For the first half of the 1970s,the Allman Brothers Bandwas the most influentialrockgroup in America, redefiningrockmusic and its boundaries. The bands mix ofblues,country,jazz, and evenclassicalinfluences, and their powerful, extended on-stage jamming altered the standards of concert performance -- other groups were known for their on-stage jamming, but whenthe Allman Brothersstretched a song out for 30 or 40 minutes, at their best they were exciting, never self-indulgent. They gave it all a distinctly Southern voice and, in the process, opened the way for a wave of 70srockacts from south of the Mason-Dixon Line, includingthe Marshall Tucker Band,Lynyrd Skynyrd, andBlackfoot, whose music, at least initially, celebrated their roots. And for a time, almost single-handedly, they also madeCapricorn Recordsinto a major independent label.

Duane Allmanbegan working as a session guitarist atFame Studiosin Muscle Shoals, AL, and it was there, appearing on records byWilson Pickett,Aretha Franklin,John Hammond, andKing Curtis, among others, that he made his reputation. In 1969, at the coaxing of ex-Otis ReddingmanagerPhil Walden,Allmangave up session work and began putting together a new band --Jaimoecame aboard, and thenAllmans longtime friendButch Trucksand anotherAllmanfriend,Berry Oakley, joined, along withDickey Betts, with whomOakleywas playing in a group calledSecond Coming. A marathon jam session ensued, at the end of whichAllmanhad his band, except for a singer -- that came later, when his brotherGreggagreed to join. They were duly signed toWaldens newCapricornlabel.

By this time, the bands concerts were becoming legendary for the extraordinarily complex yet coherent interplay between the two guitarists andGregg Allmans keyboards, sometimes in jams of 40 minutes or more to a single song without wasting a note. And unlike theart rockbands of the era, they werent interested in impressing anyone with how they played scales, how many different tunings they knew, or whichclassicalriffs they could quote. Rather,the Allmansincorporated the techniques and structures ofjazzandclassicalinto their playing. In March of 1971, the band played a series of shows atthe Fillmore Eastthat were recorded for posterity and subsequently transformed into their third album,At Fillmore East. This double LP, issued in July of 1971, became an instant classic, rivaling the previousblues-rocktouchstone cut atthe Fillmore,CreamsWheels of Fire.Duane Allmanand his band were suddenly the new heroes to millions of mostly older teenage fans. Although it never cracked the Top Ten,At Fillmore Eastwas certified as a gold record on October 15, 1971.

Duane Allmanwas killed in a motorcycle accident 14 days later. The band had been midway through work on its next album,Eat a Peach, which they completed as a five-piece, withDickey Bettsplaying all of the lead and slide guitar parts. Their second double album in a row became another instant classic, and their first album to reach the Top Ten, peaking at number five.

Despite having completedEat a Peach, the group was intact in name only. Rather than try to replaceDuane Allmanas a guitarist, they contrived to add a second solo instrument in the form of a piano, played byChuck Leavell. The group had already begun work on a long-delayed follow-up toEat a Peach, whenOakleywas killed in a motorcycle accident only a few blocks fromAllmans accident site.

Lamar Williams(b. Jan. 15, 1949-d. Jan. 25, 1983) was recruited on bass, and the new lineup continued the groups concert activities, as well as eventually finishing the bands next album,Brothers and Sisters. which was released on August 1, 1973. During the extended gap in releases followingEat a Peach,AtcoreissuedThe Allman Brothers BandandIdlewild Southtogether as the double LPBeginnings, which charted higher than either individual release.

Brothers and Sistersmarked the beginning of a new era. The album had a more easygoing and freewheeling sound, less bluesy and morecountry-ish. This was partly a result ofCapricornlosing the services ofTom Dowd, who had produced their three previous albums. Additionally,Dickey Betts full emergence as a songwriter and singer as well as the groups only guitarist, playing all of the lead and slide parts, altered the balance of the groups sound, pushing forth his distinct interest incountry-rock.Bettsalso became the reluctant de facto leader of the band during this period, not from a desire for control as much as because he was the only one with the comparative stability and creative input to take on the responsibility.

