|
|
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(): Failed opening '/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/hsphere/shared/apache/libexec/php5ext/php/') in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Music CD - Allman Brothers Band: Hittin' the Note
|
Music CD: Hittin' the Note
Artist: Allman Brothers Band
List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $10.27
Your Save: $ 3.71 ( 27% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Sanctuary Records
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Tracks:
|
1. Firing Line
2. High Cost of Low Living
3. Desdemona
4. Woman Across the River
5. Old Before My Time
6. Who To Believe
7. Maydelle
8. Rockin' Horse
9. Heart of Stone
10. Instrumental Illness
11. Old Friend
|
|
|
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(): Failed opening '/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/hsphere/shared/apache/libexec/php5ext/php/') in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0060768459922
Label: Sanctuary Records
Manufacturer: Sanctuary Records
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sanctuary Records
Release Date: 2003-03-18
Studio: Sanctuary Records
|
|
|
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(): Failed opening '/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/hsphere/shared/apache/libexec/php5ext/php/') in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
|
|
|
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(): Failed opening '/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/hsphere/shared/apache/libexec/php5ext/php/') in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating: 
Summary: inspired, but flawed
Comment: No doubt, this is an inspired album. The songs, the singing and the playing are all first rate. Derek Trucks certainly has a style that is much different from Dicky Betts, but he is no less of a player. I gladly give it 4 stars for that alone.
Here's the rub. As great as the intense-hot tone of the guitars are, they never vary...too much continuous brightness and distortion. These guys get a great smokin' hot tone on their electrics, but how about a mellow tone every now and then? What made extended numbers like Whipping Post and Reed work was the variance of dynamics. Granted, ears aren't young, but they felt assaulted after 76 minutes. An acoustic number or two in the midst of the program would have helped. By the time Old Friend comes at the end, it's too late. I already had ear fatigue, and I wasn't listening at a loud volume.
As good as this album is, (and it really is quite good; Woman Across The River is a great cover, and really well done. there are also some really great soul/blues numbers), it will not receive a lot of repeated listenings. I may pick out the best numbers and make a best of 1989-present, to break up the sound.
I will say this: if you are younger and like a really hot mix, I think you would really enjoy this album. Older fans, beware; great material, but lacks dynamics. If you're prone to ear fatigue, you will certainly need to take this one in two bites.
Customer Rating:
Summary: MASTERS AT WORK
Comment: This long-awaited release will not disappoint you. The Brothers have always stayed true to their roots, and this one is no exception. Bluesy, jazzy, and ROCKING! The playing is incredible and the sound quality superb.
"High Cost" is the centerpiece of the album, with it's inspirational, strutting outro being the absolute high point. The band denies this song is about Dickey Betts and his departure.
"Desdamona" is slow blues, with a nice tempo change/jam in the center. Gregg Allman's vocals may not what they once were, but his work on the Hammond B-3 is better than ever. His organ work is very prominent in the mix on this album. "Instumental Illness" is nothing short of amazing.
"Old Friend" is another standout, penned by Warren to close out the album. Derek and Warren alone belting out some great acoustic blues. Sounds like they are right in the room with you....Warren Haynes tapping his foot on a piece of plywood.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Superlatives abound for this magnificent album....
Comment: There will be superlatives only in this review. This is another amazing album, a term I use a bit, but I have to find another word that goes beyond amazing. This is one of The Allman Brothers Band's best albums, and it gives you hope for the future of rock and roll. The 2 lead guitarists, Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks (nephew of Butch Trucks, not son as he's been mistaken for sometimes), are the 2 best guitarists working in rock today. Gregg Allman sounds better here than he has in years, with his amazing blues voice raging and crying at the same time. I've always liked Gregg's vocals more than Dickey Betts's, and his lyrics have always had a deeper, more soulful approach than Betts. Betts always had a more countryish approach to the Allmans, which always conflicted with Gregg's blues apporach. Now that Betts is out of the band, Gregg really takes over here. His organ playing is the best I've heard probably since the Allman's early 70's work. It's up there prominently in the mix, something that didn't happen during the mid 70's, early 80's Allman incarnations. Sometimes I used to wonder whether Gregg was playing at all (the Allmans had a 2nd keyboardist from Brothers and Sisters through Seven Turns). Here there's no mistake. It's him, and he's back in full force. He's living clean now, and it's reflected on how focused his singing is, along with his organ playing and songwriting (he co-wrote many of the tracks here). It's also great to hear the blues sung again by a man who knows what pain is. There weren't that many "woman done me wrong" songs in the 1990's, perhaps because the bands then thought they were sexist or misogynist. No, they're just HUMAN, and it's great to hear one of the masters of blues/rock belt it out for us.
Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks jam together beautifully. They are both rare finds, in that they are technically brilliant, but also soulful. Trucks especially has a great blues feel, and it makes the whole Allman sound much bluesier and soulful. It's nice to hear musicians who can actually play their instruments, instead of those who look hot on camera but who can barely play a note. As for the Derek vs. Betts debate (which still rages), it's time to stop it. Trucks is a much better guitarist than Betts, but Betts was great in his time with the Allmans. Betts still tours with Great Southern, so it's not like Gregg and the other band members abandoned him. If Dickey had quit drugs like Gregg and the rest of the band did, he still be in the band.
The trio of percussion clicks like never before. The twin drums of Butch Trucks and Jaimoe are still fantastic. Marc Quiones plays the congas like another drummer. He really compliments Butch and Jaimoe very, very well, and it feels like The Allman Brothers Band has 3 drummers now. Oteil Burnbridge is a great addition here, giving the Allmans a funky feel that they've never really had before.
I love the opening track Firin' Line, a nice, blues scorcher. The next song High Cost of Low Livin' has one of Warren's most majestic solos ever. It can really bring tears to your eyes. Desdemona is a beautifully sad, epic ballad, with amazing guitar work from Derek. The song Instrumental Illness sounds like it wouldn't be too out of place on one of Miles Davis's fusion albums from the late 60's, early 70's (which is a good thing). I was waiting for his trumpet to come in. Gregg's organ work on this track really stands out. Hittin' the Note is such a remarkable album, in that it was the first Allman Brothers Band album in 9 years, and they didn't miss a beat. And the album is so vital and real. This is not a band that is just kicking about, trying to make some $$$ from touring. They mean what they play. It's the kind of music that makes live worth living.
Customer Rating:
Summary: better than the original band?
Comment: Well, no. The current Allman Brothers lineup can't be said to outdo the original band. But this, their most recent studio album, is so fantastic that it seriously raises the question.
After Duane Allman died in '71, and Berry Oakley in '72, the original band understandably lost more than a bit of the magic that it had in it by the time of the Fillmore East album. And it was exactly at that time in rock history that the old days of the great bands living gig to gig had finally ended: just after the deaths of Duane and Berry, the ABB entered into the age of multi-million dollar stadium concert tours (yes, Elvis and the Beatles had been there before, but it wasn't until the early 70s that the entertainment industry figured out how to make that into the norm). So Gregg alienated himself from the rest of the group, going on a star trip and maintaining an absolutely staggering intake of drugs and alcohol (why is it that Keith Richards gets all the credit for that?), the band's formerly VERY high standards collapsed, and the Brothers broke up by '76. They attempted to reform the band for a few years at around the start of the 80s, but the effort was basically a failure. Then in '89 they tried it again, and musically speaking things worked reasonably well through the 90s (though they probably didn't attain even to half of what the Fillmore East band had been capable of). As the 90s drew to a close, though, a great deal of animosity had developed between Dickey Betts and the other band members. Anyone who saw their shows from those days will remember it: they didn't smile on stage, they seemed stiff and uncomfortable playing with each other, Betts seemed a mean, angry taskmaster. And so, in a real heartbreaker for Allmans fans, they fired Dickey Betts (not exactly, but de facto that's what happened) in '00. Derek Trucks took his place, rounding out the band's current roster. With Betts gone the Brothers had a workable personal environment again, Gregg had sobered up by that time, and as a result of all this the music started to get steadily better and better, to the point that by around '03, the old band's magic began to shine again; Hittin' the Note was released in March of that year, and together with their tour that summer marked the start of the current Allmans renaissance.
