The Allman Brothers Band - Brothers and Sisters
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Free Music Notes for Brothers and Sisters
Free Music Review: (4.5 stars) STARTING OVER WITHOUT DUANE...AND BERRY ("dedicated to a Brother", Brothers And Sisters has some great moments)
Hit: 5 Stars
Motorcycle accidents. First, Duane. Then, one year and thirteen days later, and two songs into this album, Berry.
Nearly everybody knows that Duane Allman was the undisputed captain, guiding force and spiritual leader of The Allman Brothers Band. But not too many know that when Duane was killed, it was Berry Oakley that took over the role as leader, organizer and decision maker. When both were suddenly killed in motorcycle accidents, the brotherhood was shell-shocked and confused, but determined to go on. Brothers And Sisters (1973) is the album they made and (like Eat A Peach) "dedicated to a Brother".
The songs appear on the album in the same order as they were recorded. Berry plays bass on the first two, Wasted Words and Ramblin' Man, and both are outstanding. Wasted Words shows off Dickey Betts' slide guitar skills, and it's obvious he had been taking some lessons from Duane, or at least paying close attention. Gregg's swaggering vocal performance is on the mark here, too. Ramblin' Man is a classic, a popular fan favorite and the band's most successful hit single. Dickey's lead guitar solos are smoking, and it's a fun and lively vehicle for a country rocking guitar romp. Dickey said he was inspired to write the song by Hank Williams' 1951 song of the same name.
Come And Go Blues, the first song recorded without Berry Oakley (who was replaced by bassist Lamar Williams), is a winner, too, and it features an inspired vocal performance from Gregg. Southbound is an energetic ABB classic, with Dickey and Chuck Leavell, the band's new prominent piano player, providing some great solos, and Gregg doing a good job singing the Dickey Betts written lyrics.
Dickey's instrumental, Jessica (named for his daughter), is the album's centerpiece, and a fabulous piece of music. It's sort of a Southern rock meets Western swing meets Jazz masterpiece that is a joyful and engergetic exercise in musical excellence. Chuck's piano solos are spectacular, and Dickey's guitar work on Jessica is some of the best in his career as one of the finest guitarists of his generation.
Jelly Jelly is a slow blues that never really finds it's groove, but does have moments. The last song on the album is Dickey's country blues, Pony Boy, which features some spiffy slide work on an acoustic National steel guitar. It's a bouncy and amusing little tune, and wraps things up in a way that's true to the spirit of the album.
Brothers And Sisters is one hell of an album, really. It's not on the same level as Eat A Peach, Live At Fillmore East, Idlewild South, or their self-titled debut, but nothing else they have ever done is either. There are plenty of great moments on the album, and lots of excellent musicianship.
The autumnal album cover features photos of Butch Trucks' son, Russell (front cover), and Berry Oakley's daughter, Brittany (back cover). The inside cover features a photo the band and their families on the Allman Brothers Band's farm in Georgia. The photos all effectively embody the family-oriented and optimistic spirit of Brothers And Sisters...and brothers and sisters.
Free Music Review: Shoot The Piano Player !
Hit: 3 Stars
This album isn't bad but it's a far cry from the Allman's first four albums . You can see them going from a hard core blues band to somewhat of a pop band . Ramblin' Man (featuring Les Dudek on lead guitar) and Jessica (featuring Dudek on acoustic guitar )being two prime examples . There is some good stuff on here though . Betts does a killer lead on Southbound .Wasted Words is good and so is Come And Go Blues . Jelly Jelly is a great blues song . Its actually a cover of an old Lowell Fulson song , same exact lyrics and melody but the song is credited to Gregg Allman ( no big deal ) . The problem with this album is , they replaced Duane with Chuck Leavell . Where you once had gritty raw guitar solos , you now have a very melodic piano in it's place . Leavell's great , but it really altered the bands sound and instead of being one musics great blues bands it made the Allmans synonymous with " southern rock " , a title more befitting The Marshall Tucker or Charlie Daniels Band .Free Music Review: Dicky Betts Comes To The Forfront
Hit: 5 Stars
The first album with no material from Duane, Dickey Betts plays it solo for the majority of this album on guitar. The band also brings in Chuck Level on keyboards to help fill in the gaps. To me this has always sounded like a bit of a transitional album with Dickey Betts seeming to take more of a lead role in the band and Greg Allman more in the background from a songwriting perspective. This is somewhat due to the success of one of the Allman's biggest singles, on this album "Ramblin Man" which is still a classic rock staple today. Betts began leading the band down a more country blues style which starts to show up on this album. Overall I find this one to be a step down from their previous efforts. This album produced more radio staples including "Wasted Words", "Southbound" and the 7 plus minute instrumental opus "Jessica". The Allman Brothers are one of the few bands that I can think of that have had a 7 minute long instrumental track actually make it into top 40 radio. Chuck Level stands out on piano on a "Jessica" and "Jelly Jelly", and for the most part the band is in fine form, but this one just does not strike me as being quite as good as their previous efforts.Free Music Review: Yep!
