I don't like "show biz," which brings me to my favorite moment of the concert, which follows one of my least favorite moments. Guest Robert Randolph is (in my opinion) extremely annoying - he's all show, overly emoting and rocking his instrument all over the place as if what he was playing was amazing. And it's not.

The next guest is Sam Moore, who just calmly stands there and sings some of the most heartbreaking soul music ever. No bullshit - just total soul. That's what music is supposed to be.

And yeah - Jack Pearson is a colossus here, as is Chuck Leavell.

I enjoyed watching the Band more than anything...Jack,Chuck,Don Was,and the great Kenny Aronoff on drums.

Totally agree with you both the band was unreal and Chuck is just amazing watching all the reactions of artists watching Jack during his solos, priceless.... I sure wish he could get in on Eric Claptons crossroads fest.... and also yes Aronoff is a awesome drummer...

"All My Friends", the Gregg Allman Tribute, is in a class of the very best tribute shows ever IMO.
And it's good ALL the way through, which is very rare for a tribute show.

If you can pick up "An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson" (2001) that one is very good as well. Normally I find tribute shows quite boring, but certainly not those two. The Brian Wilson show features Vince Gill, Billy Joel, David Crosby, Carly Simon, Elton John, Darius Rucker, Ricky Martin, Paul Simon, Matthew Sweet, Wilson Phillips (including Wilson's daughter Carnie). Not a bad performance in there, really. Highlights: Vince Gill, "The Warmth of The Sun", Paul Simon solo, "Surfer Girl" and Billy Joel, "Don't Worry Baby." Wilson comes out for six tunes at the end.

Another great one? A tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. which I recorded off of TV maybe 25 years ago and still have on VHS. Different genre of course, but great nonetheless. Frank Sinatra's tribute to Sammy at the beginning is enough to make anyone tear up...........it made Sammy tear up. Gregory Hines does a great dance routine and gets Sammy up onstage to dance with him. Dean Martin gives a short speech. Of course, Sammy, Dean and Frank (3/4 of The Rat Pack) are all dead now. And Bill Cosby is really hilarious in his comic bit about Sammy. Of course no one knew then what was going on behind the scenes........other than a few (more than a few?) women.

[Edited on 1/18/2015 by robslob]

It's interesting that you mention Sam Moore and Vince Gill because they illustrate more what I had a problem with and that was it appeared that (at least in those two cases) the artists could've probably used a little more preparation on the songs. Sam Moore appeared to not know the melody or the lyrics to "Please Call Home" and relied on "soulful" histrionics to carry him. The first part of "Multicolored Lady" to me appeared stilted. Vince nicely pulled it out in the end when he showed some genuine emotion. Surprisingly enough (or maybe not so) the Nu-Country artists seemed to have been better prepared with the material. Eric Church's version of "Win, Lose or Draw" is the case in point. For me that tune, is what the spirit of the tribute should have been - true to the original but with it's own twist presented by an artist who at least appeared to believe (know) what he was singing about. Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad, but not as good as it could've been by a long shot. Just a little more practice with the material and having the artist actually sing the song at least once (or listen to it) prior to performance. Also let's just say this without Jack Pearson, this tribute wouldn't have been special in any way. Perhaps it should've been titled Jack Pearson's tribute to Gregg. He certainly embodied the true spirit of the music. IMHO.

Some really good posts here. It just goes to show different people have different ears, takes, tastes, and opinions.

I think the entire DVD or CD is a 10 on a 10 scale. The house band was killer - the perfect blend of musicians. The dynamics were incredible, and I suspect even with familiarity with the material that rehearsal times were minimal. What a sound!!!!!!!

As to those who have commented on the way certain songs were performed - I'm guessing that the singers were given a certain amount of artistic freedom or interpretation to perform the song the way they did. I kind of like this and am glad we didn't get all dups of Gregg versions. I enjoyed the versions performed.

There were so many great artists and performances. It's almost impossible to pick out favorites - one day it seems to be one song, but I listen another day and pick out another. Overall my consistent favorite may not be one of the most popular and discussed songs, but I love the way Martina McBride sang the Scott Boyer song, All My Friends covered by Gregg on "Laid Back". She's a pure singer with a beautiful voice. For the record, she sang this song pretty darn close to Gregg's "Laid Back" version.

Watching Martina watch Jack during his solo on All My Friends was priceless......