Duane Allman’s Final Allman Brothers Show Captured on New Live LP
Duane Allman’s final performance with the Allman Brothers Band will be released as a new LP called The Final Note.
On Oct. 17, 1971, Duane took the stage with his band - featuring his brother Gregg, guitarist Dickey Betts, bassist Berry Oakley and drummers Butch Trucks and Jai “Jaimoe” Johnson - for the last time. A mere 12 days later, Duane died in a tragic motorcycle accident at the age of 24.
For years it was believed that Duane’s final show was not recorded; that is until the discovery of a cassette owned by radio journalist Sam Idas.
“My only intention was to record the interview,” Idas recalled via press release. “This was a brand-new cassette recorder with an internal microphone, and I had one 60-minute cassette tape. I was sitting there with the recorder in my lap, and I remember thinking ‘Why don’t I try this out? I can record the concert!’ It was a totally spontaneous decision. I’d been to many concerts, but this was the only time I had the thought—and the motivation—to record the show.”
Idas, who was only 18 at the time of the recording, forgot about the tape “until a few years ago when his old roommate asked him if he still had it.”
“Despite the obvious limitations that come with a 50-year-old cassette tape, modern technological enhancements help restore the magic of this significant night,” the press release asserts.
Highlights from the album include renditions of “Statesboro Blues,” “Whipping Post,” and the instrumental track “Hot Lanta.” See the full track list for The Final Note below.
The Allman Brothers Band are also prepping a live LP, taken from a 2005 performance in Erie, Pa. Both albums are scheduled for release on Oct. 16.
The Allman Brothers Band, 'The Final Note' Track Listing:
1. "Statesboro Blues"
2. "Trouble No More"
3. "Don’t Keep Me Wondering"
4. "One Way Out"
5. "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed"
6. "Hot Lanta"
7. "Whipping Post"