At Fillmore East

I'm coming to accept that there is a fair amount of highly-regarded live albums out there that are more like live "compilations". For many of these live records in the 1001 Albums book series, they are not the full, unedited performance, but rather the best recordings captured and curated for the at-home listening experience. As such, I have to temper my expectations whenever I get a live record, because chances are good that portions of the concert are missing, either due to poor recording quality, the limitations of how much could fit on vinyl at the time, or a preferred rearrangement of the track listing.

Case in point, the Allman Brothers' commercial and artistic breakthrough, At the Fillmore East, is not the full performance of any of their March 1971 shows at the New York City club Fillmore East. There were limitations, as some of the performances involving guest horns and harmonica could not be properly captured with the 16-track machine that producer Tom Dowd had at the time. Also, each night after the shows, Tom would listen through the taped performances with the band, and together they would choose which portions sounded good. This was a deliberate approach that sacrificed the complete performance, as the band wanted people to experience the Fillmore East shows in the fondest way possible, as they cherished them.

The remaining selections constitute a solid exhibition of what the band was like at the time, with country-rock covers of blues standards and sprawling extended jams. The highlights are the exchanging solo guitar affairs of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, elevating these tunes in a manner akin to improvisational jazz. It's mesmerizing how much time the band squeezed out of their jam-oriented compositions, especially cuts like T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" and their originals, "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Whipping Post".

While it would have been nice to have experienced the full performance, which later deluxe reissues have satisfied, the original At Fillmore East album is still a strong, kinetic record from start to finish.

I was won over after the 30th guitar solo.

This album feels pointless. I would feel ripped off if I went to this concert. I get that it's not all about vocals and whatnot, but there could be some more. The guitar and drums playing is really good, but the same throughout the whole album. Do something else. It leaves me wanting more and less at the same time. And what's the point of this being live? There are a few instances of talking to the crowd and a few instances of cheering from the audience. But other than that, we get full 20 minute stretches of the boring playing with some admittedly beautiful vocals. Like, there really is nothing wrong with this album. It's just boring and pointless.

Southern rock is just not my thing. That said, this was a good live recording from a technical perspective - sounds solid.

I really liked At Fillmore East. It is another live album meaning that you would probably expect the recording quality to tank because of it but these guys absolutely killed it live. And another thing it does better than quite a lot of live albums is that the songs flow together incredibly well as they never felt like they were constantly stopping at any point. The music itself is great too bringing some fun bluesy and rocking tunes which are incredibly catchy. This one is a bit long and can feel like it drags occasionally but i was still enjoying it. I probably would not be able to feel the same about the revisions of this album though, One of them goes on for 6 HOURS. I don't think i could handle that but i can more than handle this.
Best Song: You Don't Love Me
Worst Song: Done Somebody Wrong

I mean I like a blues jam as much as the next guy but unless I'm watching it in person or playing in the band, it kind of gets boring after a while. The playing was all great but this kind of music is just repetitive by design. I would never listen to this whole thing again. 2.5/5

I bet this was an incredible show to see. And I bet it would be great to relive that experience by listening to this album. But I wasn't there, so it's just a poorly recorded, run-of-the-mill blues record.

The first four traditional blues tracks don’t do much for me but the last two songs are true classic bangers.

I honestly try to approach all these albums with an open mind but I’m increasingly finding that if it’s live, has fewer than 10 tracks and yet somehow lasts longer than an hour, then it’s probably not for me. I can hear that they are good musicians, I just don’t think endless jamming is my jam.

Exceptional live jam album. Super fun to listen to, going to these concerts would have been great. If we want to hear the songs the way they were written, we can go to the studio album, but this is a great chance to hear the artists explore.

Chef d'oeuvre unanimement reconnu comme tel. Un 5/5 indiscutable pour la quasi-totalité de la presse musicale et des amateurs de rock. Monument du rock sudiste, bible de l'improvisation en concert, témoignage brut d'un groupe au sommet absolu de son art.

"At Fillmore East" du Allman Brothers Band est-il réellement l'album parfait que l'on essaye de me vendre ?

