I find this line up quite intriguing and after the original band, it’s my favorite line up. I like how they altered personnel out of necessity and still maintained the ABB sound and creativity. I do wonder why they rarely or never played certain songs that would mesh well with this line up. Songs such as:
Standback.
Dreams.
Leave my Blues at Home.
Please Call Home.
Melissa.
Jelly Jelly
and rarely:
Don’t Keep me Wonderin’
Hot ‘Lanta
I may be wrong and if so would love to hear these played by that line up.
Yeah the Danny/Rook band didn’t play these either, outside of Melissa during acoustic sets
Dreams & DKMW couldn’t’ve been done w/out Duane’s slide I suppose
The band always had a pretty consistent catalogue of songs they'd take out on tour. When you add new material, some older songs get pushed out. Also, some of those you listed were "Duane" songs. Gregg's solo band played some of those tunes that the ABB didn't play during that period.
Apparently they decided they would no long do several songs the original lineup did because of certain reasons.
Dickey not wanting to play electric slide ( something Dickey claimed he didn't enjoy especially after Duane died) probably is the reason for not playing Dreams, Standback, Don't Keep Me Wondering etc but there were a lot of songs without slide they apparently dropped.
This lineup was the most successful of any of the lineups becoming for a brief period of time (1973 and perhaps some of 1974) the number one band in America with an album that was number one for 5 weeks. Not the only platinum album they had but the ONLY one that was number 1 on Billboards top 200 albums chart. But CLEARLY this lineup or any later lineup wouldn't have been successful if it hadn't been for the original and Duane Allman. I would like to think Gregg, Dickey, Chuck, Warren and Derek would have broke through to some degree and we would know them and have some of their albums because they are so good but I'm not completely sure. Because they all rode in on Duane Allman's coat tails to use a politician metaphor.
I saw this line up about 20 times and they did well over 100 shows from late 1972 to 1976 so I can't be certain. But when I heard people yelling for Don't Keep Me Wondering, Melissa, Dreams, Stand Back, Revival, Black Hearted Woman, Hoochie Coochie Man for example, I knew they were yelling for naught. And at the shows I attended, I was right. Didn't play them. I'm betting they NEVER played them including Jelly, Jelly off Brothers and Sisters. They did eventually play Dickey's Long Time Gone with Chuck singing a verse. That was a surprise the first time I saw them in 1975.
Here is Long Time Gone live in 1975 audience tape. Chuck Leavell sings the second verse.
Everytime I saw them play it the audience really twirled and boogied. Butch, Jaimoe and Lamar really pressed down on it and laid some jumping mojo on that song.
Hindsight is 20/20 but to me, if Long Time Gone had been on Win, Loose or Draw, the ABB may have had another Ramblin' Man. Possibly a big hit. The 1974 version on Dickey's solo album Highway Call wasn't promoted correctly by Capricorn. They didn't really get behind Highway Call and a lot of radio stations didn't know Dickey.
The Brothers and Sisters lineup could REALLY play Stormy Monday!! I love how Jaimoe, Butch and Gregg's organ are so hot in the mix from the bonus CD on the BS 40th anniversary package.
The playing from everyone here is absolutely stunning. Chuck Leavell is a master!
And Ramblin' Man by this lineup was usually hot. It is here. Dickey's unique all his own style is showcased on the second solo. Chuck on piano is real good. Gregg playing some harmony with Dickey on organ and Jaimoe is real tasty and up in the mix.
Sometimes after Marc Quinones was brought in by Butch, Jaimoe seems crowded out to me. Either that or he just didn't do much on some songs and shows.
I think if they could pull off Statesboro Blues and Done Somebody Wrong the awesome way they did they could do Standback as well as others.
Also, I find Dickeys non-slide Dreams solo from the early 90’s to be incredible. Yes
@masbama Yes that is a good point. I'm not entirely sure why the B&S lineup avoided certain songs by the original band. Porkchopbob is likely correct. They added songs off Brothers and Sisters and just never worked up those songs with Chuck and Lamar.
I saw 4 of Gregg's fine solo shows in 1974 and they did Stand Back. Tommy Talton played Duane's part on slide and nailed it. Tommy didn't have a Les Paul at the shows I saw so I wondered if the solo would sound right. He had an old Stratocaster or maybe a Telecaster but I'm almost sure it was a Strat, had his slide on his little finger unlike Duane and apparently used a pick. My memory is blank there but he uses a pick playing slide now it seems. Tommy is a real decent slide player. Midnight Rider was reworked and Gregg said it was closer to how he wrote it. Said the Brothers changed it right much from how he thought it should sound.
Funny thing is in 1975 and 76 the Allman Brothers kicked off the song with Chuck playing it the way it is on Laid Back then it shifted to the Idlewild South arrangement.
I think if they could pull off Statesboro Blues and Done Somebody Wrong the awesome way they did they could do Standback as well as others.
