The Allman Brothers Band - Brothers and Sisters
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Free Music Notes for Brothers and Sisters
Free Music Review: The Ultimate Jam Band! Dickie's Coming Out Party!
Hit: 4 Stars
Few bands could have gone through the challenges this band has and still come out swinging (Def Leppard is one that comes to mind). It makes one wonder just how much better they could have been had both Duane Allman and Berry Oakley made it to middle age instead of dying so tragically so early on and in such similar circumstances too.
Still, Dickey Betts pulls off the guitar parts very admirably by himself and composed both the strong tracks from this album, the great "Ramblin' Man" (probably the best pentatonic scale guitar solo ever)and "Jessica" the latter named after his daughter. For those of you who have played in bands and jammed a lot, you'll know what I mean about this being a great jam band as they were capable of tracks that ran into 20 mins to even 30 minutes on "Mountain Jam" from their "Eat a Peach" album just before this. However, just jamming and letting each member of the band play his stuff (a lot like old time jazz musicians do) is what this band is good at and it shows in tracks like "Southbound" and "Pony Boy".
This album is a pretty good one and overall the sound quality is very good considering the copy I have is not the remastered one. I see that the remastered version is the same price and so I guess you might as well go get that version of this cd if you can.
A very good example of the post-Duane version of the band. If you consider that Duane Allman together with Eric Clapton were probably the greatest blues guitarists of their time when Duane died (just hear their work together on Derek and the Dominoes' "Layla")the loss is truly great and one cannot but wonder at what might have been.
Alas, we'll never know but get this and "Eat a Peach" if you want to get the best of the Allman Brothers' work. If you are a guitarist and want to learn what great blues and slide work sounds like, get these two as well as the "Live at Fillmore East" albums as essential listening material.
Free Music Review: When morning comes and it's time to go . . .
Hit: 5 Stars
This is an old road to travel on, to be sure, but it doesn't hurt to sing praise one more time, in case there are newcomers or young folk happening by . . .
Duane Allman stands as a mighty god in the annals of rock and ranks in the pantheon of the legendary dead young, but people be clear about this, Dickey Betts stands on the mountain, too, and no throwing him out for good for being a pain in the freakin' butt is going to change that. His business here, with Chuck Leavell, to these ears, marks the peak of the Allman Brothers story. Yes to the 'Fillmore' and yes to 'Eat a Peach,' but this one here dispenses with the experimentation and mostly hit, sometimes miss jam passages and opens the revival tent to all. It is an American masterpiece. Mr. Betts delivers joyously one of the most distinctive tones in the history of electric guitar, spinning waves and patterns of lovely melody around the chuggin' Allmans like ribbons of gold. So, too, Mr. Leavell, as beautiful and soulful a piano player as you'd ever want to hear. We don't leave out Greg Allman because there is a, mournful workingman's dead earnestness about his music here, a true woeful blues and lord knows these were troubled times for the family. Nevertheless, look outside the context and just at the album itself. It has lost its cache somewhat over the years, but anyone who has ever professed to love or even know American music, in all its diversity and glory, needs to know "Brothers and Sisters." That good. I haven't checked, but I hope Amazon agreed with its little blue 'e.' . . . Essential.
Free Music Review: The last album from the Allmans' "classic" period
Hit: 4 Stars
1973's "Brothers And Sisters" features tighter songs and a more country-flavoured style than the group's previous albums. It went platinum and topped the charts for several weeks, helped by the hit singles "Ramblin' Man" and "Jessica".
This album was the first to feature the Allman Brothers Band's new lineup: Dickey Betts as the sole guitarist and co-lead vocalist, new bassist Lamarr Williams (on the last five songs), and the great Chuck Leavell on piano. Not everybody liked this new and somewhat softer sound, but the opener, Gregg Allman's wonderful, riff-driven blues-rocker "Wasted Words", proves that the ABB could still rock, as well as showcasing the previously unheard slide guitar prowess of Dickey Betts.
"Brothers And Sisters" presents the seven songs in the order in which they were recorded. Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts split songwriting credits about equally, with Allman's material being the bluesiest and Betts' the most country-esque, and Dickey Betts also takes two lead vocals.
