2014 has been a year of upheaval for The Allman Brothers Band.  Following word that Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks would be departing the venerable group at year’s end, Gregg Allman confirmed that he, too, would stop touring after 2014 – effectively ending the band that bears his name.  Despite his claims that “this is the end of it,” Allman has left the door open to reunions down the road. “Who’s to say?,” he pondered in the pages of Relix.  “We may get together every five years and just do one play at a time.”  In the meantime, there could hardly be a better time to celebrate not the end, but the beginning, of The Allman Brothers Band’s live legacy.  On July 29, Universal will release The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings, a 6-CD or 3-BD complete sets  or 4-LP highlights set expanding the band’s first, landmark live album.

The original At Fillmore East – the 1971 album that was the group’s third release overall – was recorded during the band’s three-night stand in March ’71 at Bill Graham’s sadly-departed New York rock palace.  The double-LP set introduced those who hadn’t seen the band live to its epic improvisational abilities, featuring just seven songs on four sides of vinyl.  Producer Tom Dowd captured Gregg Allman, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Jai Johanny Johanson and Butch Trucks on a set of originals and covers including Blind Willie McTell’s “Statesboro Blues,” T Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday,” Gregg’s “Whipping Post” and Betts’ “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”  Two more tracks from the March Fillmore gigs premiered on Eat a Peach, the 1972 studio-live hybrid album released by the band in the wake of Duane Allman’s tragic October 1971 death.

These thunderous blues-rock jam sessions have been revisited on numerous past releases.  The Duane Allman Anthology volumes unearthed tracks, as did the 1975 compilation The Road Goes On Forever (itself expanded on CD in 2001) and 1989’s Dreams box set.  1992’s The Fillmore Concerts combined tracks from the original At Fillmore East and Eat a Peach with one track from a June Fillmore performance, remixed and re-edited by Tom Dowd.  2003’s Deluxe Edition of At Fillmore East added six previously issued tracks from both the March and June stands – including “Drunken-Hearted Boy” performed with support act Elvin Bishop – to recreate a complete concert experience.  More previously unheard material from June premiered on the 2006 Deluxe Edition of Eat a Peach.

What’s on the new box set?  Hit the jump!

The upcoming 1971 Fillmore East Recordings has been compiled from the four sets recorded on the weekend of March 12-13, 1971 with fifteen previously unreleased tracks. In addition, it contains the complete June 27 performance from the Fillmore East’s legendary closing show.   All told, 36 tracks are included on six CDs, or three Blu-ray Audio Discs.  A special 4-LP vinyl edition includes 14 performances in total.  The set, produced by veteran Bill Levenson, includes a 36-page booklet with new liner notes from Allman historian John Lynskey.

The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings arrives from Universal on July 29.  The Allman Brothers Band will play its final performances (for now?) at New York’s Beacon Theatre between October 21 and October 28, 2014, bringing their total performance tally there to 232 shows since beginning their yearly residencies in 1989!  You can check out the track listing and pre-order links for the new box set just below!

The Allman Brothers Band, The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings (Universal, 2014)

6-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

3-BD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

CD 1: March 12, 1971 – First Show

1. Statesboro Blues 4.08 (previously unreleased)
2. Trouble No More 3.48 (previously unreleased)
3. Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ 3.19 (previously unreleased)
4. Done Somebody Wrong 4.01 (previously unreleased)
5. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed 17.05 (previously unreleased)
6. You Don’t Love Me 16.55 (previously unreleased)

CD 2: March 12, 1971 – Second Show

1. Statesboro Blues 4.12 (previously unreleased)
2. Trouble No More 3.50
3. Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ 3.28 (previously unreleased)
4. Done Somebody Wrong 4:30
5. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed 19.50 (previously unreleased)
6. You Don’t Love Me 19.10
7. Whipping Post 20.00 (previously unreleased)
8. Hot ‘Lanta 5.09

CD 3: March 13, 1971 – First Show

1. Statesboro Blues 4.20
2. Trouble No More 3.48
3. Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ 3.47
4. Done Somebody Wrong 3.55 (previously unreleased)
5. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed 13.00
6. You Don’t Love Me 19.10
7. Whipping Post 17.15 (previously unreleased)

CD 4: March 13, 1971 – Second Show – Part 1

1. Statesboro Blues 4.19 (previously unreleased)
2. One Way Out 4.30 (previously unreleased)
3. Stormy Monday 10.14
4. Hot ‘Lanta 5.00
5. Whipping Post 22.00

CD 5: March 13, 1971 – Second Show – Part 2

1. Mountain Jam 33.00
2. Drunken Hearted Boy (with Elvin Bishop) 7.30

CD 6: June 27, 1971 – Fillmore East Closing Show

1. Introduction by Bill Graham (previously unreleased)
2. Statesboro Blues 5.52
3. Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ 3.34
4. Done Somebody Wrong 3.37
5. One Way Out 5.01
6. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed 12.44
7. Midnight Rider 3.01
8. Hot ‘Lanta 5.41
9. Whipping Post 19.17
10. You Don’t Love Me 17:56

CD and BD sets have identical track listings.

The Allman Brothers Band, The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings (Universal, 2014)

4-LP Highlights: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

LP 1:

1. Statesboro Blues (March 13 – First Show)
2. Trouble No More (March 13 – First Show)
3. Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ (March 13 – First Show)
4. Done Somebody Wrong (March 12 – Second Show)
5. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (March 13 – First Show)
6. Midnight Rider (June 27)

LP 2:

1. One Way Out (June 27)
2. Stormy Monday (March 13 – Second Show)
3. Hot ‘Lanta (March 13 – Second Show)
4. You Don’t Love Me (March 13 – First Show)

LP 3:

1. Whipping Post (March 13 – Second Show)
2. Mountain Jam (March 13 – Second Show)

LP 4:

1. Mountain Jam – Part 2 (March 13 – Second Show)
2. Drunken-Hearted Boy (March 13 – Second Show)