The night of the long jams

The Allman Brothers Band - Mountain Jam
(from the album Eat a Peach, Capricorn, February 12th 1972)



I've had a bit of a Allman Bros. kick lately and tonight I dusted of the old vinyl of the classic double album Eat a Peach, sadly the last album that brother Duane got to do. Eat a Peach really shows of every strength of the band. You get the regular Allman Bros. numbers like "Ain't Wastin' Time No More", acoustic numbers like "Little Martha", guitar heaven in "Melissa", a little of the more country influence from Dickey Betts in "Blue Sky" and THE ultimate long jam in the fantastic "Mountain Jam" which stretches over two whole sides of vinyl.


The only little drawback is when you have to go over to the turntable and change the record just when it starts to pick up some steam again after some drum solo bits. It's epic, it's huge, it's rocking but at the same time quite mellow in places. It's the greatest way to describe a band like The Allman Brothers Band. I simply love Duane Allman's slideguitar tone. I love it when Dickey Betts' comes in and doubles some of the parts. I really really really love Berry Oakley's unbelievably funky and jazzy basslines. I love them all. I think producer and legend Tom Dowd said it best when he said that the band usually played the melody a couple of rounds and then they just drift off into a world of their own. Each player in his own world, but still all the parts fits. It's epic.

The song is actually based on Donovan's song "There is a Mountain" and Jimi Hendrix's song "Third Stone from the Sun" is apparantly quoted around the 22 minute mark.

If you are wondering what a good way to spend half an hour is, try listening to this one.

The Allman Brothers Band - Mountain Jam

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Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:

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