The Allman Brothers Band - Live At The Fillmore East MFSL 2-434

The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East on 180-gram double LP Limited edition numbered album Ranked No. 49 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list Peerless Sonics: Mobile Fidelity edition provides fifth-row seat to historic March 1971 concerts Fillmore East is synonymous with some of the greatest concerts ever staged. Yet the vaudeville venue belongs to one group: The Allman Brothers Band. This groundbreaking double album is why. As the collective's breakthrough, it broadcasts to the world wowing improvisational flights and seamless musical fusion the likes of which no one had ever heard. In communion with the crowd, the band establishes an interactive blueprint for all shows that followed, while its high-wire displays of powerhouse soloing and time-stretching arrangements remain the stuff of hall-of-fame legend. Mobile Fidelity's collectable double LP of At Fillmore East joins the reissue imprint's other Allman titles in presenting the inimitable ensemble's music in the most lifelike, uncompromising fidelity possible. Myriad versions of the 1971 set exist; it is rare to find the audiophile sensibilities found here — sonic traits that whisk the listener to the midst of the Fillmore East for four gigs performed on March 12 and 13, 1971, plunking them down in a fifth-row seat surrounded by fervent fans and a smoke-filled atmosphere. Every slippery bottleneck note, every aching vocal moan, every soulful purr from the organ, every gritty interlocking riff comes across with unfettered clarity and realism. While the record features multiple works the band never laid down in a studio, At Fillmore East is a meticulously conceived affair. The Allmans prepped rough sketches and layouts of the tunes, carving out spaces for each member's solos, and leaving the direction of such entirely up to the individual. As a result, the effort — anchored by iconic producer Tom Dowd's stellar production — presents a jazz-drifting rock band benefiting from both a sense of assured direction as well as opportunistic freedom. Indeed, At Fillmore East is the rare sounds of a group letting it all go, fearlessly maneuvering through bluesy shuffles, exquisite laments, graceful instrumental passages, and frenetic swamp-laden boogies. Achieved via a combination of virtuosic skill, visionary ambition, and natural chemistry, the six-piece burns white-hot with intensity and persuades via a padlock-tight rhythm section on which Duane's searing slide playing and Gregg's bottom-of-the-stomach vocals glide, each aural utterance coaxing on their respective mates to strive for new heights. The evidence abounds on the rollercoaster thrills of the dipping and diving "Whipping Post"; the biscuit-and-gravy purity of an aptly tempestuous "Stormy Monday," complete with harmonica from guest Tom Doucette; the flaming inertia established on the celebratory "Hot ‘Lanta"; and the jam-heavy hopscotch of an elastic "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," one of numerous standout moments for lead guitarist Dickey Betts. It seems as if everyone knew what they were experiencing.  Follow us on Instagram @Thevinylgram