Thanks for posting that - my favorite studio album for a long time, hopefully it never becomes too underappreciated - surprising in retrospect it didn't sell better but the release of Beginnings gave it & the first one a new life

@stephen Yes the original album and Idlewild South sold less than 100,000 copies and Gregg Allman said they did better than the Hourglass albums but when Idlewild South died on the vine and fell off the chart he was wondering if his brother had this all wrong and maybe he (Gregg) should go to dental school after all. 

But Duane said " Don't worry about it. We'll do a live album next and get some of that fire we have on stage on a record and that will do it for us". 

Gregg once said in an interview about 2002 that Idlewild South was his favorite ABB studio album. Said it has some good ones on it. But about 2005 Gregg said Eat A Peach was his favorite. Of course Laid Back was his all time favorite album. 

Statesboro Blues was recorded for Idlewild South but it was left off for some reason. 

And Don't Keep Me Wondering made Idlewild South but didn't make it on Fillmore East. 

Duane Allman's slide had a bitting energy that to me was unique. I think he was the best slide guitarist the ABB ever had for those songs. Warren and Derek never matched Duane to me. 

But back in that day, my friends who were not ABB fanatics like me would insist Ry Cooder was the best slide guy. And a couple liked Johnny Winter best. 

Cool post robertdee, yeah same thing with the MRider that appeared on the second DA anthology - didn't make the FE album, did make my homemade Idlewild South live tape back in the day tho:yawn:, the studio Revival (couldn't find live version at the time), then the live DKMW>the live MRider from Anthology 2>the Liz Reed I think from Stonybrook 1970

may I add a mention while not meaning to "hijack" the topic, Abbey Road was released 53 years ago today - heard that on the radio just this morning

Two timeless amazing recordings 

@robertdee  I disagree.  To my amateur ears, some of the songs on The Brothers 50 are the Best Ever versions i've heard.  Don't keep me wonderin, Black Hearted Woman, and Every Hungry Woman: I don't know how those songs from that show could possibly jam any harder.  They're Perfect!

@joe_the_lurker I don't follow you Joe. Are you talking about the Brothers show some of here including me went to Manhattan to see at the beginning of the Covid outbreak? 

That wasn't the Allman Brothers Band. The Allman Brothers Band quit in 2014. Plus that band didn't have Gregg Allman, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley and Butch Trucks!!!! 

Warren Haynes isn't Gregg Allman on vocals and Warren and Derek are not Duane and Dickey on lead guitars and Otiel is not Berry Oakley on bass. Not the same sound at all especially the vocals. 

If you think that show was the best you ever heard the classic Allman Brothers Band songs played, then the only thing I can conclude from that is you never saw the original band and don't have copies of Fillmore East and Eat A Peach. 

You must be a Gov't Mule and TTB fan. Those bands are favorites of mine but they aren't equal to the original Allman Brothers Band. Anyway you slice it. Has Gov't Mule and TTB sold out arenas coast to coast and had any albums that sold over a million copies??? 

@robertdee Lol I just wanted to see how you'd take that.  I was born in 80 so never saw the originals but I've heard AFE and EAP a million times.  I think Derek, Warren, Oteil are a lot better than Duane, Dickey, Berry.  Yes they had to stand on the shoulders of the original pioneers, but modern day Derek, Warren, Oteil can jam circles around 1971 Duane, Dickey, Berry.

@joe_the_lurker That is BS! Warren, Derek and Otiel aren't the Allman Brothers Band and Duane, Dickey, Gregg and Berry are more famous, wrote more classic songs and I've never heard anything from Warren or Derek that equals Duane on slide or tops Dickey and Duane's solos on Liz Reed on Fillmore East. And Gregg Allman is the singer. I bet Warren himself you say Gregg was a better singer than him. 

You are more of a Warren and Derek fan than Allman Brothers fan. All Allman Brothers fans including Warren and Derek know Duane, Derek and Dickey are the gold standard and high water mark for the Allman Brothers anyway you slice it. Guitars, singing and song writing. 

