March 12 & 13, 1971
Originally posted on the S&R Blog
This date has an extremely special place in my heart. The date may ring true to a deep-rooted southern rock fan, but having been born and raised in the south, these two dates standout as one of my favorite musical moments (if not favorite) in rock n’ roll history. These are examples of dates that will forever hold a place in the timeline of music for future fans to look back on and recount the magic that happened in the Lower East Side of Manhattan’s very own Fillmore East. By now, you can probably tell how much I am a fan of this date as well as the record that was made over these two days. And I do so boldly say that At Fillmore East by the Allman Brothers Band has been and will be my favorite (and I will argue the greatest) album I have ever heard.
While Duane Allman wasn’t the reason I picked up the guitar, he certainly was the reason I never put it down, and between him, Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes, my interest in slide guitar skyrocketed into the stratosphere of unknown possibility. But enough about my endless pursuit of guitar happiness, that is a different section of this blog… Anywho let’s travel back 45 years to the day, back to 1971.
For those of y’all who don’t know the Allman Brothers, or those who have heard their tunes like Jessica and Ramblin Man, think Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and Whitney Houston all rolled into one sonic voice, and that voice is played by a six-unit band with the man on the slide guitar (Duane) who can literally replicate the sounds of a human voice in his guitar. Have a relative idea? Perfect. Now multiply that sound by 10 and that is the Allman Brothers, especially at their peak, which I will again argue, is shown on this record.
By this time, the Allman Brothers had produced two records that sold decently. It wasn’t until their first live record, At Fillmore East, that they hit commercial success. The music recorded over these two days would go on to be a springboard for the Allman Brothers Band as they climbed the success ladder. This album would go on to become the band’s first platinum record as well as receive a permanent spot in the Library of Congress as part of the National Recording Registry.
The Fillmore East (as well as the West) was owned and made famous by rock n’ roll promoter, Billy Graham. Back in the day, large acts such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Starship, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa played at these two halls, giving them legendary status of the venues as well as the concerts held within their doors; March of 1971 is no exception.
“Okay, the Allman Brothers Band!” The record starts out in an almost nonchalantly fashion, but the second the lights hit on the stage, the scene is anything but that. Duane slides his guitar into the gut-wrenching glorious riff that is the iconic Blind Willie McTell’s song, Statesboro Blues. According to Randy Poe, this is the first song Duane learned on slide guitar by listening to a Taj Mahal record when he was sick. He decided to take the medicine bottle (Coricidin) and try to emulate what he heard Taj play. The brothers just rip the opening track off At Fillmore East and it is led by ripping leads by Duane, who led this band of brothers from a simple 12 bar blues in E to music euphoria.
Next up, the band breaks into an “Old Elmore James Song” that Gregg professes is a true story. Duane, again on slide, leads the band into Done Somebody Wrong. Key points are Thom Douchette on harmonica just ripping solos in between verses. It gives the song a gritty welcome which leads Dickey into a solid solo midway through the song. Douchette keeps playing small overdubs as Duane teases of what’s to come during the next verse. Then it hits, Duane is sliding all over the place keeping the scene electric with a blissful solo.
Next up, the band slows it down with a T-bone Walker story: Stormy Monday, where Gregg is the true hero, just wailing the blues. The peak of his voice is captured here in this moment. Dickey and Duane keep the groove with chord fills and lead breaks in between allowing Trucks, Jaimoe and Oakley to charge this freight train of a blues number forward. This is where Duane takes where Greg left the reigns and progressed the song further with a strong mid song solo to build up energy among the band to hand it right over to Gregg, who gives a tasteful organ solo that adds color that has not yet been in the spotlight yet on the record.
Immediately afterward, Dickey takes a slow bluesy solo that you can feel his emotions in the speakers of how strong this day, all the while maintaining and every building energy around the band. I swear Jaime and Butch are hitting harder and with more passion at this point. The song returns to the verse but with stored energy that the Brothers does not exert keeping it instead to push the band further down the line to You Don’t Love Me.
At this point, they are warmed up as Greg encourages the audience to clap along as they begin to build into the 24 bars of this blues shuffle. After the two verses, Duane unleashes the energy and goes wild with the slide on a solo that is savory. Another verse and Dickey is on an extended solo that lasts about a minute before turning it over to Greg who gives his words and hands the torch over to Douchette who plays the lonesome heart solo while belting away his emotions on the harm that brings back the verse after well over a minute. Then Duane is off on another slide-tastic solo hitting a note that sustains until the rest of the band cuts out.
