Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Album is about a 4.5 for this Anthology to Skyman, September 26, 2001
This Anthology is a great collection representing Duane's work & his legacy, especially outside of the ABB. The real keepers on this set are his session work with Muscle Shoals, when he worked with such artists as Aretha, Wilson Pickett, & etc. A fabulous bonus is cuts from his aborted solo album, which are extremely interesting. His work as a sideman is phenomenol, as he adds his own stamp to the cuts while never overwhelming the actual artist being recorded. It is also astounding on how GOOD he got after leaving Muscle Shoals & forming his own band. Within a 2-3 year span, he became one of the biggest talents to emerge in rock, all to end at his premature death. This isn't a perfect "Anthology" for Duane. To begin with, this album has too many ABB cuts from their first three albums, as well as Layla from his work with the Dominos. Overlapping overkill. Chances are, if one was to pick this album up in the first place, more than likely, they would already own those albums. A second knock on this set is, it is EXTREMELY dated. The powers to be haven't remastered a single track, & there are supposedly a wealth of unhidden treasures still unreleased commercially that was done by Duane. In the days of vinyl, this Anthology was quite a tribute to his legacy.... but now, they need to update it. Very badly. In the mean time, this 2 disc set is still worthwhile until Duane finally gets the royal treatment with a box set. A monster talent, the heart & soul of the ABB, slide master, & much more. He pushed players such as Betts & Clapton to dig in a little deeper. A real inspiration. Remember Duane Allman.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wail on, Skydog!, December 9, 2001
Duane Allman was one of the great guitar legends of the 1970s. Tragically he died just before achieving superstardom, and his legend has been somewhat obscured by history. But he has never been forgotten by musicians who worked with him and those who really care about great American music.He was one of the greatest white blues guitarists of all time--Eric Clapton said Duane was a better guitarist than himself, and Duane taught Eric how to play slide guitar--but unfortunately, there are only two albums where Duane's talent ever showed its full potential: Derek and the Dominoes' LAYLA AND OTHER ASSORTED LOVE SONGS (where he often outplayed Clapton himself) and the Allman Brothers Band's AT FILLMORE EAST. By the time those great albums were released, he was already dead of a motorcycle accident. Fortunately, Duane cut his chops before these immortal recordings by working as a session player for various artists at the fabled Mussel Shoals recording studios. This collection gives us highlights of some of his best work in that era, along with a few choice Allman Brothers cuts. The collection is for real guitar music fans--he played on so many records with so many artists that the songs tend to swing wildly from style to style. And unfortunately, the sound quality on these recordings is full of hiss and could be cleaned up with modern remastering techniques. Alas, that has yet to be done; this collection is basically a quick remaster of a previous release on vinyl, and doesn't even use up all the available space on CD (which it easily could). More could also be done to group the songs more effectively by style. For these reasons this collection rates only four stars; for musicianship, it deserves 5 stars at least! Here's hoping that some day someone sees fit to release a set that uses all the possibilities of the CD format and modern remastering techniques to give us a collection that truly shows off Duane Allman's astonishing genius. In the meantime, any true guitar fan needs to hear these recordings and learn more about this man!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Duane Allman-Guitar Genius!, August 14, 2000
This collection features Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band on cuts from the ABB as well as his extensive work as a side man.Duane's recordings from 1968 to his untimely death at 24 in 1971 is unmatched by most guitar players in a life time. Duane could play blues jazz, rhythm, and monsterous leads.
Most however know him for his touch on slide guitar. Duane wrote the book on modern electric slide and it ranks with the best ever. His feel on slide is incredible- with beautiful intonation- he stretched the limit of range and maintained clean, clear sound throughout. The anthology albums are likly to lead you to a deep appreciation of Duane's playing. This is just a starting point though. You will also want the first four ABB albums and many of his albums as side man . Check out the cuts from Ronnie Hawkins and Johnny Jenkins. You will want these whole albums (or CDs) as well. The feel on Wilson Picketts' "Hey Jude" is worth the price alone. Duane smokes one incredible solo at the end of this cut. The Derek and the Dominos Layla sessions are also a must! As Duane said: "Music is like books for people who can't read" Duane Allman-one of the all time great guitar players!
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~ Duane Allman
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