Soulshine is a good song but it's not close to being a Blue Sky, Jessica, Whipping Post or Queen of Hearts. 

@robertdee I wasn't talking about singing, just the playing.  Gregg is the best singer.  No Debate.  I've also never heard a Blue Sky or Jessica that comes close to the originals.  I was talking about the playing of those three specific songs of the Brothers 50 concert.  That was the best all around concert i've ever seen in terms of the playing, the set list, the legends on stage.  On the blu ray during the first chorus of No One Left to Run with, it cuts to a full stage shot and down in the bottom right corner of the screen is a very happy man giving people high fives (that's me! proudly wearing my Duane Allman new years resolution shirt too) as it was the last great gathering of my people and I was overcome with joy as the show was starting to come to an end and there really was no one left to run with.  I never thought it would happen as Derek appeared to be done with the whole thing after 2014.  My first Allman show was 1999, the only one I saw with Dickey, and it wasn't that great.  The next summer with Derek and Jimmy Herring, that one was incredible.  I don't get hung up on original members I just go by what I feel when I hear the music.  Like I think Dead and Company is the best version of that band i've ever heard. 

Ask me 20 years ago and my opinion was the original band is the best and will never be matched.  But time has changed my opinion and however sacrilegious it may sound, the fact is, is that guys like Warren, Derek, and Oteil have had decades longer playing time than Duane and Berry so kind of by default their musical abilities have come to exceed those of the original members.

Again, that's just the playing.  Songwriting is a whole different thing and yeah, you can't touch the songwriting of the Original 6.

Studio version of "Statesboro" is okay. It sounds much better with a B3 than the piano they chose to use on this. Not sure why that was done. If you listen to the organ on the Atlanta Pop "Statesboro Blues," that's as good as is gets. The original 6 will always be the best. No one will ever equal what Duane did in that band. And that's no offense toward Warren or Jackie. And yes, I'm old. haha

PS may spark one and listen to that hot afternoon in Byron right now

I think the area where Duane pretty much stands alone and pretty unique in all of music and is so special for it, that he played the guitar to make music as compared to Derek and just about all others who play music to play the guitar. I still love Derek but he does feel increasingly formulaic to me whereas Duane jamming on Elizabeth and Keys and that bootleg with D&D in Florida hit heights you may never hear in music again. Never mind his slower playing.

@wooddog I just listened to both Atlanta Pop Statesboros then the one from The Brothers 50 and not talking about Gregg's singing, I still think the Brothers 50 version kicks musical ass.  They've had decades to work on those songs.

@tenorsfan I see your point, however I don't think it applies to Derek, or Oteil.  Derek, Oteil, and Jimmy Herring all come from the Col. Bruce Hampton school of ego death to create the world's best musicians and Derek works so hard to always play for a purpose and with intention.  Another person like this is Steve Kimock, who's sole intention is to get to the place in a song where there is no duality and no thinking anymore, it's a space that is hard to describe with words but you know it when you hear it and are there with them in that space.

@robertdee  C'mon, man, don't say i'm not an Allman Brothers Fan.  I have a first edition personalized autographed copy of Red Dog's A Book of Tails!

@joe_the_lurker  This is making me feel out of place or something. This is like arguing which of your children is the smartest or best looking. All of the musicians you mention have been members of the Allman Brothers Band. 

But Duane Allman founded the Allman Brothers Band and invisioned the unique sound the band had from day one. And the outstanding playing and creativity of Duane and the original six is what put the Allman Brothers on the map. The original six was the band that had the songs for the most part and eventually came out with albums that sold over a million copies. 

Even the first two albums sold over 700,000 copies after they were rereleased in 1973 as Beginnings. 

This is the most exciting lead guitar solo ever in the history of the ABB!! You got something from Warren or Derek that tops this? If so slap it on right behind this. ( There are some Dickey solos that are outstanding too)

@wooddog Gregg starts out on electric piano here but does his solo on the B3. I liked it better when Gregg played organ on Statesboro Blues. 

