The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East on Numbered-Edition 180g 33RPM Vinyl 2LP from Mobile Fidelity: Audiophile Pressing Is Out of Print

Among the Best Live Records Ever Made: Ranks #49 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Includes Epic Takes of "Whipping Post" and "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed"

1/4" / 15 IPS / Dolby A analog copy to DSD 64 to analog console to lathe

Fillmore East is synonymous with some of the greatest concerts ever staged. Yet the venue belongs to one group: The Allman Brothers Band. This groundbreaking double album is why. As the collective's breakthrough, it broadcasts to the world wowing improvisational flights and seamless musical fusion the likes of which no one had ever heard. In communion with the crowd, the band establishes an interactive blueprint for all shows that followed, while its high-wire displays of powerhouse soloing and time-stretching arrangements remain the stuff of hall-of-fame legend.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity's world-renowned mastering system and pressed on dead-quiet vinyl RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 2LP of At Fillmore East joins the reissue imprint's other Allman titles in presenting the inimitable ensemble's music in lifelike, uncompromising fidelity. This version featurees sonic traits that practically whisk you to the midst of the Fillmore East for four gigs performed on March 12 and 13, 1971, and plunk you down in a fifth-row seat surrounded by fervent fans and a smoke-filled atmosphere. The slippery bottleneck notes, aching vocal moans, soulful purrs from the organ, gritty interlocking riffs; all come across with unfettered realism.

While the record features multiple works the band never laid down in a studio, At Fillmore East is a meticulously conceived affair. The Allmans prepped rough sketches and layouts of the tunes, carving out spaces for each member's solos, and leaving the direction of such entirely up to the individual. As a result, the effort – anchored by iconic producer Tom Dowd's stellar production – presents a jazz-drifting rock band benefiting from both a sense of assured direction as well as opportunistic freedom.

Indeed, At Fillmore East is the rare sound of a group letting it all go, fearlessly maneuvering through bluesy shuffles, exquisite laments, graceful instrumental passages, and frenetic swamp-laden boogies. Achieved via a combination of virtuosic skill, visionary ambition, and natural chemistry, the six-piece burns white-hot with intensity and persuades via a padlock-tight rhythm section on which Duane's searing slide playing and Gregg's bottom-of-the-stomach vocals glide, each aural utterance coaxing on their respective mates to strive for new heights.

The evidence abounds on the rollercoaster thrills of the dipping and diving "Whipping Post"; the biscuit-and-gravy purity of an aptly tempestuous "Stormy Monday," complete with harmonica from guest Tom Doucette; the flaming inertia established on the celebratory "Hot ‘Lanta"; and the jam-heavy hopscotch of an elastic "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," one of numerous standout moments for lead guitarist Dickey Betts. It seems as if everyone knew what they were experiencing.

"The audience would kind of play along with us," revealed Gregg Allman, years later. They were right on top of every single vibration coming from the stage." Add to this symbiosis hallmark front-and-back cover photography by Jim Marshall, and you have a record so steeped in lore, it's almost myth. But it's real. And oh, how it now sounds so glorious.

"The great sounding MoFi version is hard to listen to without jumping into bouts of prolonged, acrobatic air guitar."
—Record Collector News