Search - Allman Brothers :: Legendary Hits

More Music Per Dollar!

John O'Regan | 08/07/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great CD. Wen I bought it I have only heard a cuple of song. I wanned to hear more with out spending allot of money. I bought this CD and I'm more than happy. Now I'm bying their hole album's from the beginning, becaus I want it all! If you want a collection of their early stuff this is a good and cheep album!Buy it you'll be happy/Sharp Shooting Andy"

Just as a warning, the review is an insane story that may se

finulanu | Here, there, and everywhere | 09/29/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, interesting how I came about having a copy of this one. I let a friend "borrow" my copy of A Decade Of Hits: 1969-1979. This was about six months ago. Each time I ask him about it, he says, "I'll give it back tomorrow" and changes the subject. I quickly gave up on EVER getting it back - not like it mattered, because I had since bought all the Duane-era albums, so why should it matter? Because I happen to like Jessica and Wasted Words. So I went to try and find a cheap copy of Brothers and Sisters, hoping I'd overcome my fear of that album (I heard it at a party and quickly flamed it - my review was a 2-star), but when I got to the record store, they were out of copies. Given my luck, someone had probably just walked out with the last copy. That's when this package caught my eye. I looked at the tracklist, and did a little dance (no one was watching, interesting considering that I was doing something humiliating and usually everyone sees), because not only did I get Jessica and Wasted Words, but I didn't have to put up with Ramblin' Man (a song I never really liked), AND it was used dirt-cheap. Acting on impulse as I often do, I bought the album (the record-store guy stared at me - apparently, someone HAD seen my little dance). I biked home humming Jessica.

When I got home, still doing my idiotic dance, I took a closer look at the tracklist. I saw Win, Lose Or Draw - never heard that tune, so that was a plus. But it turns out they left SEVERAL key tracks off. I mean, these are just bare essentials they forgot - I'm talkin' In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, Dreams, It's Not My Cross to Bear, One Way Out, Melissa, Ain't Wastin' Time No More, Blue Sky... not to mention Done Somebody Wrong.

Still, the barest of the barest of the barest of the bare necessaties are included here. (Even that's a lie, as the lack of Liz Reed, Blue Sky and Melissa prove), and they get points for bringing in a bit more material from At Fillmore East (three great tunes - Statesboro Blues, Stormy Monday and Hot 'Lanta - whereas only the first was picked for A Decade of Hits). The title's misleading, but if you can find it for... oh, I don't know, two dollars or less? - it makes for a half-decent intro to the band. Or you could just pick up the four Duane albums (The Allman Brothers Band, Idlewild South, At Fillmore East and Eat a Peach). That's a better idea."