Unless the extent of your Allman Brothers knowledge stems from playing "Jessica" on Guitar Hero, you realize that the band is best for its live, bluesy jamming. And you realize that At Fillmore East is the group's critical masterpiece and among the greatest live albums of all time. If you're a diehard Allman fan, hopefully the new collection The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings collection will get you through the probable last year of the band's existence.
The new set will take the original Fillmore album and collect it into six discs, featuring a number of previously unreleased recordings from the band's four-night set from the fateful series in New York City. One disc will also include the band's later performance at the Fillmore from when owner Bill Graham invited the band to headline the venue's last night.
If you haven't listened to At Fillmore East before and have become intrigues after our glowing report, we encourage you to start with the most basic version and work your way up to the new collection. Recordings might feature oodles of new recordings, but that doesn't mean it necessarily features new tracks. Sure, there are rarities such as "Mountain Jam" and "Drunken Hearted Boy" (featuring bluesman Elvin Bishop), but there are also plenty of repeats, such as five versions of "Statesboro Blues," and four for both "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Whipping Post." These new versions will no doubt feature jams that vary from the original enough to interest Allman Brothers super fans, but not everyone.
The "original" Fillmore "Whipping Post" comes in at 23:03. If you've got time to check out all three versions, by all means.
The Allman Brothers will play its final show at the Beacon Theatre in New York during October.
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