More than most such milestone titles, The Allman Brothers Band’s Brothers and Sisters deserves its 50th anniversary recognition. The 1973 album stands as a pivotal point in the iconic Southern group’s evolution in the wake of the eerily similar motorcycle deaths of founder/guitarist Duane Allman and charter member/bassist Berry Oakley (who was present for the earliest sessions).
It also ranks as ABB’s most commercially popular release. Not only did the long-player reach the peak of the best-seller charts, its flagship single, “Ramblin’ Man,’” became a hit on its own terms. The combination of successes on both fronts turned the moniker of this seminal Southern blue-rock ensemble’s into a household name.
The 2013 four-disc deluxe edition of the long player provides insight into and celebration of The Allman Brothers’ resolute drive to not just persevere, but also to succeed on their own terms in the wake of not one but two personal tragedies afflicting the group. To that end, after some touring as a quintet in 1972, the band began to reconfigure their sound to incorporate bright country influences via new material written by the late Skydog’s guitar partner Dickey Betts (as was a precedent for same, “Revival,” from the unit’s second studio release Idlewild South).
The soaring “Jessica” may be the best example of that change, if only because it links directly to the ABB’s earlier work, specifically the classic instrumental written by the same author “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” While the audio quality of the recording as originally issued lacks some definition and bottom, it is sufficiently punchy (especially in remastered form) to reveal what an excellent choice was the late Lamar Williams as a replacement for the late Berry Oakley (who appears only on “Wasted Words” and “Ramblin’ Man”).
Just as the earthy grit of Williams’ bass work supplies an effective contrast to the lighter tones of the new originals, so did Chuck Leavell’s piano and his solo on Betts’ wordless selection may be its greatest distinction. For the latter’s part, his guitar work on both these famous numbers exhibits how, at his best instrumentally, he spoke not just in lines but full paragraphs. Taken together they are also proof positive he needed no further inspiration to ascend peaks of musicianship equal to his own prior output (aside from Les Dudek’s insistent acoustic rhythm guitar in the arrangement of the ebullient “Jessica”).
Inclusion of two blues numbers on the album helped solidify the mainstream audience’s first impressions of The Allmans based on the landmark concert collection At Fillmore East. As much as the twelve-bar might accurately reflect the singer/keyboardist’s turbulent life at the time, the perfectly routine “Jelly Jelly” was rushed to completion due to release deadlines and might well have been replaced by “Early Morning Blues;” Gregg’s rewrite of “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town” was part of the ABB repertoire circa 1970 and Live At Ludlow Garage.
The dobro-dominated, acoustic-oriented “Pony Boy” is something else altogether. It’s not only a peek into Southern lore, but also (and much more importantly), a glimmer of insight into Dickey’s familiarity with those strains of bluegrass and jazz he had previously filtered only through his electric guitar work.
Material composed by Allman and Betts respectively, in the process of development (and ultimately staples of future live sets), “Wasted Words” and “Southbound” benefit tremendously from Leavell’s piano. His limber touch on the ivories adds a jubilant bounce to music that now insinuated where it once overpowered, ample evidence of the wisdom behind his recruitment to the Allmans’ lineup based on his sensitive contributions to Gregg’s initial solo album Laid Back (essentially recorded coincidental with the group effort).
Meanwhile, the double drumming of Jaimoe and Butch Trucks developed a more subtly syncopated style working with bassist Williams. The surviving Allman Brother’s singing thus becomes the most readily identifiable component of the unit’s style, so much so his world-weary but fervent delivery of “Come And Go Blues“ might well stand as his finest studio contribution to the ABB oeuvre. In fact, his rich voice almost overshadows the pithy organ solo that further distinguishes the arrangement and performance.
As emphasized in Alan Paul’s tome Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the ’70s, the sessions for Brothers And Sisters did not proceed apace, especially in the wake of Oakley’s passing. But the difficulties his surviving comrade’s encountered and subsequently transcended pale in comparison to the fragmentation affecting the group for its next (and last) studio outing of the era.
With Gregg Allman by this time deeply involved in a relationship with Cher (it would lead to a four-year marriage)–and thus spending more time on the West Coast than in Macon Georgia– Win Lose or Draw not only suffered for that physical element of dislocation, but also the ravages of the band members’ self-indulgence in the dividends of success.
This was no longer a unit of musicians displaying a laser-like focus. On that front, it’s arguable their peer-to-peer relationship with co-producer Johnny Sandlin had an adverse effect on the proceedings for the record; a member of the band in an earlier incarnation as the Hourglass, he did not carry the same mantle of prestige as did previous (and future) production mentor Tom Dowd for the the aforementioned sophomore studio effort as well as iconic live album.
Distractions also took the form of benefit concerts to support Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign, those machinations a far cry from the complementary concerts with the Grateful Dead in the summer of ’73, culminating with the massive event at Watkins Glen where those two iconic outfits were joined by yet another in the persons of The Band.Add to that the creeping suspicion the group’s manager and mentor Phil Walden was mishandling their finances, the Brothers of 1975 belied the once intimate relationship that appellation suggests. With the hindsight of half a century, the completion of Brothers And Sisters two years prior seems nothing less than miraculous, especially given its astute and authentic retooling of a musical style forged by the original sextet that has grown incrementally influential with the passage of time
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It’s an early morning in The Costal Bend of Texas and here again I’m sitting listening to music that for over 50 years have been my GO-TO Favorites. First, if my 72 year old memory serves, was on a late night with some home-grown & a radio in my 68 Z-28 Camaro. Then thru several 8-track tapes, at least 3 LPs, & God knows how many CDs, now I’ve got it turned-up again. THANKS Y’ALL ! … Keep-um Coming …