Customer Reviews

The Road Goes on Forever

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"I have not come to testify about our bad bad misfortune" sings Greg Allman on the opening verse of It's Not My Cross To Bear. These are the first lyrics recorded by this once powerhouse southern rock band...Prophetic words that speak volumes about a band that suffered more than its share of heartache and tragedy. But along the way they virtually wrote the book and defined what the term Southern Rock meant. I caught the ABB several times during the Duane Allman/Berry Oakley era. Words can do little to describe the electrifying experience of their dual guitar/dual percussion attack. Add the rock solid bottom of Berry Oakley along with Greg's gritty blues inspired vocals and you've got the winningest combination this side of hot dogs and mustard.

The Road Goes On Forever chronicles their recorded legacy and provides both first-time listener and Allman fanatic a great overview of their ten-year recorded output on Capricorn Records, from 1969-1979. These selections include an accurate sampling of their studio work from their self-titled debut album through 1979's Enlightened Rouges. But the real gems here are taken from the Filmore sessions, Live At Fillmore East and Eat A Peach. It's on One Way Out, Statesboro Blues, Hot 'Lannta and In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed that they soar like no other band, before or since.

As I said before, these guys wrote the book...Sure Skynard, Marshall Tucker, Wet Willie and others picked up the torch and kept the genre alive. But no one, absolutely NO ONE could smoke the roof off a concert hall like the Allmans could. If you doubt me, just cue up disc one, selections 11-14 and crank up the volume. When I hear this stuff it takes right back to The Fillmore East, The Manhattan Center, (on 34th St and 8th Ave) and the old Capital Theatre in Portchester, NY, where I first caught them, as the opening act for Delaney & Bonnie in 1969. Those were truly magical times and they were pure magic in their prime.

This is a remastered version (with 13 bonus tracks added) of a 2 lp set originally released in 1975. In addition some of the bonus material on the second disk is from the 3 lps the band released after this original lp was released but before they signed with Arista. The Allman Brothers Band was the band that started the whole Southern Rock movement. They mixed elements of rock, blues, jazz, gospel and country to form one the most exciting American rock bands of their times. The first disk concentrates on the period before Duane Allman's tragic death. All of the cuts included are great. The bluesy singing of Gregg Allman is highlighted to great effect on "It's Not My Cross To Bear" and the live version of "Stormy Monday" from the essential "Live At The Fillmore" set. The feeling that Gregg and guitarists Duane Allman and Dickey Betts put into these two numbers almost bring tears to my eyes. Other highlights of the first disk are Gregg's "Midnight Rider", concert favorite "Whipping Post" with the sorely missed Berry Oakley's bass intro and smokin' covers of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues" and Muddy Water's "Trouble No More". The former highlights Duane's astounding slide guitar playing skills. Live versions of the instrumental workouts like "Hot 'Lanta" and "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" highlight the high musicianship of all the band members. The second disk begins with the end of Duane and Berry's tenure through the additions of Chuck Leavell and Lamar Williams to the Dan Toler and David Goldflies period in 1979. Highlights on the second disk include two famous Dickey Bett's numbers the melodic instrumental "Jessica" which features some great keyboard playing by both Gregg and Chuck Leavell and the countryish "Ramblin' Man". Other standouts include a live version of Sonny Boy Williamson's "One Way Out", "Stand Back" and the acoustic duet "Little Martha" featuring Duane and Dickey. The bonus tracks which were added raise this compilation from good to great! Such cuts as "Southbound", a cover of Muddy Water's "Can't Lose What You Never Had" and the live "Come And Go Blues" improve this set. My only quibble is the inclusion of the weak "Win, Lose Or Draw". I would have replaced it with either the instumental "High Falls" from that album, the live cover of John Lee Hooker's "Dimples" from "Live At Ludlow's Garage" or "Leave My Blues At Home". This 2 cd anthology provides an affordable and essential introduction to the spectacular Allman Brothers Band for those who can not afford the box set or many individual disks. I highly recommend "Beginnings", "Live At The Fillmore" and "Eat A Peach" for starters if you enjoyed this set.

If you look at the original track listing for the first edition of ABB's "The Road Goes on Forever" retrospective, you get the sneaking suspicion that the record label was fighting the clock. Maybe a deadline kept them from including classic album tracks from "Idlewild South" and "Eat a Peach." Is there any other explaination for excluding excellent southern standards like "Not My Cross To Bare?"

Well, on this 2001 reissue right is put right. The set is expanded to 2 discs and it is the prefect introduction and even a better summary than anything they have done live. That comment may require some explaination to many hard-cores preferring "At Fillmore East," but for those of us not raised on southern rock, 30-plus minutes of "Mountain Jam" may require more than just time. On these tracks, the Allman Brothers power is showcased in a closed, controlled, and focused enviornment, expunging anything occuring outside the magic. The tracks are presented chronologically, a plus for newcomers. I prefer the studio versions of "Trouble No More," "Blackhearted Woman," and even the post-Duane "Ramblin' Man" to the bloated live versions. And yes, disc two dies down a bit after the generous 6 tracks from the classic "Eat a Peach" LP, but what can you say for a band who loses the greatest slide-guitar hand of all-time? This set is orderly, definitive, and near perfect.

Overall: 9 out of 10.

I had this on vinyl, 2 record set, 'back in the day'.

It was great then , & now it's even better.

