The 25 Best Live Rock Recordings - No. 2: At Fillmore East --AND-- Waiting For Columbus
No. 2 - The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East (Capricorn Records, 1971) --AND-- Little Feat - Waiting For Columbus (Warner Bros., 1978)
Sometimes one can not decide…
“I ain't good looking, baby / But I'm somewhat sweet and kind…”
The Allman Brothers Band and Little Feat share more than a few similarities. Both bands were sextets heavy on percussion. The Allman Brothers Band featured twin drummers Butch Trucks and Jaimoe (John Lee Johnson) while Little Feat hosted drummer Richie Hayward and master percussionist Sam Clayton (brother to Merry Clayton, the voice on Rolling Stone’s “Gimme Shelter”). Both bands boasted two-guitar fronts, each possessing an embarrassment of riches squared. Both bands possessed distinctive, identifiable singers; listeners could easily identify their voices from a mile away.
The Allman Brothers Band and Little Feat had visionary leaders, both pioneering slide guitarists, and notable studio musicians who left their undeniable mark across an entire industry. Both leaders died relatively early in each band’s lengthy career leaving bands behind that would go on creating and performing for longer than they did with their leader/founders. But, at the time of recording, At Fillmore East and Waiting For Columbus were the brainchildren of the ultimate protagonists of their respective stories, Duane Allman and Lowell George.
The two bands differed in respects so difficult to define that only a music writer’s offhand bon mot can bring the bands and their perspectives into clearer focus: an unknown critic once mused that “Duane Allman could play with Muddy Waters, but Lowell George could play with Thelonious Monk.”
In early 1969, Duane and Gregg Allman’s fledgling bands The Second Coming and Hourglass disbanded, and the brothers formed their now-famous self-titled band. After two studio albums, The Allman Brothers Band (Atco, 1969) and Idlewild South (Atco, 1970) the band set up a quasi-residency at the Fillmore East in New York City, and in March and June of 1971, recording the concerts that would become At Fillmore East. Few experiences can match the moment listeners queue up the vinyl and hear Fillmore Stage Manager Michael Ahern say, "Okay, The Allman Brothers Band..." followed by three hi-hat claps introducing the brother's masterpiece, perhaps the most coherent and perfectly integrated rock/blues performance on record.
From the opening bars of Blind Willie McTell's "Statesboro Blues," At Fillmore East is an electric blues/rock exhibition. The song survey includes Texas Blues ("Stormy Monday"), Chicago Blues ("You Don’t Love Me"), and Mississippi Delta Blues ("Done Somebody Wrong"). In addition to cover material, the Allmans include the originals "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and their definitive blues statement, "Whipping Post." These songs are propelled by a dual lead guitar and drums format and the fat sound of a Hammond B3 organ. It was a sound that was immediately identifiable with the Allman Brothers Band. "Statesboro Blues" and "Done Somebody Wrong," have Duane Allman's dense and precise slide guitar pitted against Richard Betts' round lead guitar, with "Stormy Monday" juxtaposing Allman and Bett's distinct lead styles in an orgy of perfect blues phrasing. Gregg Allman's jazzy organ interlude is an added delight.
The band’s book, from the perspective of the Fillmore shows can be divided into two types of songs: the shorter, sharply arranged and executed, songs like “Statesboro Blues” and Done Somebody Wrong.” and the longer, less-structured jam songs accommodating much improvisational soloing like “You Don’t Love Me” and “Whipping Post.” While the shorter pieces are the true brilliance of the recording, the extended jams reveal Duane Allman’s fecund and fertile mind and deft management of the music’s drama.
The original LP release was taken from a series of afternoon and evening shows held on March 12 and 13, 1971. The original release of At Fillmore East would remain a robust torso (until its subsequent releases), reflecting neither the true programming order nor an accurate setlist. It was common practice for record companies to program song orders based on what would fit on one side of a 33&1/3 rpm record, a practice that, with hindsight being 20:20, provides, at best, a less-than-optimal product. For the next 30 years, previously unreleased performances from the Fillmore East shows would trickle out on anthology releases. Performances not included on the original LP were strewn across Eat A Peach (Capricorn Records, 1972 - "Trouble No More," "One Way Out" and "Mountain Jam"), Duane Allman: An Anthology (Capricorn Records, 1972 - "Don't Keep Me Wondering") and The Allman Brothers Band: Dreams (Mercury Records, 1989 - "Drunken-Hearted Boy").
It was not until the release of The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings (Island Records, 2014) that all the Fillmore performances were collected in one release. The 37 performances on The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings represent 13 songs, allowing comparison and analysis of the sound evolution in a compressed space of history. The Allman Brothers Band performed 300 concert dates in 1970. That type of performance schedule will improve any band if it does not kill them first and the evidence of this fire refinement is heard on these recordings. But evolution at the moment, as with all jazz, is evident even in this closed space of time. This was a road-proven band performing in white heat, making the music of a generation.
At Fillmore East was a snapshot of the band in ascent, one abruptly abbreviated by a motorcycle accident on October 29, 1971.
