THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND

Manley Field House, Syracuse University, April 7, 1972

ABB Recording Company (auditioned as CD). 2023. The Allman Brothers Band, prods.; Jason NeSmith, eng.

PERFORMANCE

SONICS

In 1971, the Allman Brothers Band was mourning the passing of guitarist and leader Duane Allman. They decided that the best place to properly grieve was on the road, moving forward with the musical vision he had created. As a five-man band (Gregg Allman on vocals and keyboard, Dickey Betts on guitar, Berry Oakley on bass, and drummers Butch Trucks and Jaimoe), they embarked on a 22-week, 41-show tour that found them, on April 7, 1972, at Manley Field House on the campus of Syracuse University. Recorded and simulcast on the school’s station, WAER, the concert in various incomplete forms traveled for years through fan circles as a bootleg. The complete concert is finally being released, pulled from the original source recording and completely remastered.

The 11-track collection features set staples from this period including show opener “Statesboro Blues,” “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” “Midnight Rider,” and “Whipping Post,” as well as “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” off their then–newly released album Eat a Peach. “Syracuse Jam,” included here for the first time, is an example of the melody jamming the band was famous for and is unique in that it does not appear in any other known ABB recording.

The sound is remarkably crisp. This fiveman orientation presents arrangements the band would never again play in a live setting. Here, Dickey Betts does double duty by replacing the trademark dual leads with perhaps his most impressive playing ever.

This is a pivot point for a band in transition. Six months following this show, keyboardist Chuck Leavell would be added to the group and Lamar Williams would soon take over duties on bass. “Syracuse” is a snapshot of the most important moment in Allman’s history, where the surviving members banded together and kept a brotherhood alive.—Ray Chelstowski