While I think that the Warren Haynes-Derek Trucks lineup is the equal of Duane and Dickey's, at the same time I think that the original band, at its very, very best, could still just barely outdo the current Allman Brothers. When a thing is being created for the first time there can be a spark of magic in it that can't be duplicated later, after it's become something to maintain; the work becomes less creative, more derivative. But we're talking about a narrow margin. If Rockin' Horse isn't quite the tune that Blue Sky was, if Instrumental Illness isn't quite the jam that Mountain Jam was back at the Fillmore, then they only just miss that mark. Hittin' the Note is magnificent, and I will tell you without apology that no other rock band has ever come within shouting distance of it in this kind of music.
Customer Rating:
Summary: We're not gonna stop the Allmans
Comment: Okay, purists may balk at the lack of Dickey Betts, but Derek Trucks is a far better guitar player. Not that Dickey was BAD (he wasn't), but he's always outclassed, it seems. Gregg's still around, of course, and he sounds far better than he did on the group's previous studio album Back Where it All Begins (which is a good album outside of Gregg's ravaged vocals and a couple throwaways - I digress, though). Jaiome and Butch Trucks are still pounding out those polyrhythms (thank god), and Warren Haynes is Warren Haynes. Current bassist Oteil Burbridge is probably the best "just-the-bassist" bassist of all time.
Okay, after that completely useless introduction, let's head straight for the review, shall we? Yes, we shall. Gregg's decades of decadence have certainly had a negative effect on him. So the three best songs here all concern the downside of sex, drugs and rock n' roll (okay, not rock n' roll, but sex and drugs) Firin' Line and High Cost of Low Livin' are heaven-sent blues jams, and Old Before My Time is an exquisate blues-ballady thing. Not much variety musically, but the Allmans have a cool sound and can play, so I don't mind. Not much lyrically either - outside of that, it's mostly the usual "cheatin' woman" stuff. But to be rather frank if you listen to the Allmans just for their lyrics you're too easily impressed.
But this new group can PLAY! Warren and Derek are sort of like Duane and Dickey, though they'll never match 'em, who can? Desdemonda, Rockin' Horse and Woman Across the River are godly blues jams, and even the endless twiddling on Instrumental Illness at LEAST has some good playing and a funny title. And their cover of Heart of Stone smokes. It really does.
Maybe a few of this is kinda weak, like the aforementioned Instrumental Illness (though again those guys can PLAY!), Maydelle and Who to Believe. Eh, whatever. It's still Allmans, they still have it, etc.
|
|
|
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(): Failed opening '/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/hsphere/shared/apache/libexec/php5ext/php/') in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Editorial Reviews:
|
Very rarely is a legendary band able to come up with new, credible material. Jam band progenitors the Allman Brothers have done better than that, tapping into some of the spark that made them one of the most influential American bands of their time. The lineup has changed due to tragedy, discontent, and plain orneriness, but the band is still able to conjure up dark tales of thwarted romance, dashed ambitions, and enduring friendship and tether them to freefalling slide riffs, jazzy interludes, and soulful blues that have been staples of the band since 1969. Granted, some of the guitar solos aren't an heroic as they were when Dickey Betts in the fold, but the ballad "Desdamona" is as inspired as "Melissa," and Gregg Allman's singing has never been better. --Jaan Uhelszki
|
|
|
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(): Failed opening '/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/hsphere/shared/apache/libexec/php5ext/php/') in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
|
|
|
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
Warning: Q_TEMPLATE::include(): Failed opening '/hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/colimansy/linksblock_cd-store.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/hsphere/shared/apache/libexec/php5ext/php/') in /hsphere/local/home/pandas/pandastereo.com/script/class.template.php on line 82
|
|
|
