Gregg Allman - lead vocals, organ, electric piano
Dickey Betts - lead guitar, slide guitar
Lamar Williams - bass
Chuck Leavell - piano
Butch Trucks - drums, percussion
Jai Johanson - drums
Guest: Elvin Bishop - vocals, guitar
Guest: John Lee Hooker - vocals, guitar
Guest: Charlie Daniels - fiddle
Guest: Steve Miller - guitar
Guest: Buddy Miles - drums
Following sets by the Charlie Daniels Band and The Marshall Tucker Band, The Allman Brothers Band take the stage. Understandably, this night never reaches the incredible heights of the previous night and is a far more relaxed affair in comparison. Still there are enjoyable moments and some interesting guests joining them onstage.
The recording misses the first song, "Wasted Words" and begins in progress with "Done Somebody Wrong," here played in a very laid back manner. Although marred by significant fiddling with the mix, a dedication is next made to the fallen brothers, Duane Allman and Berry Oakley, before they begin the classic "One Way Out." A nice slow blues arrangement of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" follows, which begins with an unusual piano/guitar sequence not commonly played by the band. "Midnight Rider" is up next, played here at an unusually slow pace. The same applies to "Blue Sky," though the slower pace lends itself to a lovely piano solo from Leavell. In addition, it's nice to hear Gregg and Dickey singing together. The band's enthusiasm level increases on "Come and Go Blues," which features another memorable piano solo from Leavell. Their hit single, "Ramblin' Man" is next, followed by "Statesboro Bues," but the band really begins to hit their stride with "You Don't Love Me," pursuing more adventurous jamming endeavors.
The fun really begins when the band invites Elvin Bishop on stage and they begin to play unfamiliar music. They begin with "Fannie Mae," now with Bishop on lead vocals and guitar. Nothing outstanding, but a fun little romp to get the band heading in another direction.
At this point, bluesman John Lee Hooker joins everyone and begins one of his signature boogies, "Hey Hey My My." Around the six-minute mark some interesting slide solos develop between Bishop and Betts. A minute or so later Steve Miller adds another guitar to the proceedings and Buddy Miles takes over one of the drum kits. Once all these musicians get comfortable, the jam begins to take off. Gregg takes a fine organ solo followed by several minutes of guitar interplay. Around 16:30 into this jam, Betts begins playing a Duane-like solo and Elvin Bishop follows in unison. This sequence is reminiscent of vintage Allman Brothers with the twin leads soaring. This transitions into a dreamy section, recalling the spacier sections on live versions of "Whipping Post," before they veer off into another hot jam with everyone trading solos. After 24 minutes, they finally wind it down following one last burst of organ creativity from Gregg.
Last, but not least, they invite Charlie Daniels to the stage, who adds fiddle to the mix for Elvin's "Little Brown Bird." This jam stays relatively tame, but does include a nice solo from Daniels and gets cooking toward the end.
Though subdued in comparison to the previous night's New Years Eve festivities, this is an enjoyable evening highlighted by some unusual, exciting combinations of musicians.
Read more about the Allman Brothers in Crawdaddy!:
"Chuck Leavall: Wrapped Up in Trees"
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