Customer Reviews

Shades of Two Worlds

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Shades of Two Worlds is the best album the Allman Brothers Band would release in the '90s and is among their best work. Their previous album Seven Turns was their comeback album and is very good. But Shades of Two Worlds has a stronger set of songs and is a more diverse collection.

Dickey Betts writes most of the tracks on this album, contributing his strongest set of songs since the Brothers and Sisters album. Tracks such as "Bad Rain", "Desert Blues", and the epic "Nobody Knows" are all strong tracks. "Nobody Knows" may be their best track of the '90s, featuring some of Gregg Allman's best vocals and Butch Trucks' and Jaimoe's best drumming ever on a studio track. Dickey Betts and Warren Haynes' guitar playing on this track is also very impressive. The instrumental "Kind Of Bird" is also very strong, more owed to jazz since any instrumental they've recorded since "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed."

Gregg Allman only co-writes two tracks here, but they're both very strong. "Get On With Your Life" is an excellent slow blues that the band has always excelled at. The introspective "End Of The Line" is the album's most well-known track and is among their best recent work. The band also do a cover of Robert Johnson's "Come On In My Kitchen" which is a pleasant surprise. Allman's vocal over Haynes' steel guitar intro and the gospel tinged background vocals help make this song all their own. The only misstep on the album is the track "Midnight Man", which while decent, pales in comparison to the rest of the album. I'd give this album 4 1/2 stars if available. This is a great album which will appeal to all Allman Brothers Band fans. Inexplicably, this album is now out of print. This should be remastered and released once again as this is one of the band's 5 best studio albums.

For some reason, this album is out of print. It is only available on the used market. If you find it, you should snap it up while you can get it. It is the best Allman Brothers album since Brothers and Sisters.

Every track on this album is strong. There is a lot of good jamming. Some tracks are 10 to 12 minutes long. The album has 8 tracks and is 52 minutes long. The only complaint is that some of the tracks sound too much like classic Allman Brothers, as if Jessica was only slightly modified.

In 1990, the Allman Brothers reunited again, adding Warren Haynes on guitar and Allen Woody on bass. This group put out three studio albums and two live albums. This CD is the second album. The first, Seven Turns is almost as good. The third, Where It All Belongs isn't quite as strong. The live albums, An Evening With the Allman Brothers are great, especially volume 1.

In 1994, the Haynes and Woody left the group to concentrate on Gov't Mule (their With A Little Help album is fantastic). Unfortunately, Woody died last year. Haynes has been playing with the Grateful Deads' Phil Lesh. He also put out a new Gov't Mule with a different bass player on each track, including Cream's Jack Bruce.

Prior to Seven Turns, the Allman Brothers hadn't released a studio album since 1981. The group did tour a lot in the eighties, using different guitarists. As always, their live shows were always very good.

In talking with my amazon friends Finulanu and Ol' nuff n' den sum we are amazed that this album, The Allman Brothers Band's follow up to Seven Turns, is out of print. It's just as good as Seven Turns, and in many ways better, as the playing on it is much more intense. Here, Gregg Allman really shines, not only vocally, but as a songwriter (co-writing the great End of the Line and sole writer on Get On With Your Life). His keyboard work is very good, too. Johnny Neel played keyboards on Seven Turns, while Gregg stayed on organ. Here, he does all the keyboard work for the first time since Duane was in the band. The song Nobody Knows is one of the Allman's greatest songs, a killer epic track (running nearly 11 minutes) with great vocals by Gregg, amazing guitar work by Dickey Betts and Warren Hayes, and some amazing percussion by Jaimoe and Butch Trucks. Despite the lengthy running time on many of these songs, they are remarkably tight, and show that the Allmans know how to jam and jam intensely. They never wander around like the Dead (at least in concert) and Phish would do.

This album needs to be back in print, now! If Seven Turns and Where It All Begins are in print, why not this?

