Yesterday Tracy made a post to say that, despite allergies, she seemed to be able to eat tree fruit again and was enjoying plums, nectarines and peaches. That made the subject of today's review very easy !!
I remember buying this double album. I picked it up because of the cover. A giant peach on the back of a truck with the band's name in one of the psychedelic-style fonts used for concert posters. No album title on the front and no track listing on the back, just another illustration, this time a giant watermelon on a railway wagon. The inside gatefold was a burst of more psychedelia. Mushrooms, fairies and a magical landscape, with a scroll listing the songs. Also on the scroll were the words "Dedicated To A Brother, Duane Allman" in memory of the fact that Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident a few months before the album's release.
I didn't recognise the songs but there was something that really stood out. This was a double album, but side 2 was completely taken up with one track, 'Mountain Jam'. Looking further, side 4 was totally taken up with 'Mountain Jam con't.'. This was worth digging into, so I asked the person in the shop to play some of it for me. 'Mountain Jam' turned out to be an improvised version of Donovan's 'There Is a Mountain'. In newer releases the 2 sides of the album have been combined into one track on CD, making the jam last for an uninterrupted total of 33 minutes and 45 seconds but back in the day it had to be split over 2 LP sides. By putting it onto side 2 & 4 it meant it could be played with just a small break as the auto changer on the record player dropped the second disc.
'Mountain Jam' was taken from a live recording at Fillmore East in New York in March '71 along with the track 'Trouble No More'. 'One Way Out' was also recorded live at the same venue in June '71.
The two live tracks 'One Way Out' (Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson II) and 'Trouble No More' (Muddy Waters) are great blues standards done well by the Allman Brothers.
The rest of the album was made up of studio recordings.
'Melissa', sometimes incorrectly called 'Sweet Melissa' is one of the studio tracks, as is 'Ain't Wasting Time No More' and poignantly there is 'Little Martha', the only song written solely by Duane.
Duane is also credited with coming up with the inspiration for the album title. When asked once what he was doing to help 'the revolution' he answered "I'm hitting a lick for peace — and every time I'm in Georgia, I eat a peach for peace." Some have said that the peaches being 'eaten' were 'the two-legged Georgia variety' .. I'm sure I have no idea what that could possibly mean !! The quote was shortened to 'Eat a Peach' and there it is.
Just over a year after Duane was killed, Berry Oakley the groups bass guitarist was also killed in a motorcyle accident just 3 blocks from where Duane crashed. Greg Allman went on to be married 7 times, most famously to Cher. They had a son named Elijah Blue. Greg passed away in 2017 as did their drummer Butch Trucks.
If you want to hear a few guitar masters at work and some nice blues covers as well as the ever popular 'Melissa' then grab this album. If you have almost 34 free minutes of time with no interruptions and a good set of speakers, put on 'Mountain Jam' and drift back to the Fillmore East, 1971.
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