@robertdee

52:20:00 to 1:01:00 is pretty good.  but wait, they were playing whipping post and right at the 52 min mark this vid splices to Liz Reed

I've always thought Derek's climax in WP on this show was spectacular, and the missing footage is tacked on to the end, and his WP solo climax is at 1:58:40

@joe_the_lurker  Yes Derek plays real well. Slows it down then puts on the slide. Something Duane Allman never did on Liz Reed that I can recall. The Whipping Post climax is very hot. 

Warren's solo at beginning at 52:20 was intense. Playing a very pretty Les Paul with great tone. 

I've seen Warren dozens of times live beginning at a Dickey Betts Band show at a club in North Carolina in 1988 out promoting Pattern Disruptive. I've been impressed with Warren as a player for over 30 years. I have all of the Allman Brothers Band albums with Warren. Well I have all of the Allman Brothers Band albums going back to the first one in 1969. I saw a Gov't Mule show where they were saluting Pink Floyd and Warren played a green Stratocaster much of the night and had David Gilmore's tone nailed cold. 

I've seen Derek many times too. I saw Derek do a slide solo on Blue Sky in Las Vegas in 1999 that was very moving and melodic and Dickey followed with a nice solo with his unique style on his old 56 Strat hard tail. 

This probably comes down to taste and which style you like the best. With me Duane, Dickey and Berry Oakley have different styles than Warren, Derek and Otiel and several times I've noticed Warren, Derek and Otiel play some Duane, Dickey and Berry licks incorporated into their solos on the old ABB songs. Warren once said that he wasn't interested in copying Duane Allman's style but on old songs such as Statesboro Blues, if he (Warren) didn't repeat what Duane played at the beginning of the song on slide it wouldn't sound right. 

But there is nothing I hear with the last line up that tops the original band back when it was in it's prime. You play Trouble No More live off Eat A Peach and listen carefully and then tell me what Warren, Derek and Otiel could play that would be an improvement? 

Listen here and tell me how could Derek, Warren and Otiel make this better? 

@joe_the_lurker Here is Dickey in 1973 when the ABB for about a year and a half was the biggest band in America with an album at number one for 5 weeks and sold over 5 million copies. 

Dickey is different than Warren and Derek but for Southbound I wouldn't say they are better. 

And remember Dickey, Warren, Derek are all good friends and Warren always says nice things about Dickey. 

With all due respect to Warren, Derek and Otiel as I'm big fans of theirs too.....there isn't one tune on this collection Warren, Derek and Otiel outshine Duane, Dickey and Berry. Not one!!! I've listened carefully to the Fox box, 40th anniversary show and the Brothers 50 at Madison Square Garden and the high water mark with the Allman Brothers Band remains the original band. 

Duane Allman, Dickey Betts and Berry Oakley are the Allman Brothers Band. Their best lineup. The original line up. 

These are some fantastic solos from Derek I found several months ago. Derek is an amazing musician who has in my opinion taken slide guitar into new territory. 

I first saw him about 1994 at a pool hall in High Point, N. C. I think was called Recreational Billiards not far from the Greensboro airport at the corner of Highway 68 and Main Street. 

Then Derek was mostly playing Duane Allman and Elmore James and it was fun to see and hear it. 

Now Derek has incorporated much more into his bag of tricks. In a recent interview Derek said he rarely listens to other guitar players now for inspiration. Now it's horn players and eastern music. 

This is some interesting playing. 

Warren has been a favorite guitarist of mine since I first saw him with Dickey at a club in 1988. 

Here is one of his best compositions that Gregg Allman recorded in 1988 and was the title cut. 

@robertdee   Welp, I poked the bear and I got what I deserved.  This page is dead and I was bored so I thought I'd challenge the infamous robertdee with the viewpoint that maybe, just maybe, members of our beloved Allman Brothers Band that came after the originals have musical abilities that exceed the originals due to the fact that they grew up with the music and have had decades longer to work on said songs.

