1. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed (Idlewild South/At Fillmore East – Dickey)
Studio Version
Live at Fillmore East, March 13 1971
Acoustic Version, from An Evening With…Second Set
Live at Fillmore West, January 31, 1971
The top spot in the countdown is not just my favorite Allman Brothers song. It’s my all-time favorite piece of music by any band.
After heaping so much praise on “Whipping Post,” how can I possibly rank another song ahead of it? It was a tough call. At their best, I consider both songs to be equally amazing and both would challenge for the top spot in my ranking of the greatest songs ever. But when pitting them head-to-head, “Liz Reed” gets the slight edge for me because I find it to be more consistently great. There are a couple performances of “Whipping Post” that I have heard over the years that were merely very good, but not over-the-top amazing. I don’t think I have ever heard a version of “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” that didn’t blow me away.
This was the first instrumental that Dickey wrote for the band and it remains the best. He wrote it for a girl that he was in a relationship with at the time. She just happened to be the girlfriend of Boz Scaggs. To hide the relationship, Dickey took the name “Elizabeth Reed” from the headstone of someone buried at Rose Hill Cemetery (see the write-up for “Little Martha”).
For me the studio version of this song is almost an afterthought. I mean, it’s incredible and one of the reasons Idlewild South is in contention for my favorite ABB album. But there are so many great live versions of this song, each of which seems like the definitive version of the song, that you almost forget that a studio version exists.
Of course, as with many songs in the Allman catalog, it begins and ends with At Fillmore East. The version heard on the original album comes from the first show on March 13. The 1992 album The Fillmore Concerts spliced together that version and the version from the second show on March 12, causing considerable confusion. Both the March 12 and March 13 versions are outstanding, but are better appreciated as distinct performances rather than spliced together. I highly recommend getting the Fillmore East boxed set to hear all the original versions.
What do I love about this song? Basically everything. The chord progression is beautiful. The drums are locked in the entire time. It might have my favorite bass line of any song ever written. Even Gregg gets in on the action with an awesome organ solo incorporating a number of really cool riffs.
Ultimately, though, it’s about those guitars. Recording after recording of this song features some of the most amazing guitar work you will ever hear. Something about the chord structure must lend itself to people channeling their inner Duane, because every person that plays a solo on this song seems to absolutely kill it.
Of course, no one kills it more than Duane himself. Starting at around 7:50 on the original Fillmore recording, Duane unleashes what I consider to be the greatest guitar solo ever played. It is otherworldly. I have listened to it hundreds of times and am still blown away every time.
I said in an earlier entry (for “Ramblin’ Man”) that when you listen to a Duane solo, he would routinely improvise for five minutes without ever getting stuck on the same idea. He would explore so much ground during a solo, yet everything still seemed to make sense and fit the tune. An article about his playing from Guitar World says it better: “Through his studio work, Duane had developed a great sense of rhythm as well as a keen understanding of economy, in terms of phrasing. This understanding resulted in improvised solos that remained cohesive and conversational no matter how long they stretched out or how far they roamed from the original starting point.” I think this is really seen on the amazing solos he did for “Liz Reed.”
Given that it is his song, I should also mention that Dickey also has incredible solos on many versions of this tune. My favorite is one I alluded to in the “Les Brers” entry. During this version from Fillmore West (January 29, 1971) you can hear a melody very similar to the “Les Brers” theme around 4:25-4:30.
While the versions of this song featuring Duane obviously stand out, there are many great renditions from later lineups as well. A particular favorite of mine is the acoustic version from An Evening With…Second Set, which was recorded at the R&R Club in Los Angeles in 1992 during a show played with the Indigo Girls. As @Pip's Invitation previously mentioned, there are also ultra-jammy versions of this song with run times over 40 minutes, such as this one from the Fox Theatre.
Studio Version
Live at Fillmore East, March 13 1971
Acoustic Version, from An Evening With…Second Set
Live at Fillmore West, January 31, 1971
The top spot in the countdown is not just my favorite Allman Brothers song. It’s my all-time favorite piece of music by any band.
After heaping so much praise on “Whipping Post,” how can I possibly rank another song ahead of it? It was a tough call. At their best, I consider both songs to be equally amazing and both would challenge for the top spot in my ranking of the greatest songs ever. But when pitting them head-to-head, “Liz Reed” gets the slight edge for me because I find it to be more consistently great. There are a couple performances of “Whipping Post” that I have heard over the years that were merely very good, but not over-the-top amazing. I don’t think I have ever heard a version of “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” that didn’t blow me away.
This was the first instrumental that Dickey wrote for the band and it remains the best. He wrote it for a girl that he was in a relationship with at the time. She just happened to be the girlfriend of Boz Scaggs. To hide the relationship, Dickey took the name “Elizabeth Reed” from the headstone of someone buried at Rose Hill Cemetery (see the write-up for “Little Martha”).
For me the studio version of this song is almost an afterthought. I mean, it’s incredible and one of the reasons Idlewild South is in contention for my favorite ABB album. But there are so many great live versions of this song, each of which seems like the definitive version of the song, that you almost forget that a studio version exists.
Of course, as with many songs in the Allman catalog, it begins and ends with At Fillmore East. The version heard on the original album comes from the first show on March 13. The 1992 album The Fillmore Concerts spliced together that version and the version from the second show on March 12, causing considerable confusion. Both the March 12 and March 13 versions are outstanding, but are better appreciated as distinct performances rather than spliced together. I highly recommend getting the Fillmore East boxed set to hear all the original versions.
What do I love about this song? Basically everything. The chord progression is beautiful. The drums are locked in the entire time. It might have my favorite bass line of any song ever written. Even Gregg gets in on the action with an awesome organ solo incorporating a number of really cool riffs.
Ultimately, though, it’s about those guitars. Recording after recording of this song features some of the most amazing guitar work you will ever hear. Something about the chord structure must lend itself to people channeling their inner Duane, because every person that plays a solo on this song seems to absolutely kill it.
Of course, no one kills it more than Duane himself. Starting at around 7:50 on the original Fillmore recording, Duane unleashes what I consider to be the greatest guitar solo ever played. It is otherworldly. I have listened to it hundreds of times and am still blown away every time.
I said in an earlier entry (for “Ramblin’ Man”) that when you listen to a Duane solo, he would routinely improvise for five minutes without ever getting stuck on the same idea. He would explore so much ground during a solo, yet everything still seemed to make sense and fit the tune. An article about his playing from Guitar World says it better: “Through his studio work, Duane had developed a great sense of rhythm as well as a keen understanding of economy, in terms of phrasing. This understanding resulted in improvised solos that remained cohesive and conversational no matter how long they stretched out or how far they roamed from the original starting point.” I think this is really seen on the amazing solos he did for “Liz Reed.”
Given that it is his song, I should also mention that Dickey also has incredible solos on many versions of this tune. My favorite is one I alluded to in the “Les Brers” entry. During this version from Fillmore West (January 29, 1971) you can hear a melody very similar to the “Les Brers” theme around 4:25-4:30.
While the versions of this song featuring Duane obviously stand out, there are many great renditions from later lineups as well. A particular favorite of mine is the acoustic version from An Evening With…Second Set, which was recorded at the R&R Club in Los Angeles in 1992 during a show played with the Indigo Girls. As @Pip's Invitation previously mentioned, there are also ultra-jammy versions of this song with run times over 40 minutes, such as this one from the Fox Theatre.
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