In
Memory of Elizabeth Reed off of the Eat a Peach Deluxe CD from the June
27, 1971 closing of the Fillmore opens up deliciously smooth and
elegant. The band just slides into a relaxed tempo and it’s the most
refreshing version of this number I have heard. Here the band is taking
its time. The intensity slowly builds like true love making ought to
be through this excursion.
The lead work is original
and in the moment. The drums splash beautifully in the background as
Dickey drives his vision forward with the band having his back all the
way. After you play so long together you have a true sense where your
band mate is going and you are allowed to listen and get there with
them. You can really hear this in Berry’s playing and the drums, oh the
drums gently sitting in the mix right where they should be never over
powering but well heard. The rhythm section has the anchor and
counterpoint in complete subtle sympathetic syncopation.
Gregg
jumps in with short chord runs sharply leading the band. The clarity of
the mix is perfect with the organ fully heard out front and it chimes
and grooves and swaggers righteously. It sounds beautiful, fresh and
inventive....then his brother steps up....
Biting, sharp,
relentless guitar attacks funk out before sailing off and then returning
to a blistering foray all the while Butch, Jaimoe Gregg and Berry keep
the tempo locked down as we drift off into a meditative frame punctuated
by mid tone arpeggios as the band sways easily like spanish moss....and
then the gibsons get vicious, biblical with fierce clean attacks and
not overwrought then settling down again for more delicious mid tone
punctuations the entire band right there as the drum sticks come forward
just a bit then everyone builds together catching fire once more in a
tenacious drive while the overall groove stays calm and cool....(how the
fuck do you play the guitar like that) fantastic as they perpetuate the
drive forward abruptly to the drums briefly and then back to the
closing and locking it back down as they close the door on their
creation. Holy shit what’s behind that door they just opened and what
kind of force, power and vision did they tap into in that graveyard?
It's a thing of monstrous beauty whatever it is and strongly rendered.
This is a sublime ferocious and beautiful version of a seminal tune.
In Memory of Elizabeth Reed deserves its own spot in the Smithsonian
and for that reason I'm singling it out here. We all know the tune
there must be thousands of renditions but this one reads all the
passages in such a refreshing calm inventive and fierce manner. The
nuanced beginning followed by the expansive meditative dynamic giving
way to the fiery crescendos and the thundering close. It’s a standout
version at once both mellow and intense with a deep deep groove. Upon
hearing it again after so many years with fresh ears it is all too clear
while some of us have the good fortune to be totally obsessed by this
band and their music...
Fillmore
East is still tearing up my stereo system and its time for a huge shout
out to Berry Oakley who anchored the front line. Duane called him out
as the third guitar player. I have spent countless words trying to get
at the melded mind set of their musical trajectory coursing through the
time and space that confronted them and us and the atmosphere they
rearranged with their sonic homage to
the creative spirit and their righteous attack that brought such purity
to their music but in the end its a futile task just put the music on
and listen, listen, listen and listen some more.
I try with
varying degrees of success to focus on just one player to really
appreciate what they are bringing to the show but in the end I'm over
taken and overwhelmed by the complexity and intricacy of the entire
dynamic and simply blown away by it all voice, words, tone, tempo and
magnitude. So hell yeah I'm still listening to Fillmore East (The
Fillmore Concerts version Tom Dowd mix) and hell yeah I can't stop....no
surprise there though as well to all the brothers and sisters.
Still
listening to the Fillmore Concerts 1992 mix by Tom Dowd - Whipping Post
is just crazy - the first six minutes dissolve into an amalgamation of
themes, trances, movements and refrains that eclipse the standard format
of what a popular song is and evolve into art. The shifts that this
live exploration of sound make are a kin to winding through a mountain
pass so subtle and soft are their landings you may fail to notice every strand of grass or shift in rock formation but they are there.
In its whole its a creative work of genius and the gods but each note,
arpeggio and sonic exploration has a purpose and melds from the
righteous spirit that drove their creation in the first place.
Their work together on these recordings are true compositions rivaling
the masters Bach, and Mozart. Call it jazz, call it rock n roll but it
is so much more and beyond the "jam band" moniker its ridiculous. Get
this music out listen to it again deeply and pay attention. If you
think you know it because you listened to it repeatably years ago you
will be surprised at the sophistication, the maturity, the musicianship
and the touches and flourishes that permeate the main themes and arcs.
It's quite unbelievable what is going on here as the musicians work
together and intertwine with each other.
Eat a Peach is on
deck next on my musical sojourn back through their catalogue but its
going to have to wait for a while more as I re-listen to disc two and
circle back to the first disc - I really don't see an end in sight and
that in and of itself is a beautiful thing.
I
want you to take a good look at these musicians and how they are all
concentrating and looking at each other. This is how its done. It's
Dickey's turn a guitar god in his own right to lead but the ensemble
playing behind him including Duane is playing "with" him and working,
concentrating, and listening in order to weave in and out of the magic.
Each musician is propelling the other and informing
the other as the music takes direction. It is an amazing amount of
good fortune that this sextet with these specific musicians was captured
live by such a renowned and skilled producer Tom Dowd.
Fillmore East as I have just been re-listening to it only recently is a
freaking stunning collection of musicianship,and fire. It is an
outrageously groove driven pallet of sound, an avalanche of intricacy
and composition with halting pinnacles of contemplation and I haven't
even gotten to the second disc yet.
I'm listening to "The
Fillmore Concerts" a 1992 remaster of the original release just as the
ABB were emerging again off the heals of the Dream Box set and Seven
Turns. I'm ecstatic to have it in my collection and truth be told
haven't listened to it in decades as I was all in on the later day
sextet with Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and Oteil Burbridge.
Berry Oakley's bass work while never receiving as much press as Duane's
guitar skill, drive and vision possess the same amount of finesse,
brilliance, heart, drive and fire. It is something to behold listening
to the original six working together and it is a miracle that this
moment in time was captured. Imagine if this recording suffered the
fate of the Layla sessions ohhh my what a tragedy that would have been.
Instead we have this prodigious amalgamation of the pinnacle of music
that is certainly the Mount Everest of music here on Earth and quite
possibly a sliver of what it must sound like in heaven - effortlessly
dancing and commingling each note, chord and beat thundering through its
woven path, barreling through passages of time momentarily settling
like a light rain upon your soul and then exploding like a volcano. You
better believe it was all about the music and if you bring any other
attitude to the stage you suck.
