Allman Brothers

Beginnings is a 1973 reissue of the Allman Brothers Band's first two albums, The Allman Brothers Band and Idlewild South, made to capitalize on the band's popularity since those records had first come out. For "Beginnings", the band's debut album was remixed by Tom Dowd, replacing Adrian Barber's original mix.

Tijdens de eerste helft van de 70-er jaren waren the Allman Brothers Band de meest invloedrijke rockgroep in Amerika, waarbij zij rockmuziek en de grenzen daarvan herdefinieerden. Het krachtige, uitgebreide improviseren van de band op het podium veranderde de normen van concertoptredens; er waren andere groepen die bekend stonden om hun improvisaties maar the Allman Brothers konden een nummer 30 tot 40 minuten uitrekken, en waren op zijn best opwindend, nooit hedonistisch. Zij gaven het alles een distinctieve Zuidelijke stem en openden hierdoor een deur voor een golf van 70-er rockbands vanuit de ten zuiden van de Mason-Dixon Line gelegen regio, waaronder Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The story of the Allman Brothers Band is one of triumph, tragedy, redemption, dissolution, and more redemption. Since their beginning in the late '60s, they went from being America's single most influential band to a shell of their former self trading on past glories, to reach the 21st century resurrected as one of the most respected rock acts of their era. For the first half of the '70s, the Allman Brothers Band was the most influential rock group in America, redefining rock music and its boundaries. The band's mix of blues, country, jazz, and even classical influences, and their powerful, extended on-stage jamming altered the standards of concert performance – other groups were known for their on-stage jamming, but when the Allman Brothers stretched a song out for 30 or 40 minutes, at their best they were exciting, never self-indulgent. They gave it all a distinctly Southern voice and, in the process, opened the way for a wave of '70s rock acts from south of the Mason-Dixon Line, including the Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Blackfoot, whose music, at least initially, celebrated their roots.

Every ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND live performance is special and unique. Renowned for their spontaneous improvisation, no two shows are ever the same; each captures a pivotal period in the band’s history and holds a story just waiting to be told.

Keep On Wondering is a 2010 bootleg CD of the Allman Brothers Band, recorded at SUNY, Stony Brook in Stony Brook, New York State on 26 July, 1970. It is not the full Stony Brook performance, as this version omits "Whipping Post" but it is an excellence soundboard recording.

Tijdens de eerste helft van de 70-er jaren waren the Allman Brothers Band de meest invloedrijke rockgroep in Amerika, waarbij zij rockmuziek en de grenzen daarvan herdefinieerden. Het krachtige, uitgebreide improviseren van de band op het podium veranderde de normen van concertoptredens; er waren andere groepen die bekend stonden om hun improvisaties maar the Allman Brothers konden een nummer 30 tot 40 minuten uitrekken, en waren op zijn best opwindend, nooit hedonistisch. Zij gaven het alles een distinctieve Zuidelijke stem en openden hierdoor een deur voor een golf van 70-er rockbands vanuit de ten zuiden van de Mason-Dixon Line gelegen regio, waaronder Lynyrd Skynyrd.

A good if not ideal one-disc best-of by the venerable American institution, this set has all the hits (including Greg's solo "Midnight Rider") and studio versions of most of the concert favorites (translation: don't expect the usually epic "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed"). Interestingly, for a band that first made its mark as a contemporary blues band, not much of the material here is blues per se ("Whipping Post" being the obvious exception), so if you're considering buying this you might want to check out the previously available DECADE OF HITS: 1969-1979, another one-disc best-of that gives a more well-rounded view of the band's music.

That good fortune and success can be short lived and transitory has been rarely illustrated better than by the awful circumstances that befell the Allman Brother Band in 1971 and 1972. The group s debut and sophomore albums, released in 1969 and 1970 respectively, had achieved relatively low sales outside of the southern states, but reviews were generally positive and American critics, particularly those writing for the by then almost biblical Rolling Stone, had come out in favour of the Allmans. But it was to be the marvellous live set recorded at New York s Fillmore East in March of 71 that would provide for the commercial breakthrough that turned the group from local curios into national treasures.

That good fortune and success can be short lived and transitory has been rarely illustrated better than by the awful circumstances that befell the Allman Brother Band in 1971 and 1972. The group s debut and sophomore albums, released in 1969 and 1970 respectively, had achieved relatively low sales outside of the southern states, but reviews were generally positive and American critics, particularly those writing for the by then almost biblical Rolling Stone, had come out in favour of the Allmans. But it was to be the marvellous live set recorded at New York s Fillmore East in March of 71 that would provide for the commercial breakthrough that turned the group from local curios into national treasures.