Search - Allman Brothers :: Shades of Two Worlds

The most underrated album in the Allmans' catalog...

Grigory's Girl | NYC | 06/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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 BEST STUDIO ALBUM SINCE BROTHERS

ol' nuff n' den sum | the Virginia coast, USA | 09/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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.

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Just for "Come on in my Kitchen"

Dixie Diamond | Texas | 01/02/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."