Commençons par ce qui rend cet album immortel, ce qui constitue son socle inattaquable. La première chose qui frappe, et qui frappera toujours, est le niveau de maîtrise instrumentale. C'est tout simplement sidérant. Nous sommes en présence de six musiciens qui ne jouent pas seulement ensemble, mais qui respirent ensemble.

Il y a bien sûr Duane Allman. Son jeu de guitare slide est d'un autre monde. Chaque note est empreinte d'une âme profonde, d'un blues ancestral qui semble couler dans ses veines. Il ne joue pas de la guitare, il la fait chanter, pleurer, hurler.

À ses côtés, Dickey Betts n'est pas un simple second guitariste. Il est son alter ego, son contrepoint mélodique. Là où Duane est feu et fureur, Betts est finesse et lyrisme. Leurs duels et leurs harmonies sont des moments de pure grâce, une conversation télépathique qui a défini le son du groupe.

Puis vient la voix de Gregg Allman. Une voix rocailleuse, usée par le bourbon et la vie, mais chargée d'une soul et d'une sincérité désarmantes. Son orgue Hammond ajoute une couche de chaleur et de gospel qui ancre la musique dans la terre du Sud des États-Unis.

Et que dire de cette section rythmique ? La paire de batteurs, Butch Trucks et Jay Johanny Johanson, est une locomotive surpuissante, un mur de son mouvant et complexe. Berry Oakley, à la basse, n'est pas en reste, avec un jeu inventif et mélodique qui est bien plus qu'un simple soutien.

Les premiers titres de l'album sont d'ailleurs la preuve irréfutable de cette alchimie. "Statesboro Blues" est une entrée en matière parfaite : concise, énergique, une démonstration de force qui met tout le monde d'accord en moins de cinq minutes. "Done Somebody Wrong" continue sur cette lancée avec une efficacité redoutable. Ce sont des standards de blues joués avec une passion et une virtuosité qui les transcendent.

C'est après que les choses se compliquent.

Le coeur de "At Fillmore East", ce qui a forgé sa légende, ce sont ses longues improvisations, ses jams qui s'étirent à n'en plus finir. Et c'est précisément là que le bât blesse pour l'auditeur d'aujourd'hui qui n'est pas un musicien ou un aficionado absolu de l'improvisation.

Prenons "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed". Ce morceau instrumental de 13 minutes est magnifique, c'est indéniable. Ses harmonies jazzy, sa construction progressive sont un régal. On sent le groupe prendre son envol, explorer des territoires musicaux audacieux. C'est le début de l'étirement, un étirement encore maîtrisé et pertinent.

Mais le péché d'orgueil, le basculement de la virtuosité vers la démonstration technique, se trouve sur la deuxième partie de l'album.

"You Don't Love Me" dure plus de 19 minutes. Dix-neuf minutes. Le morceau commence fort, avec un riff puissant et une énergie communicative. Les premiers solos sont brillants. Mais rapidement, on se perd. Le groupe se lance dans des digressions qui semblent interminables. On assiste à des passages où la tension retombe, où les musiciens semblent se chercher, où l'auditeur décroche. Il y a des éclairs de génie, bien sûr, un solo fulgurant de Duane, un groove de basse qui nous rattrape. Mais ces éclairs sont perdus dans une mer de notes qui tournent parfois à vide. Le propos se dilue. La chanson, l'émotion initiale, disparaît au profit d'une performance.

Le cas de "Whipping Post" est encore plus emblématique. Vingt-trois minutes. La composition originale est un chef-d'oeuvre de tension et de drame. Les premières minutes de la version live sont électrisantes. La souffrance dans la voix de Gregg Allman est palpable. Mais peut-on raisonnablement maintenir une telle tension pendant plus de vingt minutes ? La réponse est non. Le morceau devient un marathon. Un marathon pour les musiciens, mais aussi pour celui qui écoute. Passé un certain point, l'admiration pour la performance technique prend le pas sur le plaisir musical. On écoute en se disant "c'est incroyable ce qu'ils font", plutôt que de simplement ressentir la musique. La frontière entre l'art et l'exploit sportif est franchie.

