Part of Duane Allman’s final concert with the Allman Brothers Band, recorded just 12 days before the guitarist’s death, will be released this October.
The final note, featuring seven songs from Allmans’ concert on October 17, 1971 in Owings Mill, Maryland, is one of an archival pair that the Southern rock jam band will release on October 16; the other is a full recording of her July 19, 2005 concert in Erie, Pennsylvania, reports JamBase.
The tape for The final note was discovered by Sam Idas, a young radio journalist at the time who brought his cassette recorder on October 17, 1971 for an interview with the band; he also recorded seven of the songs from that concert. Twelve days later, on October 29, Duane Allman died after a motorcycle accident at the age of 24.
“My only intention was to record the interview,” Idas said in a statement. “This was a brand new cassette recorder with an internal microphone, and I had one 60-minute cassette tape. I was sitting there with the recorder in my lap, and I remember thinking ‘Why am I not trying this out? I can record the concert! ‘It was a completely spontaneous decision. I had been to a lot of concerts, but this was the only time I had the thought – and the motivation – to record the show. “
Idas had forgotten about the cassette recording until a few years ago, when a friend asked him if he still had the concert on tape. The band added, “Despite the obvious limitations that come with a 50-year-old cassette tape, modern technological improvements are helping to restore the magic of this important night.”
The final note will also come with a booklet featuring previously unpublished photos from the show, liner notes from bandleader John Lynskey and a photo from the Idas box office.
The final note Track List
1. Statesboro Blues
2. Trouble No More
3. Do not surprise me
4. One way out
5. In memory of Elizabeth Reed
6. Hot ‘lanta
7. Whipping Post