Now the world belongs to Duane Allman and his guitar as he plays his own solo for a solid 2 minutes. When it’s Duane telling the blues, there are no frills held back. It’s hard to imagine, but we are at the 9 minute mark into this song but only feels like it has just begun. Right then, Dickey picks up and reminds everyone that there is a lot of YDLM left in this band tonight. Dickey teased around with a solo for a short while to build the band’s energy back as Trucks and Jaimoe pound away creating a dual drum atmosphere that weaves in and out of each other, as well as Dickey. He then adds his country twang to color up the solo and add his cowboy signature to this number. We are now 11 minutes into the song with no sign of stopping. The freight train of a song slows down to only Dickey and the drums on the snare as Dickey winds up for a blissful build up where the rest of the band rejoins with Thom Douchette and hands the reigns back over to Duane. Pure magic is occurring on stage as the energy of the Allman Brothers establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
As the song comes to a close, everyone fades out except Duane who takes a second solo alone on stage. With the audience clapping along as a rhythm keeper (or encouragement; maybe both), the rest of the band begins picking up and pushes the song into a crescendo finish with Duane playing the Joy to the World melody followed by a strong finish. The audience erupts as you hear the beginning of Whipping Post. However, that does not appear until later on in the album.
Up next is the simultaneously dual guitar instrumental in which Duane and Dickey play Hot Lanta in unison. This number is pretty standard, but after playing the main theme they hand it over to Gregg for some organ input who gives it back to Duane, who has since put on his slide. Duane then does what he does best and then hands the song over to Dickey who uses jazzed infused blues licks to craft his solo. Trucks and Jaimoe then take a mini drum solo throughout the middle and the band then returns to the main theme and fades out into a trippy drums and organ wasteland of pure sonic pleasure; which ends the song in this sonic bliss. Up next is the Dickey Betts’ instrumental In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. It starts pretty standard with Duane using a technique (one that Mickey House of Widespread Panic will later use extensively) with the slide and volume creating a whining effect. Once the three-minute mark hits, the gloves are off. Solo after the solo is played with musical perfection. Words will not do this justice, so please go check it out for yourself. Dickey and Duane meet back up handing the song over to Gregg who gives a beautiful two-minute passage on the organ. And we are off to Duane again who gives a solid progression that shows how vast his musical vocabulary is on the slide. Duane continues to build up the music into near chaos then brings everyone down for a smoother lesson in the blues as well as an almost (ambulance driving by effect) that will make you tilt your head in interest if you pick up the subtle hidden 10 seconds. Dickey and Duane meet back up giving it over this time to Jaimoe and Trucks, who lead everyone back to the main theme and end. The Allman Brothers have begun crafting the groundwork – alongside the Grateful Dead – for what will become the jam band scene.
Last, but certainly not least, Gregg addresses the audience to let them know that they are going “to do a little number from their first album” telling them that Berry is going to start it off. Folks in the audience begin shouting excitedly “Whipping Post!” Then it’s Berry with the iconic bass line intro that leads to the rest of the band joining in one by one. The main enchilada of this record has begun.
It is not until at 3-minute mark that this song really comes alive. Duane solemnly tells his story by crafting his solo around A major and minor and it breathes the life of the song. Crescendo-ing up into a graceful full solo that breaks off into another A major run that builds the song’s energy back up. The Brothers are masters of peaks and valleys, to which they beautifully display here on this number. This is followed in the same fashion for the next 5 minutes. Like the song before, words will not do this sonic beauty justice, please go listen to it.
The band then returns to the 2nd verse and chorus at which Gregg is belting the words as you can hear and feel the emotion in his voice. Another solo starts, but this time it’s much smoother and softer than the last. This solo starts out keeping interests with a call and response technique that Dickey plays around with as Duane provides the groove. The two guitar players then build the groove up again seamlessly. It’s amazing what they can do with only 12 notes and not repeat a single phrase. 10 minutes in, the band slows things way down to what is similar to the sounds of the Grateful Dead’s That’s It For the Other Ones. Duane and Dickey play off of one another in an Indian Raga fashion that almost sound like a sitar for a bit. The band keeps this slow jazzy style going for the next five and half minutes. There is some beautiful emotion throughout those five-plus minutes where the band shows their colors with blue taking the lead. At 13 and a half minutes the band really slows down and backs up Duane who throws his heart and soul into the sorrow that his guitar weeps for the next two minutes.
At 15 and a half minutes the band picks back up and through another brief twin solo and iconic low to high build up, the song is back on the main theme and on the final chorus. You can feel the energy through the speakers as Gregg belts “sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel like I’ve been tied to the whipping post!”. After this, the band slows down and Duane and Dickey play around with a new melody. Duane adds some middle-eastern flair as Jaimoe pounds on his timpanis in a constant fashion. Butch Trucks keeps the groove as the Dickey and Duane meet up for a twin melody before the band explodes into the song’s (and album) finale. “Oh sometimes” Gregg calls out 3 times with Duane responding to as the band erupts and finishes strong.
Wow, this has been a treat! The Allman Brothers Band have, at the time, turned the world on its head and showed them what music was really capable of exploring. These boys from Macon, GA have shown the world not only what this new genre of Southern Rock was all about, but that popular radio music was not confined to a 3-minute song structure. This album would later go on to become the band’s first platinum record as well as be considered one of the greatest albums of all time. If you are a fan of southern rock, the jam band scene, or just great music, you must go check out the Allman Brothers Band’s At Fillmore East. The improvisations, soul, and sound will blow you away.
Until next time, let the music play!
-S&R