Highlights include Allman's "Come And Go Blues", the classic instrumental "Jessica", and the rollicking "Southbound", as well as the aforementioned "Ramblin' Man" and "Wasted Words". Betts really steps into his own here, and his playing is variously smooth and fiery, and Chuck Leavell's piano is a great addition on several songs, country-rock and blues-rock alike.
Allman-fans really should get this one. And you should be aware that the sometimes-maligned 1976 live album "Wipe The Windows, Check The Oil, Dollar Gas" is actually really good and has some tremendous live versions of the best songs from this album. Cheers!
Free Music Review: beginning of the road
Hit: 5 Stars
for me "ramblin man" was the 1st taste i got of the allman brothers and i've been a fan ever since...i've heard people say that "ramblin" is a tired radio fave and "jessica" is the standout and it is,but when i heard the harmony guitars at the end i was an allman fan for life...Free Music Review: significant brothers
Hit: 4 Stars
'Brothers and Sisters' is the last significant work by the Allman Brothers Band. Their legacy began with studio albums released in 1969 and 1970, and coupled with their classic Fillmore East recordings, released in 1971, they established themselves as the premier southern blues-rock amalgam. The loss of legendary slide guitar impresario Duane Allman to a motorcycle accident in October of 1972 prompted the band to dedicate their epic 'Eat a Peach' double album to his memory. The band then began a transition to a country-rock tuning under the tutelage of Duanes surrogate, lead guitarist and songwriter Dickie "Lucky" Betts. 'Brothers and Sisters' was visited with tragedy as well when bassist Barry Oakley was killed in another motorcycle accident only thirteen months and three blocks removed from the site of Duane's accident. Oakley's bass can be heard only on the first two cuts from 'Brothers and Sisters', the second consecutive disc to be "dedicated to a brother".
'Brothers and Sisters' shows few signs that the band was in decline, but they would not release another album until 1975, and by then the significance of losing Duane and Barry would be fully realized. In particular the loss of Duane ripped much of the heart and soul from the Brothers, and Betts could only mask the rupture for so long. Despite their tragic demise, 'Eat a Peach' and 'Brothers and Sisters' represent the last of the cream from the Allman Brothers catalog.
'Brothers and Sisters' features the best-selling single ever released by the band, though they were never known for their Top 40 successes. 'Ramblin' Man', a number penned and sung by Dickie Betts, reached number two on the national charts in September of 1973. Betts also contributes the final three songs on the disc, the most notable being 'Jessica', which many people regard to be one of the Allman's best songs, and certainly their finest instrumental. Another Betts composition, 'Southbound', is sung by Gregg Allman, and possesses a sound much more in the traditional ABB mode. Betts final number, 'Pony Boy', is the purest country song on the disc, and the most laid-back number offered.
Brother Gregg Allman contributes three songs. The opener, 'Wasted Words' is another Allman classic, with Betts slide guitar sounding errily reminiscent of lost Brother Duane's specialty. I caught the ABB fall tour in support of 'Brothers and Sisters' at Cobo Arena in Detroit in 1973, and they used 'Wasted Words' for their opening number. I remember that Gregg opened the Cobo show playing rhythm guitar on this track before settling down behind his organ for the rest of the evening, and I note that he plays rhythm guitar on this studio version as well.
Gregg's two other compositions are traditional blues numbers. Both 'Come and Go Blues' and 'Jelly Jelly' start out slow and build nicely and evenly in intensity. They aren't the best songs Gregg has ever written or performed, but they're sturdy in their own right and serve to maintain the band's trademark sound from drifing too much towards Nashville.
The liner notes are sparse, offering three listings of the songs but no running times, although the performers are listed for each of the seven tracks. Sadly, the disc doesn't even offer the 'family portrait' photograph offered on the inside of the gatefold in the vinyl version. It's disappointing that the artists and producers don't do more to beef up the offerings on classic rock albums. Is it really that much to offer a couple alternate takes, bonus tracks, lyrics, and some liner notes? It would seem the least they could do for customers who may be purchasing these same songs for the second or third time around.