Added are 13 bonus tracks with a good amount of live tracks on this 2 CD set.
That's a huge plus for the original Southern Jam band.

The Live At The Fillmore East is an alltime classic. It is represented, on this release, by 4 songs.
The addition of One Way Out was recorded at the Fillmore, but released on Eat A Peach is worthy.

So, it's a total of 5 Fillmore East tracks.

Excellent song selection, that reflects a cross section of live & studio recordings.

I think that Allman Brothers are best heard live, but the concise studio versions are good players too.

There are plenty of classic early Allman Brothers songs including; It's Not My Cross To Bear, Blackhearted Woman, Dreams,Whipping Post, Midnight Rider, Statesboro Blues, Stormy Monday, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed...

At 30 tracks, this is an excellent value.

Great for crusin'too!

If you like southern rock, if you like rock, or if you just like to listen to good lyrics, and exceptional musicians. Well, this is the album for you. I personally am a fan of disk one, but that is because by the time I have listened to it, and repeated several of the cuts 3 or 4 times, am to tired to listen to disk two. The music is arranged in a chronological order, and that is fine, you can listen to the band evolve. The intricate guitar work, combined with superb drum and bass work, and the evocitive lyrics make this a truely memorable experiance, almost like a real concert. Believe me, try this and you will experience the Allman Brothers Band and Southern Rock as they were meant to be enjoyed.

The Road Goes on Forever is very much along the lines of Columbia's double cd "Essential" packages. This set includes songs from every album the ABB released from 1969-1979. Featured are all the radio hits as well as most classic album cuts. "The Road" is as good of a best-of album as you could expect, covering the first decade of this American institution.

The only downside is the lack of a few more live tracks, considering how much the Allman Brothers have been known as a live band during their entire career. That being said, this is THE one to get if you know you are getting just one by the ABB.

If you want to venture to their 90s-00s material afterward, you might go with an the top shelf An Evening With the Allman Brothers, Mycology, or their excellent 2003 release Hittin the Note. Whatever you do, avoid anything the band recorded for Arista in the early 80s.

I disagree strongly with MUTIMAman on this CD. In my opinion, any Allman Brothers greatest hits package that does not contain "It's Not My Cross To Bear" is a total waste of time and this is the only one that has it...aside from the box set. "Cross" is , in my opinion, the best blues song ever laid down on vinyl. I have been a professionl musician for almost 30 years now and am still amazed at the passion and tastefulness of the lead vocals and guitar solos in that song. I rarely find a greatest hits package that totally pleases me, but this one does. Buy it and you'll see.

The Allman Brothers band have provided me with constant accompaniment to my life for almost three decades now, and I remember hearing the echoes of "Blue Sky" wafting into the rafters at my wedding long ago, and I have felt more at home when listening to it on a Sony Walkman in strange motel rooms all over the country when traveling on business? It seems to be a permanent part of my life, like Sgt Pepper or Bookends. This is a collection of their best efforts over a decade, a spellbinding and fairly complete collection from an under appreciated band at their very best.

Whether it is for the matchless "Blue Sky', or for the blockbuster sound of "Ain't Wasting Time No More", this is an album so terrific, you will play it again and again. With the ecstatic guitar duels and their matchless harmonies built on a double drummer foundation, they set the standard for pop excellence for the flood of terrific southern rock that emanated out of the South in the 1970s. Their songs draw on influences ranging from country, blues, jazz, and gospel, but the sound they produce is uniquely the Allmans'. I especially like their guitar instrumentals. Gregg Allman and Dicky Betts perform absolutely magically here, and it is all captured for your endless amusement and entertainment. From "Rambling Man" to "Jessica", "Midnight Rider" to "Wasted Words", and "Statesboro Blues" to "One Way Out", the Allman Bothers Band always pleases, and this terrific set of their best is sure to make you smile and bring back a lot of pleasant memories. Enjoy

THE ROAD GOES ON FOREVER, in its expanded, remastered incarnation, is a great Anthology of prime-period Allman Brothers Band material, even if the more concise A DECADE OF HITS 1969-1979, along with AT FILLMORE EAST, BEGINNINGS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, and EAT A PEACH, when purchased together, pack a harder punch. Highlights include "Whipping Post", "Ain't Wastin' Time No More", "Wasted Words", "Ramblin' Man", "Southbound", "Jessica", and "Crazy Love." The belief among past and present Allman Brothers Band members that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia on drug-smuggling charges was unjustly convicted makes this an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

This collection represent the absolute best of the Allman Brothers. Arguably the best American Southern band from the States, the Allman Brothers were noted for their amazingly tight 'live' sets. This double CD represents the best of the studio and 'live' recordings.

The songs are set chronologically, starting with the first big song, "Don't Want You No More" (originally recorded by the Spencer Davis Group) and finishing with "Pegasus" from 1979. Note that all the songs listed are studio recordings except for the following 'live' full length versions: "Statesboro Blues", "Stormy Monday", "Hot 'Lanta", "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" (a classic), "One Way Out" and "Come And Go Blues". Culled from eight albums beginning in 1969, this is the ultimate collection.

Highlights of non-single hits are, "Whipping Post", "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed", "One Way Out", "Jessica" and "Win, Lose Or Draw". If it weren't for the audience approval, you would never know the 'live' songs from the studio - they are that good. The liner notes are excellent as well, representing the complete history of the band.