Review Summary: R.I.P. Greg Allman (1947-2017)
I came across a guitar magazine commemorating the life of
Gregg Allman, whom I had not known had died in May (bear with me, since Gregg only plays organs, piano and sings on *this* album). The Allman Brothers Band are widely known for popularizing the sound known as "Southern rock", though guitarist Dickey Betts said that they'd rather be known as a progressive rock band from the South. And why not? In my musical collection, when I look at the "Southern Rock" bands, I see
Lynyrd Skynyrd,
Creedence Clearwater Revival...the Allman Brothers Band has loose elements in common with those bands, all three being from the South and having influence from blues, country and soul music, but the Allman Brothers also performed extensive jazzy jams and had classical influences, which the other Southern rock bands didn't. So it actually makes more sense to consider the Allman Brothers in the lexicon of progressive rock as a diversification of the genre. After all, the album I personally evaluate to be the first prog album,
The Mothers of Invention's "Freak Out!" (1966) had extensive R&B, doo-wop and blues influence, and many progressive rock bands are associated with other genres (not to mention, there's already a fusion/instrumental-prog group,
Dixie Dregs, that derives influence from country).
Featured on the Brothers Band's landmark "At Fillmore East" (1971) album are a collection of performances of cuts from their 1969 debut and the follow-up album "Idlewild South" (1970), plus the kind of extensive jamming the band was known for. "At Fillmore East" was actually the band's breakthrough album, and a bounceback from the lackluster commercial performance of "Idlewild South". The performance of "Whipping Post" here clocks in at 23 minutes, taking up an entire vinyl LP side, with the band improvising on the song's backbeat, owing to their jazz influences, with the main song itself essentially taking roots from classic blues lyrical concepts and combining elements of the blues with progressive rock, the opening riff being in 11/4 time.
Also on the jazz/jam side of the album's musical output is "You Don't Love Me", set off from a Willie Cobbs blues song, "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed", which combines influences from Latin music and artists like
Miles Davis and
John Coltrane, and the instrumental "Hot 'Lanta", which is very much rooted in influence from jazz-rock and progressive rock. On the blues side, though, the first vinyl side is pretty much straightforward blues, with things starting to get jam-oriented on the 8 and a half minute rendition of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday".
Not just a marketing gimmick (as many live albums are), "At Fillmore East" shows the Allman Brothers' penchant for improvisation more than their studio albums, and it put them on the map commercially, and although missing the other Allman Brothers song I heard the most frequently ("Midnight Rider", from Idlewild South), it's a great starting point for the band. Highly recommended.
