19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A word to the wise...., December 5, 2000
This review is from: Peakin at the Beacon (Audio CD)
As a huge Allmans fan, I was anxious to hear the newest entry in the string of live discs they've done. What a disappointment! The sound quality is horrible. I really can't believe that a major label released it. It's truly an embarrasment quality-wise. You know what it reminded me of? When I sat second row at the Beacon last year, off to the side, right in front of the speakers. I literally had to wear ear plugs.....and that's exactly what this disc sounds like. Like listening through ear plugs. The song selection is pretty good, especially if you like the early bluesy Allmans. But it's really hard to get past the crappy sound. If you own (and enjoy)either of the last 2 live Allmans discs, you'll be mighty disappointed with this baby.
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38 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hypocrisy at its finest, November 17, 2000
This review is from: Peakin at the Beacon (Audio CD)
Over the summer I read about the bootin' of Dickey out of the band. The reason stated was his playing was not up to par. According to one member, "just listen to the Beacon tapes." If that is so (and I read that in interviews with a couple band members other than Dickey) then why would you put something like this out if it isn't up to snuff? Perhaps they needed to fulfill a contract obligation or they needed more cash. Live ABB always seems to sell pretty good, eh?
I bring all this up for a reason. Upon listening to this, my first reaction was the music was OK. The sound isn't that great. They should have had Mr. Tom Dowd more involved with the process. He is a master behind their recorded sound and it shows here that his touch is badly needed. The song selection was kind of, eh. Live versions released before. It's not bad but after 3 new albums in the 90's, how about some obscure tracks from them.
My other peeve with the track selections, is 8 out of 10 songs are Gregg's. I'm going to say since Dickey is out of the picture, he had nothing to do with the song selection so they threw on as many Gregg songs as they could. Yes, his vocals are good, albeit somewhat muddied. But, that doesn't hilight much of the band, or I dare say, the brotherhood.
All in all, it's an OK album. More for completists than for the casual fan. I put this on the level of the notorious Wipe the Windows... live album from the 70's after their first split. My comments are what I think but the diehards, such as myself, will probably be dismayed by all this. O.T.F.W.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Buyer Beware..., November 26, 2000
This review is from: Peakin at the Beacon (Audio CD)
Anyone expecting "Peakin'" to join the ranks of "Live At Fillmore East", the live portions of "Eat A Peach", or even the often very solid two sets of "An Evening With The Allman Brothers" released in the mid-90s will have to look elsewhere. "Peakin'" is poorly mixed, the song selection is rather dull, and the lead work by Dickey Betts is very often shockingly bad. I'm talking out of tune, incorrect key, meandering to the point of incoherence bad. This set appears to be a contract filler, and though I would hope that the organization would not resort to a tactic that rips off their fans, proof that Mr. Betts was indeed forced out of the band for legitimate musical reasons.
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