The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969. Their 1971 live release, At Fillmore East, represented an artistic and commercial breakthrough. The album features extended renderings of their songs “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Whipping Post”, and is often considered among the best live albums. Group leader Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident not long afterward, and the band completed Eat a Peach (1972) in his memory, a dual studio/live album that cemented the band’s popularity. Following the death of bassist Berry Oakley later that year, the group recruited keyboardist Chuck Leavell and bassist Lamar Williams for 1973’s Brothers and Sisters, which, combined with the hit single, “Ramblin’ Man”, placed the group at the forefront of 1970’s rock music. Rolling Stone ranked them 52nd on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004. (More from Wikipedia)
Missing Links by Link Protrudi and the Jaymen is an unusual album in that Side 1 is at 33 rpm, and Side 2 is at 45 rpm. I know of only one other such album, a retrospective album by the Allman Brothers Band simply called The Allman Brothers. This was a release by the band’s label Capricorn Records in the UK as an introduction to the Brits by one of America’s best. In this case, Side 1 is a few early songs by the band and is at 45 rpm, while Side 2 is the side-long performance (at 33 rpm) of “Whipping Post” as taken from their live album, At Fillmore East. The latter might be the Allman Brothers Band’s best known song, at least among those familiar with all of their work.
You might notice at the very end of "Whipping Post" the opening notes of the next song that they play at the concert, "Mountain Jam", an improvised jam that is based on a Donovan song, "There Is a Mountain". If you want a real treat, and you also own a copy of the band's next album, Eat a Peach (originally a double LP), you should play the side-long "Whipping Post" from At Fillmore East, followed by "Mountain Jam", which takes up two album sides of Eat a Peach. Those three album sides constitute nearly an hour of top-notch live rock and roll where there is not a single wasted note or pointless solo. This is evidently how they closed their set at Fillmore East that night, and what a show it must have been!
Like Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominos only released one studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970), though it was a double album. A few days into the sessions for the album, Eric Clapton first heard Duane Allman play with the Allman Brothers Band at an outdoor concert in Miami. Eric Clapton and Duane Allman had an all-night jam session soon after that; Allman was invited to join Derek and the Dominos as a fifth member, but he declined in order to remain loyal to his band. However, Duane Allman played slide guitar on all but 3 of the 14 songs on the album.
(May 2014)
