Allman

An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: First Set is the thirteenth album by the rock group the Allman Brothers Band. It was recorded live in December 1991 and March 1992, and released in 1992. An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: First Set was the first live Allman Brothers Band album, and the third overall, to feature Warren Haynes on guitar and Allen Woody on bass. Haynes and Woody had joined the group when it reformed in 1989.

“Duane Allman was bursting with energy…he was a force to be reckoned with. His drive and focus, as well as his intense belief in himself and our band, was incredible. He knew we were going to make it. We all knew we were a good band, but no one had that supreme confidence like he did, and it was a great thing, because his confidence and enthusiasm were infectious…it says a lot that his hero was Muhammad Ali. That kind of supreme confidence that Ali had – that’s where Duane was coming from.” Dickie Betts

Do we really need another live double CD by the Allman Brothers Band? Oh yeah. In fact, when they play this well, we need them in droves. This collection marks the second time the Allman Brothers have issued music from their storied shows at the Beacon Theater in New York. The first, Peakin' at the Beacon, was issued in 2000 with Dickey Betts and Derek Trucks in the lineup. Betts had not yet been fired and Warren Haynes was yet to return to the fold. While Betts is a singular voice and is one of the pillars of the ABB's sound, this new version of the band with Trucks and Haynes manning the guitars has gelled into a formidable unit; in fact, they are something spectacular.

The Allman Brothers Band's fifth live release in 25 years, cut during 1994 in Raleigh, NC, and at the Garden State Arts Center in New Jersey, is a high-water mark in their Epic Records catalog. If anything, they're even better here than they were on the earlier Evening with the Allman Brothers Band, the old material getting fresh new approaches – the band was on for both nights, and presented sets, including an acoustic version of "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Jessica" (which won a Grammy Award), that soared and flowed, especially Dickey Betts and Warren Haynes' guitars. What's more, the clarity of the recording and the volume at which it was recorded make this a most rewarding 70 minutes of live music on a purely technical level – you can practically hear the action on the guitars during the acoustic set. It won't replace Live at Fillmore East or the live portions of Eat a Peach, but it deserves a place on the shelf not very far from them.

The Allman Brothers Band's comeback album, and their best blues-based outing since Idlewild South that restored a lot of their reputation. With Tom Dowd running the session, and the group free to make the music they wanted to, they ended up producing this bold, rock-hard album, made up mostly of songs by Dickey Betts (with contributions by new keyboardman Johnny Neel and lead guitarist Warren Haynes), almost every one of them a winner. Apart from the rippling opening number, "Good Clean Fun," which he co-authored, Gregg Allman's contribution is limited to singing and the organ, but the band seem more confident than ever, ripping through numbers like "Low Down Dirty Mean," "Shine It On," and "Let Me Ride" like they were inventing blues-rock here, and the Ornette Coleman-inspired "True Gravity" is their best instrumental since "Jessica".

Two CDs. Live archive release. Long hailed as one of their best ever by the band members themselves, fans now have the opportunity to experience this spectacular show for themselves. By the summer of 2005, The Allman Brothers Band had moved into a comfort zone of stability and superb chemistry. The line-up-Gregg Allman on vocals and keyboards, drummers Jaimoe and Butch Trucks, Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks on guitars, Oteil Burbridge on bass and percussionist Marc Quinones-had been together since 2001 and had established a groove, both on and off the stage.

Though it appears in the aftermath of their dissolution in 2014, and the deaths of both actual Allman brothers, Duane and Gregg, this 50th anniversary retrospective box set is arguably the only career overview of the band one can call representative. Arranged over ten LPs or five compact discs, Trouble No More examines in depth each incarnation and stage of the pioneering rockers. It convincingly formulates the argument that no other American band accomplished more musically (especially live) by seamlessly marrying rock, blues, jazz, and R&B to each other and to extended improvisation. This set compiles 61 Allman Brothers Band classics, live performances, and rarities – including seven previously unreleased tracks – all painstakingly remastered, with and a hefty 88-page book full of photos and a lengthy historical essay by ABB historian John Lynskey that recaps all 13 incarnations of the band's lineup.