Also, I find Dickeys non-slide Dreams solo from the early 90’s to be incredible. Yes
I think the old blues songs were easier to arrange. Dickey already played acoustic blues slide and Gregg could play rhythm guitar. "Stand Back" might have been too fresh, Dickey might not want to have touched Duane's slide part and maybe it was too much keyboards for Gregg. Just speculating. They played "Ain't Wasting Time" often during '72-73, which had slide parts Dickey himself crafted so maybe that was enough slide for him. For whatever reason, there were always a few songs from the first few albums that the band didn't take out on the road, but they were only playing 1 hour sets on triple bills at times. We know the band preferred having a consistent set list they had down rather than option their entire catalogue. And by 1973 they had a much larger catalogue to fill 2 hour sets.
I always loved Dickey's playing on "Dreams" in the 1990s as well, but that was Duane's song. That's likely why the band didn't touch it until they had a slide player capable of playing the finale.
@robertdee I'm pretty sure Tommy played a Strat.
The Wipe the Windows version of AWTNM with both Gregg and Chuck on keyboards is incredible and it may include Dickey’s best slide solo ever.
@robertdee: I just played it, yeah, that is an excellent JUMPING version of AWTNM. It just struck me that this record that no one hardly even know exists other than ABB fans has a lot of gems on it that other bands would give their right arms to come up with. Even a fan like me had it on vinyl but I've pretty much forgotten about it and right now it's not even in my collection. Maybe it should be?
The Wipe the Windows version of AWTNM with both Gregg and Chuck on keyboards is incredible and it may include Dickey’s best slide solo ever.
That version really grew on me over the years to become one of my favorites. Always loved the 5-man band versions, especially the Mar-y-Sol version, but with Chuck onboard it really became a little more full with two sets of keys.
Here's some footage of the band on its last leg in 1976.
"Blue Sky" in "F#" from 1976.
That's interesting because, as many know, it was recorded in the the key of E. By the time they started playing it again in 1973, Dickey had moved the key to G. During the Richard Betts solo tour he had moved it to F#, where it remains here in 1976. During Dickey's Great Southern tour in 1978 it was back in G, where it seemed to remain for Dickey. The Allman Brothers re-introduced the song in 2004 and moved the key back to E.
@porkchopbob: Where in the hell did you find THAT? I really love that version of Win, Lose or Draw and I've never heard it. To me much better than the studio version. If I remember Gregg had a bad cold when he recorded his vocals on the original but did it anyway. His voice is great on this and Chuck's piano adds a lot.
@robslob Live ABB is almost always better...
There are some YouTube accounts that post random shows. I always find the 1976 ABB shows kind of interesting for the live WLorD material.
Here's the whole 1976 Nassau show, with several WLorD cuts. And Dickey playing straight lead (no slide) on "Statesboro Blues".
@robslob WTWCTODG was developed by Phil Walden and Capricorn Records shortly after the band collapsed in the spring of 1976 due to the guys becoming angry at Gregg Allman over the Scooter Herring drug fiasco. Phil wanted to get one more album by the band and felt the Chuck/Lamar lineup, while different than the original lineup for obvious reasons, was impressive enough live to have a live release. Indeed in the fall of 1975 Dickey Betts said for several reasons likely the band's next album would be another live release for the band.
But by the time this album began to take shape as the band's next and last new album, Gregg Allman was no longer in the Macon area and Dickey had signed with another label.
Walden brought in Johnny Sandlin is supervise the project and somehow became irritated with Sandlin and turned it over to Sam Whiteside and Sandlin lost his promise the album would be another "Produced by the ABB and Johnny Sandlin". They did bring in Chuck, Lamar and Jaimoe for input on the song selection from the best quality recordings they had. After the album was released Dickey and Gregg were mildly irritated over their exclusion and the INCLUSION of another live version of In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. Chuck Leavell strongly pushed for Liz Reed from a Winter land show from 1973 because it showed the band approaching the song much more from a jazz perspective making it very different from the Fillmore version.
Anyway it came out in late summer 1976 and only sold 200,000 copies which was disappointing for Phil and it was often panned by critics as jaded and lifeless compared to the stellar performances on Fillmore East.
But in recent years it has become regarded by some critics showing fine performances of a very different band than the original. Jaimoe twice has commented that to him it is a hell of an album and especially for Chuck, Lamar and himself as the three of them really bonded during that lineup while Gregg seemed to loose interest in the band and Dickey could be indifferent. Jaimoe said it was a strong jazz period for the band and it's a shame it fell apart in 1976 and didn't last longer. That they went from becoming the biggest band in America to complete collapse in just three years!
Maybe this song by that lineup describes what happened!
@porkchopbob Yeah brother Porkchopbob!! About 5 of the 20 or so Chuck/Lamar lineup I saw was the Win, Loose or Draw tour in 1975 and 76. May of 1976 in Roanoke, Virginia I believe was the last one they did. The Gregg testimony happened soon afterward and Dickey and Butch Trucks became very angry and walked so the rest of them put together Sea Level.
But back to the point they had Bill Stewart in the middle on that tour playing very much as Marc Quinones did beginning in 2001.
