Allman Brothers Band: New Fillmore West '71 four CD set (Content and Sound Quality Discussion Only)

Thanks for the (partial) validation!

Been trying to make the old Outlook data file work, that I rescued from my old PC (my correspondence with Skip is more than 10 years old) - I appreciate that folk WILL be sceptical about this sort of claim so, if I can support this with some hard evidence, I will do.

 

Maybe hit at the point they were switching reels out and since it is a short song they decided not to join in progress and start with the next song.

 

Nice that relatively rare Duane era Dreams included. Sometimes I listen to Duane era Allmans and wonder how a band so young turned out masterpieces of the art form.

 

This review was cited on Hittin’ the Web.

The Allman Brothers Band: Fillmore West '71
By DOUG COLLETTE
September 7, 2019

Like virtually all the previously-releases from The Allman Brothers Band Recording Co., this latest archive release, Fillmore West '71, is a mixed blessing. The four-CD set might better have been graced with the stylized graphics that adorn such titles as Nassau Coliseum: Uniondale, NY 5/1/73 (The Allman Brothers Band Recording Co., 2005) including the caveat about sound quality, because it is of a piece with such exhumations from the ABB vault, even if deceptively so: the best moments hearken to the brilliance of the seminal At Fillmore East (Capricorn, 1971), but the musicianship on fully half the collection is muffled by production that, like the packaging, belies the rigor of the the Southern rock pioneers in the original six-man lineup documented here.

The most memorable intervals reside within the compact discs dated 1/30 and 1/31 respectively. On the latter, a near-eleven minute "Dreams" is a deeply psychedelic exploration of a tune that did not appear anywhere on The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings (UME, 2014). Otherwise, every number on that collection is here, sometimes in a form that even (almost?) transcends those included on the aforementioned groundbreaking concert piece: on the "Whipping Post," close to twenty-one minutes in duration, for example, the band extrapolates that combination of savagery and solace at the core of Gregg Allman's composition. Bassist Berry Oakley is especially prominent on a reading of that song from the night of 1/29, asserting himself, as he often did, almost on par with the extraordinary guitarists.

It is one of a small handful of moments fully capturing pinnacles of the increasingly well-honed interactions among this ensemble that just about offsets the liabilities of Fillmore West '71. Take the aggressive call-and-response guitar partners Duane Allman and Dickey Betts engage in on the "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed;" ostensibly from the first night of this run, one of the most egregious instances of erratic audio quality on this first disc; near-dropouts occur at more than a couple junctures, perhaps due to clumsy edits or tape changes, disrupting the flow of such passages, undermining Gregg Allman's role as blues singer par excellence, via vocals on truncated cuts like "Trouble No More" and the impassioned "Stormy Monday," where the Hammond B3 of the band's chief songwriter and keyboardist is way too far up front in the early going.

Likewise, the sound is egregiously trebly, to the great detriment of dual percussionists Jaimoe and Butch Trucks, during the forty-five minute "Mountain Jam" included as 'bonus' material on disc four. Recorded at The Warehouse in New Orleans, just after those famous Fillmore East appearances, this piece is nevertheless notable for the "Who Do You Love" interval near the end, proof positive of how open-ended was the Brothers' approach to the melodic theme of British folk-rocker Donovan's quasi-children's song "There Is A Mountain."

Clearly still in the process of development as a performance piece, as depicted on Bear's Sonic Journals: Fillmore East February 1970—Deluxe Edition (The Allman Brothers Band Recording Company, 2019), the two-CD 'Deluxe Edition' of ABB's second studio effort Idlewild South (UME, 2015) as well as Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival: July 3 & 5, 1970 (Legacy, 2003)—all three of which are superior to this package in design and production—its appearance on Fillmore West '71 only reaffirms the debilitating sonics of this package. Curiously, there is no specific credit for mixing, and while mastering engineer Tom Lewis no doubt did his best with what he had to work with—reel-to-reel soundboard masters, not multi-tracks—the final product for this release begs the question of prior preparation of these tapes.

Unofficial information for releases of this content that were eventually forestalled also correlates to the conflicting details of the dates assigned to this package. Various documents accessible on-line (conspicuously including the database on the Allman Brothers' own website), suggest calendar contradictions (three nights or four?) that essayist John Lynskey glosses over in an essay that otherwise might well have been abbreviated to allow for more action shots of the ABB. But photographs are relegated to an otherwise formidable black and white front cover image of Duane Allman, oddly to the exclusion of his bandmates, who only appear on the back in a stage shot.