The Allman Brothers Band's Shades of Two Worlds (1991) gives the faithful ABB listener everything that is required of an Allman Brothers Band album for it to be considered great. The professionalism, exciting performances and consistent songwriting make this the one to get if you're looking for an album from the band's post-Duane Allman era. The band, including Gregg Allman's legendary singing voice, is in top form here, and I would recommend this over any other studio album from the post-Duane years with the possible exception of 1973's Brothers and Sisters and 2003's Hittin' the Note.

This was the follow up to their 1989 comeback album, Seven Turns, and it features the Dickey Betts/Warren Haynes twin guitar front line along with Gregg Allman on vocals and Hammond B-3 organ. The late Allen Woody played bass on the album, and original band members Butch Trucks and Jaimoe provide the dual drum and percussion interplay.

This is everything that a great Allman Brothers album should be, and the usual staples of the ABB album formula, including guitar excellence, are remarkably presented. The 8:30 minute jazzy instrumental, Kind Of Bird, shows off the band's creativity and exceptional musicianship, and the slow blues, Get On With Your Life, features everything that is good about the ABB brand of blues-rock. The reflective swagger of End Of The Line works perfectly as Gregg looks back on the reckless years of his youth and is amazed that he survived it all.

Oh, when I think about the old days
It sends chills up and down my spine
Life ain't what it seems on the boulevard of broken dreams
Guess I opened my eyes in the nick of time
Cause it sure felt like the end of the line

There's a slide steel guitar laden back porch version of Robert Johnson's Come On In My Kitchen on the album, and it's always a treat to hear the Allmans do something like that. Midnight Man doesn't offer too much, but it's not bad, and everything else on the album is stellar.

The album's centerpiece is the 11:00 minute epic Nobody Knows, a song that Dickey wrote and Gregg enthusiastically sings. It features some top quality spirited soloing from the group, and the lyrics are thoughtfully philosophical in the way that they suggest staying true to yourself and believing in your dreams, even as the world around you offers convenient and constantly changing answers to the questions of life and it's meaning.

Poets they come and the poets they go
Politicians and preachers they all claim to know
The words that are written and the melodies played
As the years turn their pages, they all start to fade

Shades of Two Worlds not only picked up where Seven Turns left off, it raised the songwriting and performance levels up a notch, too. It was also more consistent and exciting than Where It All Begins, which followed it and was Dickey Betts' last album with the band. In fact, this album was better than anything The Allman Brothers Band had done since 1973's Brothers and Sisters, and it was as least as good as that one, too.

Unfortunately, his might be hard to find because it wasn't a big commercial success and is out of print in the U.S. Some of the best songs from the album can be found on Mycology: An Anthology, the band's compilation from their 1990s period, or in live versions on An Evening With The Allman Brothers Band.

I don't have any of the Allmans late 70's or 80's output. The band broke up for a time, but found themselves back in 1991 with a revamped lineup that included Warren Haynes sharing the guitar duties with Dickey Bets and Allen Woody appearing on bass. This is a very strong album. Lyrically I think it is one of the band's best. The first two tracks "End Of The Line" and "Bad Rain" are both great tunes. The third track "Nobody Knows" ranks right up with the Allman's best with great lyrics and a killer jam that clocks in at over 10 minutes. Warren Haynes makes his presence known on this track. "Desert Blues" comes next and is another great song. The rest of the album is also good with the instrumental "Kind Of A Bird" standing out and the closer a cover of Robert Johnson's "Come In My Kitchen" sounding as good if not better than the original. I can't remember if this was the Allmans first comeback album after the breakup or not, but it was certainly a return to form after some of the band's mediocre late 70's and 80's efforts.

This is one of the ABs best albums of all time and it is a crime that it is out of print. Many of the songs are covered on live albums, but some are not including the great instrumental "Kind of Bird". Great songs from beginning to end and an excellent recording.