The first show was in Charlotte, NC in September of 1975 of this tour I saw and that surprised me and stuck out to me. Dickey DIDN'T play slide even on Statesboro Blues!! Also he had a new Goldtop Les Paul the whole show. It later became known as "Goldie". During the break between sets I got to the sound board and ask the sound man what happened to that beautiful sunburst Les Paul with zebra pickups Dickey had used in 1973 and 1974. The guy said Dickey became very irritated at that guitar complaining it had become impossible to keep in tune. And he found this current Goldtop, actually a 1957 but still looks new, at a Pawn Shop in Manhattan and it's his new number one.
I figured Dickey didn't feel like switching guitars as he had been playing slide on a brighter sunburst Les Paul with humbuckers with silver covers and a PICK GUARD. But it continued. Unless my memory fails me Dickey didn't play slide at any of the 5 Win, Loose or Draw shows I saw.
Take care brother!!
Walden brought in Johnny Sandlin is supervise the project and somehow became irritated with Sandlin and turned it over to Sam Whiteside and Sandlin lost his promise the album would be another "Produced by the ABB and Johnny Sandlin".
According to Johnny's book, Capricorn was in the red by 1975 and he had filed suit for unpaid wages (members of the ABB and other bands followed). He was asked to mix Wipe the Windows, but Capricorn went with Whiteside to save money.
@porkchopbob Yeah that does sound right. I couldn't remember. I think Johnny produced the Winter land show in 1973. It originally was a radio broadcast on New Years Eve 1973. Marshall Tucker opened and all the radio stations which carried it got a set of good quality reel to reel tapes rather than a network hookup. I was able to get one stations copies. They were going to record some else over them so I rushed over and got all five reels for $25.00. Went straight into the DJ's pocket. The show actually was performed in November 1973 in San Francisco. On New Years Eve the band was in San Francisco but at the Cow Palace.
That 1976 Blue Sky in F sharp was so short. They did a longer version in 1974 in England:)
@robertdee: Thanks for all the interesting information on Wipe The Windows Check The Oil Dollar Gas.
@robertdee: GREAT version of Can't Lose What You Never Had, thank you. I would agree with Jaimoe. I saw this version of the band just once at The Forum in L.A. in 1975. What really struck me was what a very heavy and mostly instrumental jazz show it was, dominated by Dickey and Chuck.
WOW. Wipe The Windows Check The Oil Dollar Gas (new CD) is $36.99 on Amazon! You can do an MP3 for $9.39 though.
That 1976 Blue Sky in F sharp was so short. They did a longer version in 1974 in England:)
Wow that is EPIC. I’ve never heard that one, and I've subscribed to that Youtube channel (he has a lot of great stuff I've re-posted here). Kind of crazy how the song evolved, Dickey always seemed to be toying with it - changing the key, the opening, 12 minutes or 3.5 minutes…
@porkchopbob I only saw one of Dickey's solo shows in late 1974. Surprise there was Dickey took the first solo on Blue Sky with Vassar Clements taking the second on violin. So when I began listening to the F sharp version from the Win, Loose or Draw tour I thought, wow Dickey decided to keep the first solo on this tour. But Chuck didn't solo at all. Very surprising. I clearly remember NO slide playing on the Win, Loose or Draw tour shows I saw but don't remember Blue Sky played at any of them.
I remember noticing on Ramblin' Man where Dickey, Gregg and Chuck sang "Lord I Was Born A Ramblin' Man" four times just before it transitions into the instrumental part at the end of the song had been dropped. When Dickey finished the last verse it went straight into the closing instrumental part. That stuck out to me so I noticed it.
And Dickey being back on a Goldtop Les Paul was noticed by me. It had a more robust tone than the sunburst Les Paul with zebra pickups he used in 1973 and 74 except on slide it was always a brighter sunburst Les Paul with silver pickup covers and a pick guard.
Dickey stuck with Goldie as his number one for years. The first 4 shows I saw in 1970 Dickey played a Fender Stratocaster. Then by summer of 1970 he was on an SG. By that fall he has a Les Paul and actually went through about five different Les Pauls until he got Goldie supposedly at a Pawn Shop in Manhattan.
In 1994 Dickey was on a Paul Reed Smith so I asked the soundman why the change and he said Dickey was mad at Gibson for ignoring him. Soon read a quote from Dickey saying the same. But soon he had moved to a Gibson ES-335. But at the Beacon in 1997 he had an old worn looking Fender Stratocaster. Soundman said Dickey was mad at Gibson again and he had hot rail pickups put in the bridge position of two Strats Dickey owned to make them sound fatter. In 2000 just as his time with the ABB came to an end, Gibson came out with two Dickey Betts signature custom Les Pauls. One Gold and one red.
Today his son Duane plays the Goldtop signature custom. Also he plays the red 1961 ES-335 dot neck and the 1956 road worn Stratocaster on a song or two each night but Duane had single coils put back in the Strat. He said in Blacksburg, VA last year he didn't need it to sound like a Gibson. That was his dad.
@robertdee I love pretty much everything from the Richard Betts American Music Tour. The guitar/horn/fiddle harmonies fit those songs so perfectly.
I always thought this "Blue Sky" was unique with its extended jam intro that predates the Jerry "Franklin's Tower" tribute he added in 1995. The bass is very 70s country.
