The Allman Brothers Band

★★★★ Fillmore West ’71 ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND RECORDING COMPANY. CD Live box set argues for the Allmans as mightiest live rock ensemble. Six weeks before the Allman Brothers recorded their historic live album At Fillmore

East, they captured these three nights at the Fillmore’s San Franciscan sister in January ’71, presented here on four discs of flammable performances. On disc one’s You Don’t Love Me, the two monster guitarists Duane Allman and Dickey Betts engage in a blistering interlude of trading fours – back-and-forth four bars each of stringular gymnastics – while on disc three’s version the bass and keys drop out while the duo do a thrilling lead and rhythm double time. With Gregg Allman’s B3 organ and the magnificent rhythm section including two drummers, the sum total explains why the ABB made the case that rock could rival jazz for instrumental and improvisational excellence. Gregg’s blue grit vocals were the icing on one delicious cake.