“...He's got two degrees in Bebop, a Ph.D in Swing, he's the master of rhythm, he's a rock and roll king?"
The art of slide guitar, that method of playing using a metal or glass tube and sliding it on guitar strings typically tuned to an open chord, such as Gmaj or Emaj, achieved its modern quasar in the Allman Brothers Band's leader, Duane Allman. He emerged, as if shot from a cannon, revolutionizing the style between 1968 and his death in 1971. Where Allman had a thick, muscular slide guitar style, Little Feat’s Lowell George had a sinewy finesse sort of "that thin, that wild mercury sound" Bob Dylan talked about surrounding Blonde on Blonde (Columbia, 1966).
Like Allman, George established himself as a sought-after studio guitarist and producer. Where the Allman Brothers Band was the star in Duane Allman's crown, George's crowning achievement was the Little Feat, a band with a scary eclecticism (sometimes ill-defined as a Southern blues band) driven by an equally frightening, reckless, and unpredictable talent. However, Little Feat did not begin as some errant Southern-fried knockoff. George had a long musical career before his stint with Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention which included appearing on oboe and baritone saxophone on several Frank Sinatra recording sessions. George had a vision and he would use Little Feat to express it. Talk about a long strange Southern California trip.
Lowell George formed the folk-rock group The Factory with drummer Richie Hayward in the mid-1960s, recording for the Uni label. After the Factory disbanded, George joined the Mothers of Invention where he met Feat's future first bassist, Roy Estrada. Zappa encourage George to form his band after hearing George's ballad "Willin.'" With all the stars aligned, George and Estrada left the Mothers and formed Little Feat with drummer Hayward and Keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969. This union birthed the eponymous first album (Warner Bros, 1971) and Sailing Shoes (Warner Bros, 1972). These original releases met with great critical acclaim but little commercial success.
Estrada left the band and was replaced by New Orleans native Kenny Gradney. When guitarist Paul Barrere and percussionist Sam Clayton committed, the classic Little Feat sextet coalesced. The first release by the classic band turned out to be their finest studio hour, Dixie Chicken (Warner Bros., 1973). During this period and after, all of the members of Little Feat found themselves in demand as session musicians, supporting many notable recordings. But, as it turned out, the studio is not where the collective Feat would shine. It would, like The Band before them, be on the stage.
During the productive period beginning with Dixie Chicken through the release of Feats Don't Fail Me Now (Warner Bros., 1974), Barrere and Payne progressively became the band's music directors as George tangled with restlessness, personal problems, and drug abuse, following a similar path as that of Brian Jones ten years earlier after the release of the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet (London, 19680. This transition period produced The Last Record Album (Warner Bros., 1975), Time Loves a Hero (Warner Bros., 1977), and Waiting for Columbus (Warner Bros., 1978).
During this period, the band began to delve into a jazz-fusion idiom that George was uncomfortable with. Unhappy with the shifting responsibilities within the band, George recorded his solo Thanks, I'll Eat It Here (Warner Bros.) in 1979, embarking on a tour to support the recording and declaring Little Feat Defunct. Lowell George died of a heart attack during this tour; a malady brought on ostensibly by his obesity and drug use. Down on the Farm (Warner Bros., 1979) was released shortly after his death, marking the end of Lowell George and Little Feat.
While the universal Little Feat story does not end with the death of Lowell George, the brilliant early synthesis affected by his interactions with Barrere and Payne sadly does. But the end does not occur before one of the best live bands is captured as such. Waiting for Columbus is the document of a touring band doing what they do best. When Lowell George and the rest of the group were on stage and on target, as they were on "Fat Man In The Bathtub," "All that You Dream," "Time Loves a Hero" and "Dixie Chicken," they made music of such aesthetic quality and artistic gravity that it is hard not to be excited listening to it 45 years on.
The maxima of this recording are many. Its opening, an a cappella "Join The Band" leads to the introduction followed by a nuclear kinetic shuffle that can only be laid down by Richie Hayward and Lowell George on cowbell/percussion. After the groove is established the entire band flows in with Paul Barrare's sleek slide guitar leading the way. "Fat Man In the Bathtub," that beautiful nugget of double-entendre from Dixie Chicken becomes a force of nature. Live, this song is transformed into a frenetically molten expression of desire, requite, and humor. It perfectly captures all that is Little Feat. Aside from George and Hayward, Bill Payne shines on keyboards with a cosmically funky break resolving into the familiar coda.
But "Fatman" is not the only supernova in the show. The presence of the Tower of Power horn section perfectly augments the recording, especially Lenny Pickett's self-immolating tenor solo on "Day or Night" and his electric one-night-stand with Lowell George on "Mercenary Territory." Sam Clayton's conga opening to "Spanish Moon" immediately sets a drunk and steamy mood for the rest of the song as well as adding a tasty bit of percussion to "Dixie Chicken."