Hit: 5 Stars
Brothers and Sisters is one of the all-time best records!
I've been a fan since the beginning so I know my ABB. The previous reviews seem to be about the album's content which I won't dispute except to add that brother Richard Betts was an integral part of the band and can't be separated from their legacy. He influenced a generation of guitar players and has contributed some of the most amazing guitar solos in recording history. I just want to be clear that while some may have felt he stood somewhat in the shadow of brother Duane, I believe he certainly stands on his own as a great musician, singer and songwriter responsible for many of the Allman Brothers Band's best tunes and most memorable guitar lines.
What I mainly want to comment on here is the Remastered version of Brothers and Sisters. I was sorely disappointed in the sound quality as compared to the record album. Unfortunately, they "cleaned it up" to the detriment of the music. Here are the specific problems I spotted. The worst offense is the amount of emphasis inflicted on the vocals: it makes brother Gregg's vocal too bright and clean sounding (when he had probably just smoked an entire pack of cigs prior to cutting each track to get some more gravel in his voice as Cat Stevens used to do), and the same vocal-tinkering makes Dickey sound like a 12 year old boy, unlike the LP which is an accurate recording of how their voices sounded.
The other problems I have with this Remaster is the snare drum and cymbals are also sonically enhanced to the point of causing ear fatigue ... it stresses me out, man! The LP was mellower AND you could hear the tambourine. Also I miss the beautiful rumble of Chuck Leavell's honkytonk piano ... now all sparkly clean (and sounding more like a toy) on this Remaster. Finally, some of the rhythm guitars on this CD Remaster sound a bit Disco for my taste (with that bright top end): the LP guitars were perfect, however. Shocking difference.
Apparently Johnny Sandlin is a darn good record producer and I think he should have been consulted for this Remaster! It reminds me of the poor remastering job done on another great, early '70s album, Relayer, by YES. Like Brothers and Sisters, they turned an album I was used to listening to from the '70s into a '90s-sounding album. Why? You could hear everything fine the way it was ... unless your ears don't work anymore. These great albums are from their time and they should be celebrated as such. This particular era was the best for music in my opinion, it had a particular sound, and there is no disgrace in that whatsoever. Mastering engineers need to learn about preserving "the vibe" of an album instead of always trying to "correct" things that don't need correcting! "Flat" sound always gives the proper balance, unless the whole point of the reissue is to put a different spin on the music. Then it should be marketed as such. Maybe the ABB can revisit this mastering process for the digital 24-bit release and create an Ultimate Version before the master tapes completely lose their dynamics. Please consider restoring the album's vibe, guys. It deserves as much.
But for the surface noise, I'm happy with the LP version, though I may still have to track down a pre-Remastered edition of this great album for archival. The casual or new listener may not mind the sonic "enhancements" offered in the Remastered version, especially if it is bound for a sound-crusher like an iPod, but those who are already familiar with this album might be a bit surprised with the new take on things. I would like to dedicate this review to brother Berry Oakley ... it's wonderful to hear him one last time.
Free Music Review: A good recovery from tragedy
Hit: 4 Stars
Okay, I'll be fair to the Brothers and won't complain about the lack of Duane (seeing that he died) since, with or without him, they're one of my five favorite bands. My complaint about a few of these songs is the lack of Gregg as a dominant songwriting presence. Betts writes or cowrite four of these seven songs. That's not always bad - the record's two big hits (Ramblin' Man and the obligatory instrumental epic Jessica) are both catchy, breezy, guitar-dominated fun. And Dickey's a good guitarist. Just not an outstanding songwriter, as proved by his remaining two songs. Now, I like Southbound - catchy, piano-driven blues - but it's more an excuse to jam than a song. And Dickey's solo feature at the end (Pony Boy) is a big disaster. The guy's voice is flatter than steamrollered paper.
Gregg's songs are a ton more consistent. The atypically political Wasted Words (which could be anti-Watergate, or just a laundry list of grievences against hypocrites in general) is a cool barroom boogie sort of like Ain't Wastin' Time No More. Come and Go Blues is the album's most underrated song by far. I love the blues, and this is a big dollop of it - really, the only pure blues song on this album. Jelly Jelly is just an average sex song, it would've been better without the tinny organ, but not as bad as Pony Boy.
Another element of this album I don't get is Chuck Leavel. I mean, I like the guy's work with the Rolling Stones (though he's no Nicky Hopkins or anything), but the group already had a beyond capable keyboard player in Gregg (who played piano in addition to organ, though he's better known for the latter). Two is just overkill.
Berry Oakley died during these sessions (in a bike accident! Close to where Duane died!), and he was replaced by Lamar Williams. Berry was a good bassist, it must be said. Lamar sounds a lot like Berry. RIP Berry! And Duane!