The Allman Brothers Band Album: “Gold”

For those who have tried to track down a copy of "The Road Goes On Forever" with no luck, well, you're in luck now. The Gold Collection is identical, retracing the band's activities from inception through 1979. The only thing missing is the fantastic artwork that went along with "Road Goes On." That is a shame, but ultimately it's the music that matters.

It's unlikely that you need an introduction to the band's sound; it's a southern-fried souflee of rock, blues, and country, but the real highlight for me is the guitars. Not to sell the amazing Dickey Betts short, but Duane Allman is one of the few instrumentalists that I could just sit and listen to for hours. He was in his own zone, in terms of sound and technique. The use of the song "Melissa" in a phone commercial recently made me ill. Put it on without any artificial, heart-tugging TV crap going on behind it and enjoy it for what it was; one of the great, underrated ballads. This whole collection is great (although I could live without "Hoochie Coochie Man").

Duane may be gone, but his legacy goes on.

This is an incredibel colleciton from one of the finest bands of all time, and a strong contender for the all time greatest American band. If you want an introduction to the band, get this! This is the only one of their "best of's" that does them justice. It has pretty much all of these songs from their first 5 classic albums. (about 25 of 35) and is much less than getting all their albums. (but you still might want to get Fillmore East.

When I got my first ABB CD (20th century...) I read a reivew that said "you WILL get more." I laughed at it because Jessica and Ramblin Man were all I needed. After listening to it, I had found the reviwer to be right, you will always want more ABB! The 15 dollars to get this CD may be the best 15 dollars that you will ever spend in your life!

this is the very best of the classic allmans 1969-1979,its perfect for those who only want one allman cd and are looking for a little more than a one cd collection.for sure its a rockin good time delivered as only the allman brotherws can give.

This is a fantastic 2 disc compilation of the Allman Brothers at their creative peak, the seventies. There is lots of great material on here that radio stations don't play for some reason. All I can say is put it on and let it play. You won't even have to hit the skip button through this stuff, it's all good. This is a great way to pick up their best material.

There are one too many Allmans compilations on the market, and Lord knows they all want to be the last word on the group. And though there's simply no possible way that this can be (the Duane Allman records are ESSENTIAL), this is the best Allmans compilation I've seen so far. Interestingly, all this does is expand on A Decade of Hits, which is probably the best single-disc retrospective of the group out there. However, some weaker tracks were included, at the expense of some stronger ones. We'll start at the beginning.

Don't Want You No More and Blackhearted Woman were easily the two weakest songs on the debut - they should be pulled. But the other four selections off that album (It's Not My Cross to Bear; Trouble No More; Dreams and Whipping Post) are the four best, and should stay. Don't Keep Me Wonderin' (off the excellent Idlewild South) has a fun harmonica part, but is nothing special; Hoochie Coochie Man is a decent song, but I would've preferred the underrated Please Call Home. Midnight Rider and Revival are great tunes for sure, but the studio version of In Memory of Elizabeth Reed is sorely missed (the live version from At Fillmore East, which is good but weaker, takes its place). Speaking of At Fillmore East, Statesboro Blues; Stormy Monday and Hot 'Lanta sure belong, but what about You Don't Love Me and Done Somebody Wrong? Okay, you COULD argue that You Don't Love Me is a bit too long for this compilation. Eh, At Fillmore East is indespensible in the first place. As is Eat a Peach, a must-have simply for the stunning Mountain Jam. And I don't see why they used a live version of Ain't Wastin' Time instead of the original, nor to I get why Stand Back was included - it's a funky little gem, but it's got nothing on the epic instrumental Les Brers in A Minor, which could've easily replaced it. They actually come close to getting it right with Brothers and Sisters. I never cared much for Ramblin' Man (to be honest, I think it's a headache), but it was a smash hit and it DID do a lot to shape the Southern Rock genre, no matter how much it sucks. The live Come and Go Blues is also a loser (the studio version's OK, though), but they could've picked MUCH worse songs from Brothers and Sisters. Plus it's got Jessica (the full version, no less!); Wasted Words and Southbound, which to be frank are the only songs on Brothers & Sisters that are worth a crap. They get it right with what they picked from Enlightened Rogues, though: there are a couple songs on that album that are missed, but Crazy Love; Pegasus and Can't Take It With You are the best tunes on that underrated disc.

You'll probably want to pick up Idlewild South; At Fillmore East and Eat a Peach (the best songs on the debut are all covered here, and you'll only get one new song) as well, but Gold is the best Allmans comp out there.