From one of Dickey's last shows, one of the few originals they incorporated during that period that ended up on Dickey's Let's Get Together ("Alley" was re-titled "One Stop Bebop"). Definitely sound better by the ABB.
from 1996-2000 didn't the band play like 8 original tunes and 4 made it on to lets all get together?
Yeah that is about right. Butch and Gregg didn't like Rave On, Tombstone Eyes, J. J.s Alley and supposedly let Dickey know but he refused to take them out of the set. Gregg didn't like Nobody Knows and eventually refused to sing it. Gregg felt it was a rip off of Whipping Post. But Dickey liked the song and refused to take it out of the set and just sang it himself. That added creative tension in the band. Perhaps Dickey should have just dropped the song.
I'm not that crazy about Tombstone Eyes or My Getaway but Rave On and J. J.'s Alley are fine instrumentals from Dickey. Dickey certainly had a feel for writing instrumentals. One of the best at creating instrumentals.
When Butch and Gregg contacted Jaimoe about throwing Dickey out of the band, Jaimoe refused. But they did get Jaimoe to go along with sacking Dickey for the summer to save the summer tour. That was enough to prompt Dickey to change the name of J. J.'s Alley.
I think Rave On was written by Dickey as a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan.
May 2000 and Rave On and J. J.'s Alley sounded real good to me and so did Dickey. Instead of throwing Dickey out, they should have just stopped touring for a couple of years like Warren said the Rolling Stones would to keep from breaking up when nerves were getting frayed. But Warren also said the ABB had gotten into a situation where there were some people who were counting on the band for a living so they felt the need to tour every year. Oh well the band finally ended in 2014 and will never come around again. Not with Gregg gone.
@matt05 Yeah, there were a few. Off the top of my head:
JJ's Alley
Rave On
Tombstone Eyes (I think this was sometimes called "Good Times Don't Fade Away", Dickey was always poking at it)
I know I Ought to Leave
You Can't Get to Heaven on a Ten Dollar Bill
They were playing Billy Joe Shaver's "Georgia on a Fast Train" which Dickey recorded on The Collectors.
They also resurrected Dickey's "Shady Streets" and "Crazy Love" in 1999-2000.
@robertdee I believe "My Getaway" was a song written by Mike Kach
@porkchopbob Okay. My Getaway wouldn't have been in the Allman Brothers. That came after the 2000 split.
Tombstone Eyes I think was the same song as Good Times Don't Fade Away. Both versions were about the early days of the Allman Brothers I think.
Crazy Love was actually a single that received some top 40 airplay and charted at around 19. Maybe the single release of that is why Enlightened Rogues sold so much better than next year's Reach For The Sky and the following years Brothers of the Road. Enlightened Rogues sold close to 900,000 copies and earned a gold record. The two Arista albums were just over 200,000 with Reach For The Sky selling a bit better than Brothers of the Road. Butch's wife painted what is on the album cover of Reach For The Sky.
"tombstone eyes" was the same as "never see those eyes again" right?
what about "every day", "the truth is gonna stand" and "weep and moan"?
You are correct about Tombstone Eyes and Good Times Don't Fade Away. Even my novice ears picked up on that 20 years ago because I have some shows from 1999 and early 2000 when they played those songs. I love them both and as you alluded to, it is essentially the same song. I think it is a pretty song and to me, it is like someone reminiscing about the past and the good 'ol days.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
@lee I always liked "Tombstone Eyes", even if it was a bit saccharine. I don't know why Dickey was never satisfied with it, the song debuted when Warren and Allen were still in the band. The version on Let's Get Together sounds more like a Bon Jovi song.
what about "every day", "the truth is gonna stand" and "weep and moan"?
These are all Jack songs, mostly performed during the acoustic set.
I didn't realize the band played "The Truth is Gonna Stand". It's another Jack penned song that appeared on Johnny Jenkins' 1996 album that Jack played on.
i hated betts didn't sing it on the album lets all get together. that was pretty silly
Interesting comments by you guys on the song. I don't get the Bon Jovi reference though. You can elaborate on the thought.
And I forgot he didn't sing it on Let's Get Together. So I went through it on my iTunes I listened to it. Although it isn't Dickey singing, I liked it. Another thing I never noticed on Let's Get Together is that there is a horn on it. I want to say it is Kris Jensen if that was the sax player.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
@porkchopbob That Great Woods show is one of their better shows. After the acoustic set Jack on slide and Dickey on lead perform real fine solos on Back Where It All Begins. Otiel's bass is hot on everything and it's a real fine mix. Hear all the instruments real good.
I'm gonna revisit that show later today. Hadn't heard /watched it in several years and forgot what good performance it is.
I saw Dickey in late 2000 after he was out of the ABB and Kris Jensen played sax and is a fine player. Still remember his name from Dickey's introductions of his new band as he caught my attention and was fun to watch.
Matt Ziner on bass was a good player. Can't think of the name of the other guitar but I'm pretty sure he played a Peavy electric guitar. That stood out because that was the first time I had seen anyone play one in a show. I'd seen them at the music store but not on a stage.
Gov't Mule is coming to my area this month so really looking forward to that. Seen them many times since I first saw them in 1994 in a small club. I stood right in front of the little stage and could have leaned over at touched Warren or Allen. It was a 3 piece then.
Got Warren to sign my then new Gov't Mule CD which has Mother Earth on it which is one of my favorites. And he signed my copy of Pattern Disruptive and Warren said " That is a fine album. Should have done better. You know our drummer is on that too?"
