The Allman Brothers Band - Brothers and Sisters
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Free Music Notes for Brothers and Sisters
Free Music Review: We are all Brothers and Sisters
Hit: 5 Stars
The boy on the cover is depicted as a kin to the band personnel on the inner page. There is a small girl at the back of the cd cover. In this album which is a tribute to recently died bassist Berry Oakley, we see Oakley in 3 of the songs. Lamar Williams is the new bassist in 4 other songs. Les Dudek is another added guitarist. We see 4 songs 'Ramblin Man', 'Southbound', 'Jessica' and 'Pony Boy' composed by D. Betts. Others are by Gregg Allman. 'Wasted Words' opens the album. The very popular 'Ramblin Man'[When it's time for leaving,i hope you understand, 'cause i was born a ramblin' man]-Rambling=wandering) and 'Come and Go Blues' and 'Jelly Jelly' take us to 'Southbound'[Lord i'm southbound,lord i'm comin' home to you]. 'Southbound' is a vibrant boogeey song.The instrumental epic- 'Jessica' makes you wonder how such a harmony in instrumentation and complexity are possible. 'Pony Boy' features slide guitar playing by Mr. Dickey Betts.Free Music Review: CLASSIC
Hit: 5 Stars
THE BEST OF THE STUDIO CDS AND #2 TO LIVE AT THE FILLMORE.JESSICA IS MY FAVORITE CUT.
Free Music Review: Allmans underrated disc
Hit: 4 Stars
After lengtly Fillmore and Eat A Peach discs, this album almost seems like an ep coming from the Allmans. Duane had already passed away, and Berry Oakley only contributed on two tracks before he was killed, so the recording of this disc couldnt been the best time for Grreg Allman. Maybe thats a reason for its short lenghth. In fact, this disc has more cuts written by Dickey Betts than Greg,(Betts wrote 4, Greg 3). Of course this disc is prabaly best known for containing Betts's Rambling man, but for me the highlights are Greg's Come and Go Blues and the equally bluesy Jelly Jelly. Jessica, an instrumental by Betts, is a great song also. While Im sure this album was recorded during a terrible time personally for the Allmans, It has stood the test of time well, and is one of their finer studio albumsFree Music Review: The end of their incredible run
Hit: 4 Stars
Brothers And Sisters was the last of five consecutive strong albums released from the Allman Brothers Band. This was also the first studio album released after the untimely deaths of bassist Berry Oakley and guitarist Duane Allman. This would be the band's biggest success giving them their only #1 album and their highest charing single, "Ramblin' Man", which peaked at #2. However, this is the first album that they recorded that wasn't killer from beginning to end, even though it has its share of classic tracks.
With the death of Allman, Dickey Betts took on a much larger role in the band. His country influences are very prevalent here in both "Ramblin' Man" and the closing track "Pony Boy", which features his excellent slide work. He also contributes perhaps his most well known instrumental "Jessica", which is the strongest track here. Chuck Leavell's piano solo and Betts' guitar solo during this track still sound amazing today. Other strong tracks here include Gregg Allman's "Wasted Words" and Betts' "Southbound", both which feature outstanding playing by Leavell. The other two tracks written by Allman, "Come And Go Blues" and "Jelly Jelly" are decent but not up to their usual high standard. Allman's vocals on this album also sound weaker than on their previous albums. Not their best album, but it was the best they would release again until Seven Turns in 1990.
Free Music Review: Classic Southern Rock from the masters of the genre
Hit: 4 Stars
It seems strange that the Allman Brothers' reputation has fallen off so much since the 1970's. While many of their contemporaries are still pretty highly regarded (Steely Dan, Neil Young, and Elton John among many others), ABB is in danger of becoming little more than a bad joke about pot smokers. Little enough has been written about "Brothers and Sisters" in this space that some younger readers might fail to realize that back in the day, this was a simply huge album, featuring not only the bona fide hit single "Ramblin' Man", but also one of the very finest instrumentals of the rock era, the effervescent "Jessica".One reason for this is probably the rock fan's reluctance to accept country music, or even anything that hints at it. In some instances this may be mere prejudice towards products of "southern" culture, but more often it's probably just a side-effect of radio formatting tactics that try to separate the two forms rather than emphasize their (not insubstantial) commonalities. While not a real fan of country music myself, I see no reason to dislike any form of art out of sheer principle. It seems obvious that the more we can learn to appreciate (i.e., enjoy), the happier our lives will be.
That said, there's no question that the last couple of decades have not been kind to ABB's musical reputation, and a long string of weak releases hasn't helped any. That's a shame, because during their peak period, the Allmans created some fabulous music, including this excellent effort from 1973. "Wasted Words" and "Ramblin' Man" open the album with solid songwriting entries from both Greg Allman and Dicky Betts. While "Wasted" is not as strong a tune as some of Greg's earlier work, it still presents a heartfelt (or perhaps heartsick) personal statement. Still a staple of classic rock radio, "Ramblin' Man" features the trademark dual guitar lines, a tight little guitar solo, and some simple-but-effective dobro-work at the end. Greg Allman's commitment to the blues is represented by "Come And Go Blues", a funky progression with more personal introspection, and "Jelly Jelly" which is a much more traditional slow blues that will only appeal to the serious blues aficionado. "Southbound" is a much-underrated southern rocker, and "Jessica" is Betts' finest instrumental ever, and while his "Pony Boy" may seem too precious for some, it does have a certain playful charm.
Of course the real power of ABB is not in the songs themselves, but in the power of the playing, particularly in long instrumental solos, a tendency that is pretty much held in check here, presumably to keep the tracks radio-friendly. Rather than try to replace the irreplaceable guitar master Duane Allman, Chuck Leavell was brought in to play piano - a move that pays big dividends on this album. Like Duane, Leavell is simply a genius of his instrument: jazzy, playful, and melodic all at once. True, his music isn't as soulful as Duane's, but his solos possess that "hold onto your hat" quality that makes you want to hear them again and again until you know every note by heart.
The Allman Brothers' glory days are surely behind them now, but the musical legacy they've left behind is a truly impressive one that deserves to be preserved and honored forever. While this album is not quite up to their very best work ("Eat a Peach" is distinctly better), there's beautiful music here for any who can open their minds to it.