Agree 100%.

Was listening to,(but never saw) the original band since 71,but this was the band I saw and feel particularly partial to and what you say resonates strongly.

to me, this was the era Gregg's voice was at it's peak. It soared! I like the bit more laid back group style also, Come and Go Blues, Wasted Words, both major classics.

That Winterland show mentioned above is just so full of emotion, they all feel it. Listen to the encore, (Blue Sky, Trouble No More>>Whippin' Post)... The segue between TNM and WP is just spooky. Most of that "era" has it, that feeling they were all in it for the sheer joy of making music; like a band with 6 "leaders"....

I enjoy this line up just for the jazz lean that Chuck and Lamar brought to the band.

It is noteworthy that version of the band began with Berry Oakley on bass and he plays bass on Wasted Words and Ramblin' Man on Brothers and Sisters. Jaimoe had played with Lamar before he joined the ABB and his introducing Lamar to the others and them voting to have Lamar on bass was probably the best selection they could have made in the wake of BO's death. I saw them in Nashville in 1973 and it was just stellar. One guitar and jazzier even on the older ABB stuff such as Whipping Post but the musicianship and the way the band could swing like a big band or a veteran jazz band was impressive...and I understand those who claim this version of the band is really the Dickey Betts Band with Gregg on most vocals because you need two lead guitars to sound like the ABB Duane invented, but I disagree this band disappointed. Duane was killed and they didn't want to replace him. They had just toured a year as a 5 man unit. I saw this version of the band many times with the last being in Charlotte, N. C. on the Win, Loose and Draw tour. I often thought the way Chuck, Lamar and Jaimoe played on the long jams was a big reason they had that swing or jazz thing so I agree with that statement above. I got hooked on the ABB in 1970 at Love Valley. Yes this is different than the original lineup which I agree is the high water mark for all the versions of the band but when you realize Brothers and Sisters was number one for 5 weeks and has sold more copies than any ABB album and if you saw this version when they were really doing their mojo, it WAS the Allman Brothers just recreating themselves in the wake of two tragic losses.

You can't deny that some really stellar music was produced by this version of the band

This was probably THE most ... transitional point for a band that would continue to evolve, devolve and re-evolve.

As big an album as "Brothers and Sisters" was (or, was to become), it represented a stepping off and stepping on point for a lot of fans. Purists from the Duane era didn't quite know what to make of the album. I read one critique that said, " ... it sounds like Duane is dead ...". The album also spawned the band's only hit - a tune that didn't sound like any trademark ABB song - that brought a whole lot of fans onboard. Some of these newbies had probably never heard of Duane Allman at this point.

Now with one guitar and two keyboards, the very structure of most all of the bands repertoire underwent changes. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was a new take on old songs. With no Duane Allman.

It's all history now. The record sold like ice cream in hell on an August day. The band became among the biggest acts in the world - in terms of record sales and attendance.

Success can come with hoodoo. To the vigilant fan it seemed that egos, artistic control and substances started to rush in. Solo albums and tours, relationships with Hollywood celebrities, tabloid press ... there were suddenly a lot of new distractions.

I loved Brothers and Sisters and this incarnation of the band. Personally, as good as the band and the players in it were I don't feel that it ever reached its potential.

For me the best thing about this band was that it laid an egg called Sea Level! 😉

Yup. Always agreed that the smartest thing they did when Duane died was deciding not to replace him. But I also think that it WAS a smart move to return to the 2 guitar line-up with Dan Toler when they regrouped in '78.

if you saw this version when they were really doing their mojo, it WAS the Allman Brothers just recreating themselves in the wake of two tragic losses.

Absolutely -- the magic was still there in 73 what with the Nassau Col shows, Watkins Glen, 9/26 Winterland, B&S -- the jamming was still there & 12/31/73 is my own favorite from this era

the shows I thought lost some of their fire in 1974 & 75 -- the guys themselves, less Chuck, didn't look too into it themselves at that point -- "rock star"dom clearly was not the right fit for the ABB (in retrospect)

But cool thread & I agree Rusty -- Sea Level's stuff stands up well to this day IMO, esp the live stuff (also We Three's Left Turn, man what a cut that is

agree too BabaOrion, the time was right to return it to 2 guitars when they reformed in 79 -- THAT version of the band I didn't think reached the potential it could have -- Dickey's and Dan's rigs sounded too similar, but I still really enjoy the music they did

I love the ABB.

IMO, Chuck and Lamar saved the band. Lots of daughters were named Jessica after the song. That alone speaks volumes.

the shows I thought lost some of their fire in 1974 & 75 -- the guys themselves, less Chuck, didn't look too into it themselves at that point -- "rock star"dom clearly was not the right fit for the ABB (in retrospect)

I have always wondered what might have happened had Chuck emerged as the "Leader" during this period instead of Dickey. The raw power of the music and emotion produced on stage in 1973 is still the watermark for me. I think Mr. Leavell departed in 75 because of the debacle that was "Win, Lose or Draw" ......

