Customer Reviews

Peakin at the Beacon

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Disagree in previous reviewers. This may may not be the best ABB CD of late, but its good and captures the constant evolution of America's orginal Southern Rock band. The selection of songs may be unfamiliar to new listeners, but for historic listeners of the ABB, they are provide a refreshing sound and memories of the earlier recordings: The ABB, Idlewild South, Eat a Peach, and Win, Lose or Draw. The addition of Derek Trucks as slide guitarist is excellent. He's not Duane Allman, but he comes close to replicating the Duane's sound more than previous ABB slide guitarists (except perhaps Warren Haynes). He mixes well with Betts. In the tradition of jams such as Whipping Post, Montain Jam, Jessica, and Elizabeth Reid (which I consider the best ABB tune of all time), this CD features 27 minute version High Falls, revived from Win, Lose, or Draw. The CD reflects much of the ABB played in concert this summer, a show that I consider one of their best, although Jim Herring has replaced Betts at lead guitar. For the ABB fan, Peakin' at the Beacon is a must for your collection.

Members of the band have confirmed that this is just a contract
obligation filler. They wanted out of their deal with Sony, so they said you get what you get and here it is. Quote "None of us are proud of 'that thing'". Now they're hunkering down to put out a new album of new material with Warren back in the line up and creating their own label. Masters of their own destiny.

Vanity or not, at least there's new material on the horizon.

how this album was even released is beyond me. the song selection is great, but the sound quality is very muffled, the band sounds bored to death and the harmonizing is embarassing. every song sounds like it was put in low gear. i love the allmans but this captures them at an all time low.

Overall the performances are great, even if the band used these performances as a means to can a member. The real shortcomings come in the way of sound quality. At times the sound is fair to good, but other times it is muffled. Sometimes the vocals are out in front, sometimes they're buried deep in the mix. Personally, I have better audience tapes of concerts that sound clearer than this official release. Don't get me wrong, the playing is top notch and the cd is worth having, just know that the sound quality is shakey.

Let's get things in perspective here. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is the only commercial release of the Allmans with the pairing of Dickey Betts and Derek Trucks on twin guitars, isn't it?

I don't really care if the recording has the "odd" audio glitch, because the playing is fantastic. Not perfect (Dickey - what was that?!) but still fantastic. The band is cooking but the thing that really captured me was the special interplay between Dickey and Derek.

Its different to Dickey and Warren and different to Warren and Derek (and all the other permutations). The interplay between these two on this recording would have Duanne smiling. Don't get me wrong. I don't rate this above other ABB guitar line ups. But it has its special place.

I have listened to every era ABB and though the lineup here is one of my favorites, the recording isn't. Though average Allmans is better than most other bands . You can do better than this. For the collectors only. I am amazed this is all they could come up with after have many night to pick from. Dickey might not have been hitting the note on this one as they claim, but he is back in form now. saw him live twice in 06 and he has lots to offer. He needs to put out an album with his current lineup IMO the best he has had outside the Allmans.

This sounds like an analgue recording from the 1960s. It does not have the clarity (and in some cases the sterile sound of more recent live albums which is a good thing). This actually has a warmer sound than many clear digital recordings - kind of like some of the early 1960's Dick's Picks Grateful Dead releases). Supprising is that this was recorded in 2000. Was it poor recording equipment or are they trying to get a more 60's sound on this. Therefore, I think the only major flaw is a 10 minute drum solo in High Falls- OK to see but never good to hear. Drum solos should be hot and no longer than about 2 minutes - great drummers like Buddy Rich knew this well. Hit the stop button at the 11 minute mark of High Falls to avoid drum overload.