As all recordings tend to have a center point, ground zero on Waiting for Columbus is the "Dixie Chicken/Tripe Face Boogie" medley. The entire history of Little Feat is distilled into 17 minutes of rock and roll. Both the old (George) and new (Payne, Barrere) schools collide in an unexpected and rewarding cooperation that eclipses even the other superb pieces on the recording. Bill Payne opens with a Dr. John New Orleans groove that solidifies with Paul Barrere's tasty Fender patout and Clayton's percussion. Payne then presents the familiar piano opening followed by George's slide introduction and the first verse is born. The conclusion of the first verse brings Bill Payne's extended solo opportunity, where he touches on every major keyboard trend in rock and jazz.
Payne begins with a Cecil Taylor pounding, proceeding through a bit of stride, finally ending up in some Keith Jarrett new-age before breaking into a perfectly developed New Orleans vein that leads to the sublime Tower of Power Dixieland break. This is the pinnacle of the recording where everything works and the results are dense, boiling synergy. Another verse brings Paul Barrere's turn in the solo spotlight before Barrere and George duel before the final verse. Just following the last chorus, Richie Hayward takes a shot of adrenaline and kicks the piece into overdrive, roaring into "Tripe Face Boogie." This song begins with all Lowell George and ends with all Lowell George with Barrere/Payne in the jazzy "Day at the Dog Races" middle.
Waiting for Columbus is not a perfect recording. Originally released as a 2-LP set, the second side of the second LP (the one with "Don't Bogart that Joint/ Willin,'" "Apolitical Blues," "Sailin' Shoes," "Feats Don't Fail Me Now") was ill-conceived in production. I felt this side of music a bit weak, though 30 years later "Sailin' Shoes" may be the best definition of the Lowell George Little Feat and certainly the best cocaine crash music on record. The seeds sown in Waiting for Columbus by Payne and Barrere is readily apparent in all subsequent recordings. This music is less "Two Trains Running" and "Rock and Roll Doctor" and more "Time Loves A Hero" and "Skin it Back." As a testament, Waiting for Columbus captures a collection of superb musicians just past the zenith of their accomplishments as a band. Waiting for Columbus is like Mozart's Requiem in that it is a magnificent torso, incomplete in structure standing as its work of art.
Selected Discography Of At Fillmore East
The Allman Brothers Band: At Fillmore East (Capricorn Records, 1971)
The Allman Brothers Band: The Fillmore Concerts (Polydor, 1992)
The Allman Brothers Band: At Fillmore East, Deluxe Edition (Mercury, 2003)
The Allman Brothers Band: The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings (Island Def Jam, 2014)
Selected Bibliography Of At Fillmore East
Bailey, C. Michael (2004, January 12). The Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East (Deluxe Edition). Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-allman-brothers-band-at-fillmore-east-deluxe-edition-allman-brothers-band-mercury-records-review-by-c-michael-bailey/
Bailey, C. Michael (2004, February 15). The Allman Brothers Band: The Allman Brothers Band: The Fillmore Concerts. Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-allman-brothers-band-the-fillmore-concerts-by-c-michael-bailey/
Bailey, C. Michael (2004, September 18). Allman Brothers Band and Dickey Betts & Great Southern: Proud Flesh: The Allman Brothers Band and Dickey Betts. Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/proud-flesh-the-allman-brothers-band-and-dickey-betts-by-c-michael-bailey/
Bailey, C. Michael (2006, October 7). The Colossal Mess of “The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East.” Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-colossal-mess-of-the-allman-brothers-band-at-fillmore-east-allman-brothers-band-by-c-michael-bailey/
Bailey, C. Michael (2012, April 28). Allman Brothers Band: At Fillmore East. Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-allman-brothers-band-at-fillmore-east-by-c-michael-bailey/
Bailey, C. Michael (2013, December 21). One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/one-way-out-the-inside-history-of-the-allman-brothers-band-allman-brothers-band-by-c-michael-bailey/
Bailey, C. Michael (2014, July 19). Allman Brothers Band: At Fillmore East: The 1971 Fillmore Recordings. Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/at-fillmore-east-the-1971-fillmore-recordings-by-c-michael-bailey/
Bailey, C. Michael (2024, May 15). The Allman Brothers Band In Five Covers. Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-allman-brothers-band-in-five-covers/
Selected Discography Of Waiting For Columbus
Little Feat: Waiting For Columbus (Warner Bros., 1978)
Little Feat: Waiting For Columbus, Deluxe Edition (Warner Bros./Rhino, 2002)
Little Feat: Waiting For Columbus, Super Deluxe Edition (Warner Bros./Rhino, 2022)
Selected Bibliography Of Waiting For Columbus
Bailey, C. Michael (2013, December 21). Ben Fong-Torres: Willin’ - The Story of Little Feat. Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ben-fong-torres-willin-the-story-of-little-feat-little-feat-by-c-michael-bailey/
Bailey, C. Michael (2012, April 29). Little Feat: Waiting for Columbus. Allaboutjazz.Com. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/little-feat-waiting-for-columbus-by-c-michael-bailey/