Likewise from the camera of Jim Marshall, this action image looks all too similar to yet another piece of work from his famed photographer—from the gate-fold of At Fillmore East—but it dovetails with more appealing visual accouterments—in the mushroom graphics on the compact discs themselves and the replications of the show posters inside this six-panel digi-pak. Representative of the peak musical moments on the CD's (there is no vinyl at this point), these splashes of color are in marked contrast to the one-dimensional monaural timbre of the tapes that might otherwise have warranted a lesser-priced selling point that would belie such stylish artwork.

As a result, while Fillmore West '71 does not tarnish the reputation of the Allman Brothers Band, neither does it add much of anything significant to the legacy of the group. As such, it is sorely wanting as due recognition of the group's fiftieth anniversary, ostensibly, the fundamental reason for its conception (if not its execution). Consequently, for both the devout fans of the group as well as curious novices, this release should best function as (one of many) means to the end of the primary source of the Allmans' reputation, those epochal Big Apple performances preserved for posterity that took place roughly six weeks after these, at the east coast counterpart of this hallowed hall.

The Allman Brothers Band: Fillmore West '71

 

I hadn’t looked over that list in a long time. Thanks! I’d have to pull my physical copy of the official Stonybrook archive release to check - I don’t remember there being any mention in the liner notes that the release was a comp from early & late shows - although that sure makes sense. If so, I wish the official release had been clear about which tracks came from which show.

So much uncertainty with dating these early ABB tapes. Wish there was a detailed record kept at the time, and that the Brothers had their own equivalent to Bear to get it all recorded properly. It’s a miracle that we have as many HQ tapes as we’ve got, really.

 

The shot on the back is the Fillmore East shot, I've loved that shot since 1972.

 

After just finishing Disc 1, here are my thoughts on it.

Gregg's voice as opposed to Disc 2 is not as in front. There are ins and outs in this disc. What I mean is, the guitar will be in front of the mix and then all of a sudden be buried. On Trouble No More, the guitar jumps out of the left speaker for a few seconds and drops back into the mix. On Elizabeth Reed, I had to adjust the volume level down a couple of notches. This is a nice version of Dreams and I like You Don't Love Me again. Gregg's organ is prominent as best I have heard it on Whipping Post in the right speaker and guitar on left.

Again, the sound quality is pretty good throughout except Midnight Rider. I have zero idea what happen here. It is obviously the worst sounding song up to this point in the first two discs. Nitpicking is the ups and down of the levels, but that is what it is.

I like Disc 2 better so far. But Disc 1 is not bad by any stretch getting by the mixing and some sound quality.

Disc 3 will have to wait. For some reason this week I pulled out the Fillmore Concerts and listened knowing this was coming. Can you get burned out on the Allmans?..........

 

Man... That review seems a bit harsh. It’s been pretty well-known (since this release was first announced) that Fillmore West wasn’t gonna match the Fillmore East shows, in terms of recording quality. It wasn’t a full-on professionally-made multitrack recording. It is flawed, and was flawed from the get-go. On the “Liz Reed” from 1/31, Gregg’s keyboard solo is barely audible. For that stretch of the tune, you mostly hear rhythm guitar & the rhythm section. Given the source, though, that kinda stuff is to be expected! I’m not sure this set was marketed as any replacement for Fillmore East, more like a supplement to that glorious run.

Still glad to have this release at all. Bring on more!

 

I don't know, I feel it was a pretty honest review. For diehards this is a great set to have, but for a newbie (which obviously posters here are not) it's very informative and if you're going to plunk down $40 on a box, it's only fair to mention the flaws in the set as well as its attributes.

 

@MYKE, you know as well as I do, those armchair experts are as thick as a brick. You just can’t get through to them. Us fans know the real deal, here. It’s best to chill and just enjoy the music. That’s why we’re here

 

Well, not on the band in general, but with specific lineups, one could.

 

I'm sure you're right. I just prefer rougher/looser takes in general.
That take on "Dreams" from the first show is gorgeous.

 

In that review the author seems surprised to find no mixing credit. He does understand what a soundboard is? A one shot mixed lived recording where individual tracks cannot be mixed later? Perhaps that explains his disappointment? He acknowledges they are not multitracks but point out unsatisfactory preparation of the tapes. Then compares their inferiority to other multitrack tapes.

I dont understand deriding soundboard tapes for not standing up to the quality of multitracks. You know going in that this will not be a sonic masterpiece, this album was not recorded to be a live album release. It only gets released now as something of historical significance. These recordings are what they are. The band can either release them or not. And as the buying public we can either buy them or not. Im glad to see some people see the value in these performances despite their sound quality and chose to release them for those who might be able to look past their defects and find enjoyment in them regardless.

 

I have tried three times to download the QOBUS app for my windows10 (64). On both Firefox and Chrome. It selects for MAC OS anyway and then, of course, will not open (saying 404 page not found).