C'est là le coeur de ma critique et la justification du 2 sur 5. "At Fillmore East" est l'enregistrement d'un groupe qui se fait plaisir, qui repousse ses propres limites, et c'est fantastique pour eux et pour l'histoire. Mais pour l'auditeur, l'expérience s'avére frustrante car l'album n'arrive pas à trouver un équilibre parfait entre la forme et le fond, entre la technique et l'émotion, entre la liberté de l'artiste et le respect de l'auditeur.

En conclusion, cet album n'est pas le chef d'oeuvre que l'on a essayé de me/vous vendre comme tel. Il contient certains des moments les plus exaltants de l'histoire du rock. Le talent pur qui s'en dégage est incontestable et continue d'influencer des générations de musiciens.

Cependant, ses longueurs et son penchant pour la démonstration technique au détriment de la structure des chansons l'empêchent d'être une oeuvre aboutie et agréable. C'est un album de musiciens pour les musiciens. Un album qu'il faut avoir écouté au moins une fois dans sa vie pour comprendre l'ampleur du phénomène Allman Brothers Band, mais ce n'est pas un album que l'on aura envie de réécouter.

Au final, ce sera un 2 sur 5 pour un album loin d'être parfait.

A blistering live album driven by Duane Allman’s legendary slide guitar work, 𝘈𝘵 𝘍𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 captures a once-in-a-lifetime moment the band would never fully replicate again. From the scorching opener 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘰 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 to the epic sprawl of 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵, the performances feel urgent, loose, and deeply alive. The improvisation is electric, and the interplay between Duane and Dickey Betts borders on telepathic. Add to that Gregg Allman’s soulful, growling vocals and his understated but powerful Hammond B3 playing, and the band’s sound becomes both muscular and atmospheric. It’s a bit ironic that this live album completely overshadows the band’s first two studio records — which barely hinted at this level of power. Essential listening for understanding how live Southern rock could sound like pure lightning in a bottle.

Hate jam bands

Fantastic blues/southern rock, and the ability of the players is on showcase here being a live album. The 20 minute jam of You Don't Love Me is fantastic. But it's another album in the "I recognize it's great, it's just not really doing much for me" category. The further I get into this project, the more I'm realizing that I'm just indifferent to blues rock. There's some stuff that I like purely out of repetition from hearing it since I was born, but I can't bring myself to care about any music from the genre that I'm discovering now.

That said, I do have to question the idea of putting a live album on here from Allman as their only album on the list, as opposed to putting on something like Eat a Peach (which is still partially a live album to be fair). More of a philosophical debate as opposed to a commentary on the quality of the live records on the list, but I just prefer to lean towards the idea that live albums should have a harder time getting on the list. At the very least, a studio album should be considered before adding a live second IMO.

However, I'm aware this album was basically their breakthrough, and they belong on the list, so I'm basically arguing a losing battle here I feel, haha.

Meh.

I hate to admit it, but bring all my biases to listening to blues rock. I think everyone has a genre which sounds like “old people” music to them, and this is mine. The reason I say this is because I could feel this remarkable album expanding my music taste. It got me. The musicianship is out of this world and it gets better the further it goes on, with the best track in my mind being the epic In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.

When they get stuck into a particular groove and just rock it out it is quite a ride. So much so that even the most cynical and difficult to please among us (me) are left pretty impressed.

somehow fun but also the musical equivalent of edging.

How does a rock band have an entire concert with virtually no singing

Personal bias has stopped me from listening to this band most of my life. Had a girlfriend in early college who listened to nothing but The Dead and The Allman Brothers. At the time I was firmly entrenched in hardcore punk and was simply unable to give them a chance. Honestly, this is a solid blues album. I understand why they get lumped in with The Dead, but I find this WAY more interesting than anything I've heard from the aforementioned.

Long and protracted. I've struggled with tour music (which I feel like this is). Groove for the sake of groove maybe doesn't animate me as much as it does many. That said, the last two tracks, are pretty amazing.