An entire range ofSouthern rockacts had started to make serious inroads into the charts in the wake ofthe Allman Brothers. Labels such asMCAand evenIsland Recordsbegan looking for this same audience, signing acts likeLynyrd SkynyrdandBlackfoot, respectively, among others. For the first time since the mid-50s, the heyday of therockabillyera, a major part of the country was listening torock & rollwith a distinctly Southern twang.

The band began showing cracks in 1974, asGregg AllmanandDickey Bettsboth began solo careers, recording albums separately from the group.AllmanmarriedCher(twice), an event that set him up in a Hollywood-based lifestyle that created a schism with the rest of the band. They might have survived all of this, but for the increasing strain of the members other personal habits -- drugs and alcohol had always been a significant part of the lives of each of the members, except perhaps forJaimoe, but as the strain and exhaustion of touring continued, coupled with the need to produce new music, these indulgences began to get out of control, andBetts leadership of the group created a further strain for him.

The bands difficulties were showcased by their next album, the highly unevenWin, Lose or Draw, which lacked the intensity and sharpness of their prior work. The whole band wasnt present for some of the album, andGregg Allmans involvement withCher, coupled with his serious drug problems, prevented him from participating with the rest of the group -- his vocals were added separately, on the other side of the country.

The band finally came apart in 1976 whenAllmanfound himself in the midst of a federal drug case against a supplier and agreed to testify against a friend and band employee.Leavell,Johanson, andWilliamssplit to formSea Level, which became a moderately successful band, cutting four albums forCapricornover the next four years, whileBettspursued a solo career. All of them vowed never to work withGregg Allmanagain.

Amid this split,Capricorn Records, reaching ever deeper into its vaults for anything that could generate income, issued two collections, a double-LP live collection calledWipe the Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas, showcasing theBrothers and Sisters-era band at various concerts, and a double-LP best-of package,And the Road Goes On Forever.Wipe the Windowswas a modest seller, appearing as it did when the groups sales had already fallen off, and it was compared unfavorably with the legendary work onAt Fillmore East. The studio compilation passed with barely a ripple, however, because most fans already had the stuff on the original albums.

They were all back together by 1978, however, and over the next four years the group issued a somewhat uneven series of albums.Enlightened Rogues(1979) somewhat redeemed their reputations -- produced byTom Dowd, who had always managed to get the very best work out of the group, it had more energy than any record theyd issued in at least six years. It also restored the two-guitar lineup, courtesy ofDan Toler(fromDickey Betts solo band), who was brought in whenChuck Leavell(along withLamar Williams) refused to return tothe Allmans. By that time, however,the Allmanswere fighting against time and musical trends.Disco,punk, andpower pophad pretty much stolen a march on the arena acts epitomized bythe Allmans; whatever interest they attracted was a matter of nostalgia for their earlier releases. The group was in danger of becomingarena rocks third big oldies act (afterthe Moody BluesandPaul McCartneys Wings).

Additionally, their business affairs were in a shambles, owing to the bankruptcy ofCapricorn Recordsin late 1979. When the fallout from theCapricorncollapse settled,PolyGram Records, the companys biggest creditor, took over the labels library, andthe Allman Brotherswere cut loose from their contract.

Their signing toAristaenabled the group to resume recording. What they released, however, was safe, unambitious, routinely commercialpop/rock, closer in spirit tothe Doobie Brothersthan their own classic work, and a shadow of that work, without any of the invention and daring upon which theyd built their reputations. The groups fortunes hit a further downturn whenJaimoewas fired, breaking up one of the best rhythm sections inrock. For most of the 1980s, the group was on hiatus, while the individual members sorted out their personal and professional situations. During those years, onlyDickey Bettsseemed to be in a position to do much with his music, and most of that wasnt selling.

In 1989, the band was reactivated again, partly owing toPolyGrams decision to issue the four-CD box set retrospectiveDreams. That set, coupled with the reissue of their entireCapricorncatalog on compact disc in the years leading up to the boxs release, reminded millions of older listeners of the bands greatness, and introduced the group to millions of people too young to have been around forWatkins Glen, much less theFillmoreshows.

