Tragedy struck the Allman Brothers Band in October 1971, when guitarist Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident. The band were at the peak of their creativity after their breakthrough live album, At Fillmore East, and Duane was only 24 years old when he died. The band could easily have chosen to finish right then.However they strove onwards, with Dickey Betts taking on all the guitar duties. They finished the album they had been working on, and the 2-LP set Eat A Peach was released in 1972. Six of the songs were recorded before Duane's death, whilst the other three were recorded afterwards and so feature just Betts on guitar. The result was a mix of the different directions the band's music had taken over the years, featuring both lengthy jazz-styled improvised jams and shorter, more concise numbers. Much of the music had a more laid-back, melodic sound when compared to the intense blue-rock of At Fillmore East. Of these songs, "Melissa" had been originally recorded by Duane and Gregg back in 1968 when they jammed with the 31st Of February. "Blue Sky" was another notable song, being the first on which Dickey Betts sang lead, and indicative of the country-rock sound he would soon lead the band towards. He was becoming an increasingly important member of the group, not just as a guitarist, but as a singer and songwriter too.
Three of the songs were live recordings from the Fillmore concerts. Of these, it was the 30-minute "Mountain Jam" which demonstrated the jam side of band's music the best, taking over two whole sides of vinyl! The melody of the song was loosely based on Donovan's "There Is A Mountain".
Eat A Peach was a great success, getting to #4 on the album charts. Being the last album to feature Duane Allman, it turned out to be the swan song of the original group.
At Fillmore East (1971) <|> Brothers And Sisters (1973)
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