their legendary EAT A PEACH live album was released.
The band’s 5/1/73 show at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY marked a much different line-up for the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND. Keyboardist CHUCK LEAVELL (who would later go on to the Rolling Stones) had joined the group in mid 1972 just before founding bassist BERRY OAKLEY’s untimely death. Jaimoe’s childhood friend LAMAR WILLIAMS was chosen to replace Berry Oakley six months prior to the Nassau recording. Four songs from this set had not appeared on any of the previous live or archival releases: “Come & Go Blues,” “Wasted Words,” “Jessica” and “Ramblin’ Man.” Like the 2/11/72 Macon show, this concert is from a two-track reel-to-reel soundboard master tape.
Both albums will arrive on February 12, and more rare perfromances from the Allmans' vaults are in the works. And if they hit the road anytime soon and stop in the Northwest, you'll be the first to know, if you
join the club.