I've heard AFE and EAP so many times I don't have to listen to them anymore.  They're hardwired into my brain.  I learned to play guitar junior year of college by playing along to 2 blue skies and a mountain jam every day.  The poor guy next door to my dorm room by the end of the year was like "Dude, you OWN the Mountain Jam!" HA!   Anyway, if you can post that Top 5 Derek Solo thing up above and not acknowledge that a lot of that stuff exceeds Duane's abilities, well then we have to agree to disagree.  Music is subjective after all.

I surrender!    Finally, to bring it full circle, Long Live Idlewild South!  Don't Keep me Wonderin on that album is so good. The beat.  The groove.  The Riffs.  The whole thing.  My fav "short" Allman Song.  I also love what the band has done with the song over 50 years and Derek's extended solo at the end on Brothers 50 tribute takes it a little farther and is brilliant.

@joe_the_lurker I'm a big Derek Trucks fan. TTB's latest releases is/are the best new music I've heard in a good while. Play some everyday. 

Duane Allman had a drive, bitting slide and sound that is unique and stand out and his energy along with the rest of the originals is why the Allman Brothers Band became famous plus great original song writing. 

Duane was just 24 when he died. Dickey was unique with a style all his own and Berry's unorthodox style on bass, the drummers and Gregg is why the Allman Brothers Band made it big. 

I'm doubtful Warren, Derek and Otiel would have been as successful. They haven't so far. 

I'm a big Derek Trucks fan and of course he and guys like Jack Pearson and Ry Cooder have a larger bag of tricks. 

My position is there is nothing Derek, Warren and Otiel could play that would make Statesboro Blues, Done Somebody Wrong, You Don't Love Me, One Way Out etc etc better than the original band. 

What on earth could Derek Trucks do on a solo to make Trouble No More and the others and what could Warren play to improve what Dickey played back then?? It's all there and the high water mark of the band. 

Warren recently said in an interview the original lineup is the Allman Brothers Band. That is what most people think of when the Allman Brothers are mentioned including himself. Said he and the others tried to play at a high standard to preserve the legacy of the great playing we all love from the original band. 

This is like trying to pick a favorite son or daughter. 

You tell me Joe. One Way Out on Eat A Peach for example. Tell me how Derek and Warren could improve the hot solos that Dickey and Duane play on it? Do you really think they could make it better than Duane and Dickey?? 

Quantifying talent is a fool's errand. There's a certain level musicians reach where it's really just a question of "do you enjoy it?"

Coltrane is amazing and a visionary, but more often I prefer to listen to Sonny Stitt.

Derek has had 25 more years to hone his craft than Duane Allman did; Jack Pearson even longer. All of these talented musicians bring something different to the table, and none of them sound like each other - they all draw water from different wells. That's what makes the 45 years of music so amazing. My "go to" version of "Dreams" is Jack Pearson at the Fox Theatre 2004. I would never say it's the "best" but it's my favorite. There are versions of "Statesboro Blues" where Derek just takes a bonkers solo that Duane, technically, probably wouldn't have been able to do (or thought to do).

I'm doubtful Warren, Derek and Otiel would have been as successful. They haven't so far.

I don't know how you're defining "success", but all three are massively successful. You can't take a 10+ piece band out on the road without a tremendous amount of success. Anyone playing the music they love for a living is a success story. If you're talking about album sales, you're doing it wrong - that would mean Kenny G is "better" than 'trane (he's not).

The lady who wrote the Father Brown stories defined "art" in a book about mediaeval stone sculptors, of all things, as being 'communicating passion'. To have years to work out ideas is sorta beside the point. It has little to do with the gift in producing that catch in the pit of your stomach, or to hear tales of how Duane could go into one of his musical fits and the poor guitarist next to him would start shaking and wouldn't know what to play. The only musicians in my small circle of expertise who can 'lift the band' and the listener to that extent would be the mighty Allman and that original rocker, saxman Herschel Evans, and I guess early Elvis though I don't have to listen to him anymore. I think Derek and Haynes know about that and try in their climatic passages, but can't reach those Duane-iac heights but still, they have much other valuables to offer. But Duane is the 'artist'.

