The Allman Brothers Band’s essential At Fillmore East is coming back to vinyl in style. The 1971 live album, recorded months before guitarist Duane Allman’s tragic death, will be reissued as a 2LP set through UMe’s Vinylphyle series.
Each Vinylphyle release features mastering from the best available original sources by an elite group of today’s top vinyl cutting engineers. Vinylphyle records are pressed to premium 180-gram vinyl, with extensive quality controls at every step of the process, from mastering to plating to pressing and printing. This release is sourced from ¼” 15ips non-dolby master tape from 1971, with lacquers cut by Jeff Powell and new liner notes by Scott B. Bomar, four-time Grammy nominee and author of Southbound: An Illustrated History of Southern Rock.
At Fillmore East, the Allman Brothers’ first live album following two studio LPs, presents the Southern rock heroes onstage in New York City at the peak of their powers, just months before guitarist Duane Allman’s tragic death in a motorcycle crash. The album includes recordings from the Allmans’ shows at the Fillmore East on March 12 and 13, 1971, the second and third shows in a three-night stand at the venue alongside Johnny Winter and Elvin Bishop Band. Promoter Bill Graham billed the Allman Brothers Band as special guests for these gigs, but their opening performance on the first night was so impressive that for the next two shows, they headlined.
“In those days, when we climbed into those songs, that’s all there was,” drummer Butch Trucks later told Rolling Stone. “You climbed in and there was no tomorrow, no yesterday; you were just totally in the moment from the time it started to the time it ended. On every song on that album, that’s what was happening.”
The performances captured at the Fillmore were so electric that At Fillmore East became the Allman Brothers Band’s breakout album, elevating them from cult fame to rock stardom and going down in history as one of the all-time greatest live albums. In 2004, the National Recording Registry entered it into the Library of Congress, deeming the recordings to be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Shop the 2LP Vinylphyle edition of The Allman Brothers Band’s At Fillmore East here.
