Gregg Allman - organ, vocals; Duane Allman - guitar, vocals; Dickey Betts - guitar, vocals; Berry Oakley - bass, vocals; Butch Trucks - drums; Jai Johanson - drums
This recording comes from the original Allman Brothers Band lineup and was the west coast counterpart to the famous Fillmore East gigs, also recorded in 1971. The Fillmore East tapes eventually became the source for the Allman Brothers's legendary At Fillmore East release, one of the best selling rock albums ever and widely regarded by rock historians and critics as the greatest live album of all time.
The six songs are mostly all on the Fillmore East LP, but they are clearly different takes and contain a different feel and energy than those on the famous double live album. There aren't too many surprises here, but this is one of the few professional live recordings featuring the original lineup of the band.
Between 1969 and 1974, The Allman Brothers Band were possibly the most important rock group in America and one of the most influential worldwide. Thanks to producer Tom Dowd, they took the brilliance of the blues rock movement spearheaded by Cream, Jeff Beck and Led Zeppelin, and gave it a distinctly American and Southern flavor. They invented Southern Rock and wrote the book on dual guitar arrangements.
Eight months after the recording of this show, and only 14 days after their At Fillmore East live album went gold, guitarist Duane Allman died tragically in a motorcycle accident. Nearly one year to the day, and only a few blocks from the site of Duane's accident, bassist Berry Oakley would succumb to the same fate, again on a motorcycle.
The Allman Brothers Band continued to play and tour together on and off for an additional 35 years, but would never achieve the impact this original version. They are still together today, but only Gregg Allman, Jaimoe, Johnson and Butch Trucks remain from the classic initial lineup.