(editor’s note – no ex post facto proof of The Henry Paul Band)
Allmans continue winning streak; Genesis bores
by Steve Webb, The Knickerbocker News, July 2, 1980
The Allman Brothers Band proved, once again, that it is the finest instrumental unit anywhere in rock’n’roll: more electric than the Rolling Stones, gutsier than the E Street Band, more technically proficient than most fusion jazz bands and with more musical ideas than most progressive rock groups.
Its show Tuesday in the Saratoga Performing Arts Center differed by six songs from its shows there and at the Palace Theater over the last 13 months, but the difference and relatively nice weather brought a larger crowd, 9,598, to see them.
Among the new songs, “Hell and High Water” stands to become one of the band’s standards, but so does a piece called “Mystery Woman,” with a swing-like rhythm and smooth chordwork by guitarists Dan Toler and Dickey Betts.
Betts, among the three greatest guitarists in rock, has had different strengths in each of his area appearances. Tuesday, his slide guitar work was most conspicuous, first on a juicy new blues-rock piece called “I’ve Got a Right to be Wrong” and then on a segued combination of “Statesboro Blues” and “One Way Out.”
One of the best aspects of the band’s continual progression is how the half-hour instrumental showcase “Pegasus,” from last year’s “Enlightened Rogues” album, has become such a fine showcase for the individuals, particularly the relatively under-exposed talents of drummers Jaimoe and Butch Trucks, and bassist Dave Goldflies. The two drummers had a fine duet ended by Trucks’ timpani solo, and Goldflies’ particularly effective solo quoted from Betts’ previous extended instrumental, “Les Brers in A Minor,” and Jeff Beck’s “Freeway Jam.”
The Post-Star, July 1, 1980
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