I enjoy this line up just for the jazz lean that Chuck and Lamar brought to the band.

Agree 100%, and you can hear it in Sea Level.

Sea Level was a fantastic band!

Yes it was the Scooter thing, heavy drugs and drinking plus money problems with Phil Walden and Gregg and Dickey being into their solo plans that made it easy to scattered the others from working with Gregg when the Scooter thing finally reached a head. Butch was especially PO'd about it and I remember he said in print "You can't count on Gregg for anything". Win, Loose or Draw was Capricorn pushing hard for another 4 million seller but Gregg had dropped out and was with Cher in LA. To help get the record finished, Johnny Sandlin had to rent a studio in LA and prod Gregg to record his vocals and organ out there while the rest of the band recorded in Macon and Dickey actually showed up insisting he was recording two songs now but they couldn't find Butch and Jaimoe so two songs on WLD don't have Butch and Jaimoe drumming. LL and 3 card Monty John and Sweet Mama have Johnny Sandlin and Bill Steward on drums ghosting for Butch and Jaimoe. So the band just wasn't really into doing a record but Phil Walden had skipped one year due to Gregg and Dickey wanting to do their solo records and tours so he was pushing for another ABB record before the band cooled off too much from the tremendous success of Brothers and Sisters. But WLD didn't sell 1 million and fell way short of what Walden was hoping. And if you remember, Gregg apparently lost interest in putting much effort into the ABB when his composition "Queen of Hearts" was rejected by the band for Brothers and Sisters. Gregg has admitted off and on that turn down really made him mad and was the reason he did Laid Back and began to want to be the only chef in the kitchen and go solo. And Gregg has said the same in recent years. "I like being the only chef in the kitchen and I can't do that with the ABB". And he has said that several times after they voted Dickey out so someone else must also have been fussing with him over how and what in the ABB.

After they played the Capricorn picnic in 1978 and Chuck and Lamar didn't get as moved by playing again with the ABB after a two year break as Phil Walden hoped and announced to the band and Phil they were not going to do it and stay with Sea Level, Dickey quickly moved to put Danny Toler and Rook Goldflies in the lineup from his 1970's version of Great Southern. But Dickey had to play slide which he didn't like and the comment that Danny sounded too much like Dickey was valid to me too. The times I saw Great Southern and on the DVD Rockblast released about 3 years ago but from 1978, Danny was playing an old Stratocaster and had a different tone and feel than Dickey who was playing Goldie. But when they began playing as the ABB, Danny was also playing a Les Paul which I think was the one Dickey got from Duane when he gave Duane his SG and Dickey had it painted to look like a sunburst from it's original goldtop finish. That plus the rest of their rigs being the same and Danny playing licks similar to Dickey's bag of tricks hurt the ying and yang of that version of the band to me too. I understand when the ABB formed, Dickey was playing a hollow body Gibson he has said was a 335 but others have said was a 345. Then Dickey went to a Stratocaster and he was playing that the first few times I saw the band. Then Dickey went to an SG and finally he went through 4 or so Les Pauls before settling on the goldtop Goldie which he used for about 20 years. But when Dickey moved to Paul's and Duane was using several too, you could still tell them apart instantly. Completely different styles and tones. Suddenly in 1994 Dickey stopped using Goldie after so many years for a Paul Reed Smith, then he was back on a Gibson ES-335 and when I saw that, I said to my buddy, I guess if history is going to repeat itself, Dickey will be playing a Stratocaster next year and to my surprise he WAS!! Dickey played a couple of Strats the last 3 or 4 years he was in the ABB. Wonder what changing his guitar several times those last 6 years was all about? Just looking for a new tone like he did in the early days of the ABB? Wait! I remember one of the first shows I saw, Duane used a Gibson hollow body most of the night and Dickey played a Strat. Duane with a ES-335 and Dickey on a Strat is not how we remember that lineup is it!! So Duane was trying different guitars too. One of the best sounding Strats I ever heard in the ABB was the one with the red headstock Warren played in the early 90's. Alan Paul said it was stolen off the stage one night and disappeared. That guitar was especially sweet as a slide guitar to me. Whoever got it was a horses A%%

This lineup was my first live exposure to the band..I just fell in love with what Chuck brought to the table..

I find myself listening to this version of the band more than any other. Incredible music.

I have seen every version of the ABB except the original lineup - just too young by a year or two. But I must agree that Chuck and Lamar certainly brought real passion back into The Brothers.

And yes Sea Level was an awesome band too.