Search - Allman Brothers Band :: Instant Live: Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

4 1/2 stars - you can't go wrong, really

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 09/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The best thing about the Instant Live CDs is the fact that, unlike most "regular" live albums, they leave all the little quirks in there. The unexpected covers, the rarely-heard songs.

This is one of several live recordings from September, 2003, when the Allman Brothers Band were nearing the end of the "Hittin' the Note"-tour, and it's a really good one. It's not quite as exceptional, perhaps, as the 8/10/03 album from Raleigh, North Carolina, but it's more than good enough to warrant a listen. The sound is excellent, virtually indistiguishable from a "regular" live album, and the playing is top-notch, with the exception of one or two less inspired instrumental interludes.



Indeed, the entire band seems to be in fine form, and Gregg Allman's husky voice is strong and soulful, a wonderfully nuanced instrument.

Disc one opens with an old concert favourite, "Ain't Wastin' Time No More", a relatively mellow rendition with a fine vocal performance. Elmore James' "Done Somebody Wrong" turns up the heat somewhat, gritty slide guitar riffs and a great solo, and then comes a relatively rarely heard song (it was on the otherwise not very interesting "Peakin' at the Beacon" album, though): Gregg Allman's heavy blues from the ABB's 1969 debut album, "Black Hearted Woman", in a really fine, energetic rendition. "BHW" is the kind of song that can easily end up sounding a little bit stale and lethargic in concert, but there's none of that here.



Disc one also boasts a tight, three-minute "Midnight Rider", a relatively restrained, 14-minute "Instrumental Illness" from the "Hittin' the Note"-album, and the slow burner "Gambler's Roll" from "Seven Turns". And one of the highlights of the disc, and of the entire album, a really terrific, muscular yet soulful "Hoochie Coochie Man", ten minutes of it (if you count the initial bluesy guitar duet) and it's not a second too long.

The ABB covered this song way back in 1970, and they made Willie Dixon's song their own by re-interpreting it rather trying to sound like The Muddy Waters Band.



Disc two features plenty more blues. Guitarist Warren Haynes has apparently become the blues singer of the band, and he does a great "Woman Across the River", originally recorded by Freddie King, and San Diego saxist Karl Denson guests on another Muddy Waters-cover, this one as enjoyable as the first: "The Same Thing" gets the ABB treatment, all funky, bubbling organ, sizzling blues guitar and a magnificent rhythm section.

The tough, slow rock of "High Cost of Low Living" is also really enjoyable, grinding funk and a terrific, tight, focused solo.

Those three are the highlights of disc two for sure; it's the rest of the disc that keeps this album from getting all five stars. The 8-minute "Desdemona" sounds a little bit lethargic, and the guitar interlude is one of those less than inspired ones.

And then the disc winds down with "Dreams", which isn't really one of my favourites, and a slightly chaotic "Southbound" with a few too many guest stars. It's not bad, really, it's just not very good.



Disc three is a brief one (and the entire concert could indeed have been fitted onto two discs, but the "Instant Live" format apparently warrants three!). Just a 14-minute "Whipping Post" and a surprisingly short, concise "Mountain Jam" of the same lenght. And that's it. But it's a really great "Whipping Post", tight and focused and powerful, and people love lenghty ABB jams. It's probably just me who thinks that it would have been ever better if it had been five minutes shorter.



A couple of minor let-downs, but many more highlights, especially the wonderful blues covers and a couple of great tunes from the then-recent "Hittin' the Note"-album. Easy to recommend, this one."