 

Well done Sir.
I looked the author up, and he says his first concert was Woodstock ? So, if he's truly an old fart like me, or even older as his experiences claim to make him, he should know better. Esp. if he's going to write such a long piece. I am so sick of so many so-called "experts" peddling their BS.

 

Yes, but the point still is that some people still like to know sound quality, yes? We know the limitations of these recordings. These aren't American University or Boston Common. I enjoy these much better already. Point is, a bunch of us have almost everything this band has done. Some people might not want to plunk down another 40 bucks for songs they have bought many times before with better sound quality. The variations in the songs are different, but how different to purchase? That is why I was honest about what I hear in the first two discs I have listened to. I'm happy I bought this. Some people might not want it though. Especially if they have the Blu-Ray 4 disc set from the Fillmore East. I'm not really disagreeing with you, but maybe adding a additional point to this release.

 

This guy is on a roll. Look out, folks.

 

I only trust my own BS

 

I agree with what you are saying and i dont have a problem with the sound quality being discussed, of course its an important part of deciding to purchase any audio document. But i find it somewhat irrelevant to point out that its inferior to Fillmore East sound wise because well of course it is. If it were superior it probably would have been released decades ago, its not like a situation like The Who with Live at Leeds and Hull where both shows were recorded potentially for a live album and only one was choosen.

I feel the market for a release like this is mostly diehard fans like yourself who own plenty of live ABB already. So being down on this release because of sound quality doesnt make a lot of sense to me, because you know with the nature of it it will be substandard going in. I can sacrifice sound quality for a blistering performance, especially from the sadly short lived Duane era. What will make this release successful or unsuccessful is how the performances stack up to Atlanta or Fillmore East, not how the sound does.

With that said thanks for offering a review. This site is a wonderful resource for people wanting to know about releases and other likeminded peoples opinions of them. I appreciate there is a community here of people who buy releases and then take the time to offer insight to help others make decisions about whether they want to buy as well.

 

Adam,

I think it's clear that you know that, I know that and mostly everyone here reading knows that, but not everyone does. There are many lesser informed people who would probably think it's of the same quality as Fillmore East, or Atlanta Pop, or even Bear's Sonic Journal, but it isn't.

The critic is not criticizing the band, he isn't even criticizing the performances, he is simply posting his thoughts on this particular release and the quality thereof.

I understand it's a real treat to get more Duane era Allman's but this critique in sound quality shouldn't be taken personally. There are some people who may feel they want this set and may be somewhat disappointed upon hearing it, especially if they own the FE recordings. Not everyone is as informed as the listeners who appear on this forum.

I love the ABB, but with all of the Duane era material I own, I highly doubt this will get more spins than any of those due to the reasons mentioned. Does that make me less of a fan? In some eyes, maybe so, but my thoughts aren't skewed by nostalgia or sentimentality, I'm judging the package on its own merits. Duane was special and fans want all they can get their hands on in regard to performances, but that doesn't mean every release is perfect. Maybe perfect in its own way, but not perfect for some, like FE.

It appears that anything less than a gushing review of anything Duane gets a lot of blowback when that shouldn't be, each release is different, some are better than others. That's all the author is pointing out and I feel he is correct in doing so.

The band sounds great, the performances are excellent, but the sound quality is wanting in comparison to other releases. It's fair to point that out.

 

That's exactly what I did this morning while streaming the concert BEFORE MY order arrived. Love the tempo.

 

Woodstock....could have been Woodstock 94 or Woodstock 99. As I recall the Allmans played at Woodstock 94. Wonder if that will ever.get an official release?

 

If you read what he wrote, he means '69.

 

All points taken re: the reviewer’s take on the sound quality of this particular release, which isn’t up to the highest level, but is (to me) more listenable than Boston Common. It’s useful to point that kind of stuff out in reviews, and I think the pre-release announcements made mention that expectations of audiophile delights would be misplaced...

That said, in 2019, does anybody spend $40 +/- on a physical release who doesn’t fall somewhere on the diehard fan spectrum? The retail landscape has, sadly for us geezers, changed dramatically even since the 2014 release of the Fillmore East set. There are very few stores left where one could walk in and inadvertently buy this, if one weren’t already looking to buy it.

I’d love to hear that a copyright-protection set of debut ABB album + demos & any usable ‘69 live tracks was coming out before year’s end. But as it’s now September, and no announcement like that seems forthcoming, I’ll have to be content with this cool set of somewhat-imperfect recordings.

 

Been listening to it since yesterday and I am biased but I will love any decent sounding ABB release, but I recognize not everyone is a die hard fan.

Attention to detail is an issue with this band the years. It comes from multiple people owning their masters, multiple managers and years of bad contracts. If they had some consistency over the years and someone at a higher level than Kirk West wanting to secure the band's legacy then that would help a lot.