@porkchopbob Well yeah I'm talking about headlining large arenas and selling albums in the order of 800,000 to 2 million. Not Eagles, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones ticket sales and album sales. 

Gregg and Dickey have both said they would like to think if they hadn't had to good fortune to be in the Allman Brothers Band and part of Duane's energy and drive to succeed, they would like to think their songs and performing those songs would have found a way to get out to the people to some degree. But neither were completely sure so they felt lucky to have ended up in Duane's band. 

Keith Richards once said when you wonder if he would have made it if he hadn't been in the Rolling Stones it makes him feel vulnerable and lucky at the same time. To me it doesn't seem likely Keith Richards would be worth $500 million dollars today if he hadn't been in the Rolling Stones. 

I didn't mean to slight TTB. Their latest releases is the best new music I've run across in several years. And yes they have a successful band in that they play coast to coast and draw decent crowds nationwide. Gov't Mule isn't far behind. I've been hoping both bands would really break out and have a huge album for years. Like Hootie and the Blowfish or Blues Traveler ( I know neither of those bands had staying power). I have to explain who TTB and the Mule are you people all the time. And I never meet anyone who's heard of Jack Pearson. Apparently he is playing clubs and small venues around Nashville but playing wise he stands with any of the much more famous guitarists. 

Probably Duane Allman was the spark of energy and determination that fueled Gregg, Dickey, Butch, Jaimoe, Berry and even Warren and Derek. Like George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life, if Duane Allman hadn't been born it's possible we here at this site wouldn't have heard of Gregg, Dickey, Derek or Warren. It's seems likely with their talent they would have made some impact without the Duane Allman association but we can't be sure. 

When I heard the live recordings of the Allman Brothers from the Fillmore days....take the version of Elizabeth Reed on At Fillmore East for example, I just don't see how Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks could have improved what Dickey and Duane played and made a better live recording than Dickey and Duane!!! What in the hell could they have done to make those classic solos better???? It's like thinking Trombone Shorty could improve a live recording of a bone solo by Tommy Dorsey or Jack Teagarden. 

Well about the storm. Joe Biden is saying Ian looks like an absolute disaster. Maybe 100 or more killed on the southwest coast of Florida and much property and infrastructure destroyed.. You and your family make it though okay?? Hope so. I guess Betts is okay in that big house of his in Osprey but he is on the water. Maybe he and Donna evacuated. 

@robertdee we are ok, thank you, we are on the opposite coast. Pretty devastating seeing what used to be Ft Myers Beach. Word is Berry Duane Oakley lost his house to Ian and is accepting help.

@porkchopbob I'm glad you all are okay. I was just dining at Mellow Mushroom but home now watching the news and the devastation on the Florida gulf coast is horrifying. Everything including hard surface roads ripped to pieces. 

I'll try to find Berry Duane Oakley's internet place. I had the chance to chat with him at the last two and only two Allman Betts Band shows I attended. He was nice and polite. Doesn't seem to remember his father but he has that Fender bass called the tractor his father played. I think I saw his father play a Guild bass once years ago. Anyway he said Dickey had the tractor at his home all those years and gave it to Berry. 

Found out when I asked if he was actually the fourth that he was named for his father and Duane Allman. His dad of course was Raymond Berry Oakley 3rd. 

I was just reading an interview with Derek Trucks about the lastest albums which I really like and Derek is still using a custom shop SG Brother to Brother guitar Duane Allman's daughter gave him as his number one. It's a replica of the SG Dickey gave Duane. Derek uses a Fender amp in the studio but on stage he is using Duane Allman's 50 watt Marshall. I didn't know that. Next time I see TTB I'll be looking for it. 

Said Susan owns several guitars but had three she uses much of the time. She still uses that teal Telecaster I think except the signatures are gone. Also has a beautiful Les Paul that really looks and sounds good that Clapton gave her and a nice Strat Derek bought her. I've enjoyed some of her guitar solos. She can surprise sometimes.