They reunited and also restored the bands original double-lead-guitar configuration, addingWarren Hayneson lead guitar alongsideDickey Betts, withAllen Woodyplaying bass;Chuck Leavellwas gone, however, having agreed to jointhe Rolling Stoneson tour as their resident keyboard player, andLamar Williamshad succumbed to cancer in 1983.

The new lineup reinvigorated the band, which signed withEpic Recordsand surprised everyone with their first release,Seven Turns. Issued in 1990, it got some of the best reviews and healthiest sales theyd had in more than a decade. Their subsequent studio albums failed to attract as much enthusiasm, and their two live albums,An Evening With the Allman Brothers Bandand2nd Set, released in 1992 and 1995, respectively, were steady but not massive sellers. Much of this isnt the fault of the material so much as a natural result of the passage of time, which has leftthe Allmanscompeting with two decades worth of successors and rivals.

The group has stayed together since 1989, overcoming continuing health and drug problems, which have occasionally battered their efforts at new music. They remain a top concert attraction 25-plus years after their last historically important album, easily drawing more than 20,000 fans at a time to outdoor venues, or booking 2,000-seat theaters for three weeks at a time. Their back catalog, especially the first five albums, remain consistent sellers on compact disc and recently returned to the reconstitutedCapricornlabel (still a home forSouthern rockers, including the latter-dayLynyrd Skynyrd, as well as reissues ofElmore Jamesand other classic bluesmen), under a 1997 licensing agreement that has resulted in their third round of digital remastering.

Apart from theirAristareleases,the Allman Brothers Bandhas remained remarkably consistent, altering their music only gradually over 30 years. They sound morecountrythan they did in their early days, and theyre a bit more varied in the vocal department, but they have still been soaring at their concerts and on most of their records over the last ten-plus years.

Allen Woody

Berry Oakley

Butch Trucks

Chuck Leavell

David Brown

David Frankie Toler

David Goldflies

Derek Trucks

Dickey Betts

Duane Allman

Gregg Allman

Jack Pearson

Jaimoe Johnson

Johnny Neel

Lamar Williams

Marc Quiñones

Oteil Burbridge

Warren Haynes

Eat a Peach标签: Vinyl Lovers发行: 1972年1月

A Decade of Hits 1969-1979标签: Polydor发行: 1991年10月

At Fillmore East标签: Universal Distribution发行: 1971年7月

Idlewild South标签: Universal Distribution发行: 1970年1月

Fillmore East, February 1970标签: Grateful Dead发行: 1996年1月

〔南方摇滚的昙花一现〕

这张专辑是一个分水岭。在此之前，南方摇滚只是一个边缘化的类型，不为人重视。这张专辑给南方摇滚正名，此后的美国摇滚不可避免地带上了南方摇滚的根源。他们将内敛的Blues（布鲁斯）和即兴的爵士演奏手法结合在一起，创造了南方摇滚（South Rock）的传奇。而随著Duane Allman的去世，南方摇滚终於没能抵挡得了「不列颠入侵」。

〔滑棒吉他的最高杰作〕　滑棒吉他(Slide Guitar)演奏以其华美的音色、呢喃般的旋律在西方摇滚界却已风靡数十年而真正使滑棒吉他风靡摇滚界的则是Duane Allman，可谓是「蓝调摇滚滑棒吉他之父」，他在这张现场专辑《At Fillmore East》中天马行空的奇妙表现使人们对即兴演奏有了全新的理解。Duane Allman英年早逝（24岁），但在吉他英雄谱上仅次於Jimi Hendrix排在第二位。」Whipping Post」中爵士乐的即兴演奏长达22分钟，乐手之间的合奏令人叫绝。」In Memory of Elizabeth Reed」 旋律优美，千回百转。Dickey Betts以及Gregg Allman分别操著乡村味道的吉他以及键盘，配合得天衣无缝。　专辑的多首乐曲都是超长的，经常有乐器竟飙，有史诗的气魄，令人大呼过瘾。你不知道他们会把你带到哪里去，你希望它永远不会停止。那真是一个摇滚英雄辈出的年代。