Play All Night!

Duane Allman and the Journey to Fillmore East

By: Bob Beatty

Narrated by: Chris Abernathy

The 1971 Allman Brothers Band album At Fillmore East was a musical manifesto years in the making. Bob Beatty dives deep into the motivations of band founder Duane Allman to tell the story of what made this album one of the most important live rock albums in history.

Beatty chronicles how Allman rejected the traditional route of music business success and built a band that was at its best jamming live on stage, feeding off the crowd's energy, and pushing each other to new heights of virtuosic improvisation. Every challenge, from recruiting a group of relatively unknown but established musicians, touring the American South as an interracial band, and the failure of their first two studio albums, sharpened Allman's determination to pursue the band's unique sound. He made a bold choice—to record their next album live at Bill Graham's famous concert hall in New York's Lower East Side, a gamble that launched a new strand of American music to the top of the charts.

Four days after the album went gold, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was twenty-four. This book explores how At Fillmore East cemented Allman's legacy as a strong-willed, self-taught visionary, giving fans of Southern rock and all listeners interested in the role of rock music in American popular culture a new appreciation for this pathbreaking album.

©2022 Bob Beatty (P)2023 Tantor

Well done

This is worth a listen by any ABB fan. I knew a fair amount of this information already, but the author does a great job of putting everything in context. There was also a fair amount I didn’t know before. Well written and narrated. There’s a fair amount of repetition within the book, but I enjoyed it.

Great tribute to a great band and family

So nice to get a detailed telling of the Allman Brothers Band’s history. Every fan will enjoy this book. A story of triumph and tragedy, but their music is timeless.

Hidden gems

Great job. Fills in additional facts different from the other books. Die hard fans will enjoy the details and memories.

Too much minutiae, and not about the performance at Fillmore East.

I liked the early days history, however it got bogged down towards the end. Why didn’t he really talked about his visceral response to the album, just reviews from the press… It was the best ever album, no matter the genre, live or studio, released…. Also, the fake southern accent, it grated on me. I am glad I listened to it, it was worth my time, but he left kinda, well, flat.

Heard it All Before

I’m an ABB super fan and was hoping to learn something I didn’t know. When I learned he hadn’t even heard them until the 90s I should have known this was a rookie. Glad he likes them, but this book’s been written