First, the track listing: 1. End of the Line 2. Bad rain 3. Nobody Knows 4. Desert Blues 5, Get On with your Life 6. Midnight Man 7. Kind of Bird 8. Come On in My Kitchen
This is the 1991 follow-up to "Seven Turns" and once again, the Allmans prove they are still a great band. This is a very solid set of songs and the set showcases the diversity of the band's sound. Highlights include "Nobody Knows" , an exceptional Betts song sung by Allman, the hit "End of the Line", the jazzy instrumental "Kind of Bird", which is a Betts/Haynes collaboration and the acoustic Robert Johnson cover "Come On In My Kitchen". The other 4 tracks are also winners. Tom Dowd co-produced this CD with the band and he certainly knew how to bring out the best in the band and to encourage the band to show its many sides and interests. Naturally, Peach-heads will love this- I certainly do.

I'm not a huge Allman fan but I had to get this for their cover of "Come on in my Kitchen", which is great. I love Robert Johnson and the Allman version keeps a good "feel" to the song without just copying the older form.

This is a full-bodied ABB album. This record proved that their 1990 comeback album, Seven Turns, was not a fluke. Nobody Knows is a powerhouse of a tune that was written by Dickey Betts, with some encouragement from Tom Dowd. He wanted another powerful anthem like Whippin Post and that is exactly what he was delivered. End of the Line is as good of a straight forward rock songs as the band has ever done. It contains great contrasting solo's from Dickey Betts & Warren Haynes. Gregg Allman's expressive blues voice has grown deaper through the years which actually adds to his gruff charm. Kind of Bird is a jazz instrumental that shows the heavy influences of Miles, Coletrane, or Charlie Parker. This is a well done record that might be a good starting point for someone who wanted to see what the reformed ABB were up to in the 90s. As an alternative, you might want to start with Mycology, which is a 10 song compilation of their best songs from the 90s on Sony/Epic. Whatever you do, don't get anything from the ABB on the Arista label-the early 80s were not a very inspiring time for the ABB. The 90s on the other hand, were a pleasant surprise.

"Shades of Two Worlds" is not nearly as well-known as the Allman Brothers' 1990 comeback album "Seven Turns", which predeced it by just one year, or indeed as the group's other latter-day studio albums. And it is not quite as accessible, either; "Seven Turns", "Where It All Begins", and 2003's "Hittin' The Note" are certainly not pop, but they are still somewhat more pop friendly, if you will, than this dark, dense, and rather gritty rock album.

When I first put on "Shades Of Two Worlds", I was a little bit disappointed, actually. It opens with a fine, tough rocker, "End Of The Line", and ends with an excellent rendition of Robert Johnson's acoustic country blues "Come On In My Kitchen", but most of what is in between seemed a little bit unvaried upon my first listen. Mostly mid-tempo rock songs followed by mid-tempo rock songs, and not too many truly memorable riffs or hooks.

But "Shades" has grown on me since. The slow burner "Get On With Your Life" and the muscular blues-rock of "Desert Blues", "Bad Rain" and "Nobody Knows" are all excellent songs, and "Shades" should grow on you too if you give it some time. It is one of the most hard-rock-orientated albums the ABB have ever put out; apart from the RJ-cover there is very little actual blues here. But they rock very well, Gregg and Dickey and Warren and the terrific, supple but powerful rhythm section of Butch Trucks, Jaimoe, Allen Woody, and Mark Quinones. And Gregg Allman's vocals are strong, even though he only has two songwriting credits...the rest of the album is all Dickey Betts and Warren Haynes (five credits each).
Warren Haynes didn't yet sing at this point (not lead anyway, although I can't tell if he may be singing one of the verses on "Come On In My Kitchen"), so Gregg Allman takes most of the lead vocals, with Dickey Betts taking over on "Midnight Man" and the driving "Nobody Knows". Excellent performance, by the way; he still sings that one in concert.

It's not the best thing the Allmans have ever put out, sure, but even second-rate ABB is head and shoulders above most bands' very best efforts. And you should also pick up the 1992 live album "An Evening With The Allman Brothers Band" (sometimes called "1st Set" because of the follow-up which came out three years later). It features excellent live versions of several of these songs, including "End Of The Line", "Get On With Your Life", and "Nobody Knows".