Yes the Warren Allen lineup was strong. To me they were the hottest from 1989 to 1993 but still very good afterward.
That 1961 ES-335 Dickey is playing is one of three guitars Duane Betts is playing in The Allman Betts Band. He also uses a Les Paul Dickey Betts signature series and a 1956 Fender Stratocaster hard tail. All three were played by Dickey. When you see the Stratocaster up close, it has a lot of road wear. But I've seen worse. Santana has been playing a very beat up Strat he found, I think in Chicago, some lately.
Devon Allman said his father Gregg had 42 guitars and left all of them to Devon.
1989 tapes are hard to listen to with Johnny's synthesizer solos Jessica and Whipping Post (and One Way Out?).........and the synth in Before the Bullets Fly a couple others trying to sound like horns.
He put it away for the Seven Turns album and tour, thankfully. I really like what he added to the album.
Johnny seems okay on Dickey's Pattern Disruptive. But when Johnny's contract expired in late 1990, Gregg and Butch felt he didnt fit so he was booted. Even the 1990 shows I saw, Johnny's piano seemed out of sync with the rest of the band more than not. But he sounds fine on Seven Turns.
Warren was disappointed as he was tight with Johnny in the 1980's.
I've always felt 1996 was the high water mark for the Warren/Woody lineup, particularly the spring shows. Some versions of True Gravity went to some surprising places.
I saw the ABB once per summer in Atlanta 1990-1994 (why I didn't see more shows in neighboring states is my big loss!). I missed 1995 due to travel when they came to Atlanta. In 1996, I saw them again and was floored all over again. True Gravity in particular was monster. I hadn't heard them play it live since 1990. I was reminded of the power of the ABB live. What a joy.
It would turn out to be the 6th and last time I saw the Woody/Warren lineup. The next summer in Atlanta had Jack + Oteil on board and it was a different beast. Great but different. In 1998 is when I started seeing multiple shows per year all the way up until the end in 2014.
Yes the Jack Otiel lineup was different. All the lineups were somewhat different as to be expected. They were painting the canvas with some different artists. I saw several shows in 97 and 98 and the band was as good as the Warren Allen lineup just different. The real change to me was the Brothers and Sisters tour with Chuck and Lamar and one lead guitar.
One thing visually that made the band look strange the first time I saw the Jack Otiel lineup was for the first time no Gibson guitars on stage. Jack played a G and L Strat, Dickey a Fender Strat and Otiel a Fender bass. I heard someone in the audience say " They must have signed a deal with Fender guitars. No Gibsons like Little Feat." Actually I remember a show in 1970 when Duane was the only Gibson on stage. Dickey had a Fender Strat and Berry a Fender bass.
[Edited on 11/19/2019 by blackey]
I really like Warren's tone on slide with that Strat with the red head stock was killer on slide. Check out the YouTube video of the 1991 German performance of Blue Sky.
