Eat
a Peach - the Deluxe Edition with the second disc devoted to the
closing of the Fillmore in June is a freakin' tour de force. Scorching
through the stratosphere Hot Lanta is just fantastic. The mix is
stellar and I've been listening to it on crappy car and desk top
speakers as well as my treasured Polks. Berry is clearly heard and of
course the tone of the guitars is so vintage, biting, just
the right amount of fuzz not overwhelming to distort the true tone of
the notes just scorching. The twin drums are settled in so nicely and
everything is heard with the Hammond B-3 building slowly to a crescendo
and then punctuating the soul groove.
The way the band and
Berry jump out on Whipping Post is serious. Whether it’s my imagination
or not it sure sounds up tempo to me. Berry is more than ready to
bring it and it feels like he catches the band by surprise as he
furiously launches into the opening... so great to hear and it’s a pace
that doesn't let up.... as the boys just go with it - oh my the little
touches on the guitar twin attack. I have to stop myself right now or
I'll spend the next twenty minutes celebrating every note, turn, phrase,
sound and riff just beautifully rendered together. I mean the tone of
that band and tighter than tight. Gregg’s vocals are heard beautifully
just right above the mix.
When they slow it down you can hear
that B-3 just stalking the band the chords sustaining like wind through
your hair. Their gentle segues arrive tear inducing as they reach for
the heavens follow. If you don't get a lump in your throat you don’t
know how to listen to music.
Get Eat a Peach back out and it
will seduce you with its magic so passionately. I’m so happy that it
was captured in real time for all time just a blistering messianic
journey to the soul of creation.
It's mind boggling how a
band can sound this excellent, the drive and the power, the
determination. Music wasn't a distraction it was a mission.
Stand Back I’m laser locked on that tune the way it jumps out and grabs
you with that riff. The Allman Brothers knew what they were doing and
the lyrics “a dagger in my back while she's calling me honey" just
fantastic. Look a lot has been written about the jazz influence on the
ABB - granted – and it’s all good and true but don’t forget the funk.
They can authentically bring that swing and swagger just funkin,
funktastic. Funkified freaks every funkin where they funkin can the ABB
throw that groove at a very righteous magnitude with Berry and Butch as
far into the pocket with Gregg grinding the soul foundation and Jaimoe
painting over the top.
“Hey have you seen my copy of Eat a
Peach” wait I can hear it blaring upstairs in my sisters room. As I
open the door Amy and her friends are moving to Les Brers as if their
lives depended on it – “just don’t scratch it” as the door slams back in
my face.
My
oh my this is a great shot of the original sextet working the
simultaneous groove. It looks like its Berry's turn to break out notice
where Butch's eyes are watching on Berry's hands.
I can't
over emphasis the beauty, power and velocity of talented musicians
owning their musicianship fighting the urge of ego, working together and
delivering the goods like no other.
A friend of mine asked me
to differentiate between the grateful dead and the allman brothers
after I laughed out loud (its a blotter vs mushrooms, roses vs peaches
thing) I thought for a moment. Please know I'm a veteran of decades of
both bands and I would simply state the ABB locked in more often,
stronger and together. It's degrees of variation but while the grateful
dead was more of a cosmic soup sloshing around the bowl of existence
lapping up side to side with solar flares of transcendence over heart
aching ballads and thundering reverberation following Jerry religiously
no matter what blind alley he lead them down, through or up the Allman
Brothers Band in contrast jumped on that first note like a skim boarder
ridding a wave as far as it would take them then turning and charging
after the next wave of music and consciousness shredding the lip
catching air, turning and pivoting with the waves. Tighter by necessity
the ABB driven by a freight train of rhythm, organ and bass achieved
thundering elevation immediately while the Dead meandered wobbly
floating seemingly directionless then focusing sharply in an Escher like
pattern getting there sooner or later but getting there they did.
I watched Pelicans dive for game yesterday afternoon striking their
targets, diving in directly from over head in a straight line quickly
and with acceleration hitting their targets repeatably over and over
again - the visualization of screaming marshals and stalking thundering
rhythm in a cascade of movement and righteous glorious splash reversing
gravity throwing water in the air as they submerged and reemerged
floating then taking flight again seemingly effortlessly sweeping
through the air wings fully extended only to recoil and strike again.
It was something to marvel at and behold and it looked like music to me
and felt like something heavenly
