Allman Brothers - Live Atlanta Intn'l Pop Festival: July 3 & 5 1970

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Free Music Notes for Live Atlanta Intn'l Pop Festival: July 3 & 5 1970

Free Music Review: A LOVE LETTER FROM 1970
Hit: 5 Stars

It was also a time when the Allman Brothers Band was just a bunch of kids. This current artifact before us finds the band performing much of the same material that would be turned into the classic THE ALLMAN BROTHERS AT FILLMORE EAST eight months latter. There are two things, which must be said at this point: 1.) There is no excuse not to have THE ALLMAN BROTHERS AT FILLMORE EAST in your CD collection-if you don't have it now, go get it. And 2.) LIVE ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL: JULY 3 & 5, 1970 cannot compete with the afore mentioned classic and isn't meant to. Instead what we have is a set of performances that have a different spirit behind them. While the renditions of these songs are not a confident as on THE ALLMAN BROTHERS AT FILLMORE EAST, they have a freewheeling exhilaration and rawness that perks up your attention. We have the original Allman Brothers lineup with Duane Allman and Berry Oakley as well as the addition of Thom Doucette on harmonica and Johnny Winter sitting in with guitar on the July 5th performance of "Mountain Jam". All this comes as a love letter from the band written long ago.

The Allman Brothers Band would go on to a series of tragedies and humiliations in the years to come. Duane Allman and Berry Oakley would lose their lives in motorcycle accidents in just a few short years. Gregg Allman would go through multiple marriages and addictions. The band would break up or go dormant several times. Finally Dickey Betts would cross the line just one last time and get himself kicked out of the band. All this does not detract from the fact that not enough good things can be said about the band-especially in it's early years shown here. Anyone who had put down their joint and put their clothes back on long enough to just sit there and listen would tell you the same. Things have changed since then, as things must-but not all change is for the best. Recent concerts and music videos resemble less musical performance than cheerleading demonstrations. While sentiments and attitudes toward women in 1970 were less than enlightened, there was little doubt that our musical heroes loved women. I am less than 100% convinced that today's "stars" actually like women. The Allmans represented a time when you could ask a rocker to sit on a stool with his guitar and sing you his song all by himself and he could give a good accounting for himself. Many if not most of our current "stars" could not do that: the actual playing of music is left to the specialists.

Fans of the Allman Brothers Band have many shortcomings-a lot of the things we did way back in 1970 were ridiculous and breathtakingly shortsighted. We would be less than amused to have our children and grandchildren know about some of the things we did back then. But the reason this music bears multiple editions and different concert recordings is that both the band and their fans care about the music. You would think having the first twenty-three various recordings of "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed " would be enough for your average ABB fan; but it isn't nearly enough.

The liner notes indicate than parts of these performances were released as part of THE FIRST GREAT FESTIVALS OF THE SEVENTIES-a "Woodstock"-like album put out in the early 1970's. Not much is said where these tapes were all this time nor why nothing was made of them until now. In any event, the quality is good to excellent with few embarrassing excesses common to the times. (For that just listen to the announcer's introductions before both of these performances). By all means, get THE ALLMAN BROTHERS AT FILLMORE EAST to get your mind right. That album is like drinking excellent whiskey straight, pure and at full strength. Then get LIVE ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL POP FESTIVAL: JULY 3 & 5, 1970 for an additional good time. Not quite as good; but different enough to be good all the same.

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