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Updated june -2021
 

The Allman Brothers Band. Part 2.

 
 The Allman's did not often go OUT THERE as much as the Dead, although they were capable of playing around with one song for about 20 minutes or more, the jamming was mostly in the blues style on which most of their music was based. Sure, the Dead had a hard core of blues in their music too , but there really was a lot more folk , funk, jazz and freeform influences in their music than that of the Allman's and it was this that I found somewhat missing from this very long show. The Allman's played forever, at least three hours, giving damn good value and they played very , very well , but eventually I found myself losing interest in them , something I rarely ever did with the Dead, unless they had an off night ( when they could be bloody awful ) .
Ultimately however on this occasion,I think I preferred the Doobies performance ( heresy I know, but thats how I and most of the others I was with felt at the time  ) because they got to do what they did in a lot less time ( although ultimately their music had far less to say, but it worked better in the festival environment ) and they had more visual interest than the Allman's.
 

Photo courtesty of Joseph Kolmansky.

  Probably we were all just too tired by the end of the day to fully appreciate this show as we had only had about three hours sleep over nearly two days . Whatever, this was a very long show , with a set break, just like the Dead , and many jams and a few shorter blues based numbers .The band did two lengthy encores of no less than four numbers , finishing with a big Whipping Post which was excellent.  By then we were wrecked from the effects of the night before and the Festival days rampant over-consumption and we toddled off to the tent to get some much needed shut eye.

Bazza from Canberra , who was on holiday in the UK has this to say

The Allman Brothers, well what can you say.
The only thing that sticks out in my mind about the Allmans is that they played the gig like a bar gig, and after about an hour they walked off and people thought that was the end and some were not too happy after waiting around all day. One of the crew came out and told us they were just having a break and would be back on. Amid all the bands/drugs/people and booze I met a friend from Canberra as I was on the way to the toilets ... It is a small world.
Thanks again
Bazza

Paul Lincoln had this to say

Hi
I was searching the web for a bass tab of "Stormy Monday" by the Allmans, when I came across your site, which brought back a few memories.
The previous night to the festival, Friday, four of us were sitting in the Woodcutter pub in Hartlepool (NE England) bored. Around 10-30pm, and after several beers, Charlie H said the Allmans were playing Knebworth tomorrow.
At the age of 19, and all being AB fans, this was too much to miss, so we got straight in the car, pissed, and headed the 250 miles south, arriving at @4.30 am.
First stop was the supermarket for several packets of Marlboros and a slab of beers each, but no food.
Getting tickets was easy enough, and we camped next to couple who had their son and daughter with them who fed us plums all day. (Mother in big floppy hat, teenage son on acid and daughter in sleeping bag with boyfriend!)
Weather was excellent, as was the music. Only a few songs we didn't know.
Sadly I slept thro' most of the Mavishnu Orch set, having had no sleep the
night before.
After the AB played, we drove back north, exhilarated, arriving midday Sunday. The exhaust fell off the car two miles before home.
If any of your photos show four guys, dressed in black, hair half-way down their backs and wearing fedoras, that was us.
Regards

Paul

Recordings
The Allman Brothers
The Bucolic Frolic Knebworth Park
This is a hither unreleased partial recording of the first appearance of the Allman bothers band at Knebworth, it does have a few issues but is in my mind, better quality in the main than the full show that has previously circulated (which purports to be a radio recording but is most likely not).
The taper JK writes
As for The ABB I really am sorry to have left early but I seem to remember I had to be back at a given time in London and the BR schedule at Stevenage didn't really help.I had had my share with the Doobies and Van Morrison who had definitely stolen the show. Anyway 44mins is about all that is left:
The deck was a Uher CR 210 it was quite good by 40 years ago standards it was brand new and it was the first time I'd used it (apart from an unsuccessful attempt to tape a Kinks show in Paris in 74:a real bummer for
poor old Ray and a terrible frustration for me; the rain had emptied my batteries and I was left with three dreadful songs including a terrible flop with Lola in front of an all-communist audience, real nightmare) I used BASF chrome tapes but left the regular anti wind foamy stuff which are great to cut the s's when you speak in front of the mike but definitely not enough to cope with Knebworth weather, although the wind had died considerably by the time to the Allman's played.

1) Wasted Words.        06:40
2) Done Somebody Wrong. 04:34
3) One way out. 09:16
4) Stromy Monday.       08:08
5) Midnite rider.       04:20
6) Blue Sky.    11:37
.
Lineage: Uher CR 210 CD> BASF cassette>transfer to digital > CD> 2013 Extract to Mac pro., Adobe audition CS5 , check for dropouts, fixed , declipping ( restore normal ) slight de-essing on sections that sounded a bit too crisp( listened back on three separate systems to check the sibilance )
flac conversion sbe - xact.

Original master by jk remixed and flac transfer 2013.


If you have a soundboard copy of this performance , photos of the show or recollections , let me know . Contact email

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