2006 special collector's edition reissue for first time on CD. Signed to Polydor in the UK and A&M in the US in 1980, Johnny Van Zant teamed with legendary producer and original Skynyrd A&R man Al Kooper to cut this blistering debut album. Drawing from his southern roots and Skynyrd's fiery guitar fuelled legacy, the music is a hot burrito of fuel injected riffing (aided and abetted by twin lead guitarists Robbie Gay and Eric Lundgren) and the kind of down home back porch rocking that brings to mind the best work of Skynyrd,.38 Special, Marshall Tucker and the Allman Brothers Band. Look out for 'Standing in the Darkness' a poignant and touching tribute originally written as a poem for late brother Ronnie, surely one of the finest closing tracks on any southern rock album.
The 3CD, Super Deluxe adds 12 tracks not included on the original release. Bonus tracks are a combination of live tracks, studio cuts and outtakes. The entire album is also available in 5.1 Surround Sound on the Blu-Ray plus additional tracks. The Allman Brothers' second album, is a mixture of chunky grooves and sophisticated textures. It showcases both Gregg Allman's and Dickey Betts' skills as songwriters…
Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue from Gregg Allman featuring the high quality SHM-CD format, the latest remastering, and Cardboard sleeve replica of the original English LP artwork. Gregg Allman's tour in support of his debut solo LP, Laid Back, led to the recording of this album (originally two LPs) at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. It's a match for Laid Back in musical value and then some, with a good, wide range of repertory and great performances throughout by all concerned, plunging head-first and deep into blues, R&B, honky tonk, and gospel. Strangely enough, the album contains only three of Laid Back's songs – "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" opens the show in a properly spirited, earthy manner, but it's the second song, "Queen of Hearts," in a soaring rendition, with gorgeous backing by Annie Sutton, Erin Dickins, and Lynn Rubin, and superb sax work by Randall Bramblett and David Brown, that shows Allman in his glory as a singer and bandleader.
The group's first album recorded completely after the death of leader Duane Allman, and mostly after the death of bassist Berry Oakley, Brothers and Sisters saw the Allmans reach a commercial peak.
If you’re going to listen to the Allman Brothers, make sure you have the first four records. The band made The Allman Brothers Band, Idlewild South, At Fillmore East, and three-fourths of Eat a Peach with its original lineup, before Duane Allman’s fatal motorcycle accident in 1971.
Spanning four discs and nearly 100 tracks, Dreams is one of those rare box sets that tells a story while delivering the definitive word on its subject. Its success has a lot to do with its status as Polygram/Bill Levinson's sequel to the acclaimed hit Crossroads, which summarized Eric Clapton's winding career perfectly. They follow the same approach here, gathering pre-Allman's recordings from the clan, including cuts by the Allman Joys, selecting the hits from the classic years, and adding stray cuts by solo projects to the mix. It's a smart move and it results in a terrific box that truly offers the definitive word on one of the longest-running dramas in Southern rock. Yes, the Allmans reunited rather successfully after this box, so none of that material is here, but it's not missed – this is the story of the band. AMG
LIMITED EDITION 180-Gram audiophile 15-LP numbered vinyl box set with exclusive extras in a Georgia-style solid wood peach crate. All nine albums have been newly remastered by Kevin Reeves [Idlewild South 45th Anniversary (2015), The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings (2014)] from the original analog stereo master tapes to 192kHz 24-bit and cut by Abbey Road Mastering Studios onto copper plates using their DMM (Direct Metal Mastering) lathe for superior audio fidelity.