Somebody yelled " Play all night" between songs and Warren said " Where have I heard that before"?
If you saw Dickey in late 2000 that was Mark May on guitar. A very talented guy but to my ears, he wasn't a good fit for the band. Just my opinion. I saw him in August of that year in a pretty good sized club (St. Andrews Hall) in Detroit and it was a VERY small crowd. I felt bad for Dickey. It was like a fall from grace to be playing in front of maybe 150 people in a venue that fit a couple thousand I think.
And if you are asking, Matt Abts was the drummer on Pattern. Not positive, but I think that might have planted the seed for Mule. Makes sense I guess. Obviously Warren and Matt could answer that.
Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.
@lee I was in Ohio and visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame then drove to a racetrack to see Dickey and it was a small crowd. It was indeed surprising that ABB fans didn't support him in late 2000. I went to some trouble to rent a car (flew into Cleveland) to be there as Dickey has always been a big favorite of mine as he was standing and playing right next to Duane Allman the first time I saw the ABB in early 1970.
Also curious to see if Dickey was in the kind of shape Butch claimed ( a drunk and drug addict) but Dickey seemed okay. The band was okay but they needed to play more and gel. Smile: A drunk and drug addict was Gregg's situation for years so it was odd Dickey would be thrown out for that but someone at the show said the difference was Dickey was a bully and acted like a dictator to the rest of the ABB. Hell I don't know if that was true. But it wasn't long until Gregg said he was quitting because of Dickey then Butch found out from Gregg's wife telling Butch's wife so Butch called Gregg and they decided not to quit but sack Dickey. Then Gregg said in print "This is not about money. We could all retire right now, especially Dickey who made more bucks off the band than any of us". So I knew that Dickey would be okay financially. Dickey has a net worth right now of $40 million dollars and doesn't need to work and hasn't worked since what? 2019. And that was after not working after 2014. And Dickey is living in a big Florida mansion with a pool and boat dock down near Bradenton. So Dickey is fine money wise. Poor Duane Allman as far as I'm concerned is the likely reason Dickey and Gregg did well financially but didn't get to share it. Gregg said his brother had just received a nice royalty check for Fillmore East, his first time making good money then he was gone. Gregg said that always bugged him and not long after Duane died and Eat A Peach sold over a million copies the money just started to pour in. Instead of riding cramped up in the Windbag and watching your spending on the road it was " Order anything you want boys!"
But the first years of Govt Mule and Warren's 1993 solo tour were small crowds and clubs. And Gregg's solo shows do a lot better but not the crowds the ABB drew especially on the east coast.
Do a lot of people who would come to an ABB show have no interest in the band members individually?
I have my copy of Let's All Get Together out now and yes it is Mark May on the other guitar. And Matt Zeiner is on keys not bass. David Stoltz is on bass. I think he later joined Jaimoe's band. I had forgotten Dickey didn't sing Tombstone Eyes on this. I haven't spun it in years.
As to Gov't Mule I think you are right about Matt Abts. I seem to recall Warren saying in an interview about 1994 that he and Allen Woody were talking about how much they enjoyed those three man bands such as Cream and Hendrix then one of them said maybe we should try one on the side and Warren said he knew the right drummer too from Dickey's last solo band. Yep I'm sure I read that then. And Warren said if he ever put together a little band he knew when he was in Dickey's band that Matt Apts would be the drummer he would want.
@robertdee Matt Ziner was the keyboard player. Dave Stoltz played bass. Until Dickey retooled the band with players from the Tampa area. Kris and Dave ended up in Jaimoe's band.
I caught the band in 2001, they sounded great but the crowd was very small.
Interesting comments by you guys on the song. I don't get the Bon Jovi reference though. You can elaborate on the thought.
It went from a simple Dickey Betts country/folk song to an overproduced generic ballad. The opening drums and guitar on the studio version could just as easily launch into a GnR or Bon Jovi song, it just doesn't sound like a Dickey Betts song to me.
@porkchopbob Here is Dickey in 2000 after he was evicted from the Allman Brothers stage.
Didn't Dickey decided to retool the band with Florida musicians because the New England guys had to be flown down when Dickey wanted to work on anything?
That should be Goldie Dickey is playing. His 1957 Goldtop Les Paul which was his number one for two decades. Dickey let it sit in Cleveland at the Hall of Fame for a few years and it turned green so he stripped it down and gave it an overhaul.
Tombstone Eyes from Great Woods 1996 is GORGEOUS. Butch and Gregg were 100% off the mark if they didn't like that song.
I Know I Ought Leave Here from the same show is quite pedestrian by comparison.
Rave On was good but JJ's was special. I had forgotten how intensive and dare I say "heavy" of a tune that was by jazz standards.
Would love to know what connection or carry over there was to Instrumental Illness, if any, because they have similar sound and feel?
@islalala Butch said all of Dickey's new material was substandard and Dickey bullied those songs into the sets so they are being dropped immediately as is Ramblin' Man which is a song the band should have never recorded. Butchie said if he had it to do over he would have fought like hell to keep Ramblin' Man off the album and ABB sets.
Then Butch said the entire band is going to sit down and write new instrumentals. That everyone in the band would receive a writing credit on them.
When Instrumental Illness was released via Hitting The Note, only Warren and Otiel were credited I think. Wonder what happened?
@robertdee normal butch talking his talk even though he never writes anything for the band
