If you are an Allman Brothers Band fan I urge you to make a posthaste connection on YouTube—or live, if you can—with a group called “End of the Line.” They are a FABULOUS BAND. They’re an Allman Brothers Band (ABB) tribute band. By GOD, they have it all!
Must say I listened to another band in the same tribute niche, and I’m sure there are many of them out there. But the other band was…missing something.
This group called “End of the Line” is not missing anything, except maybe to exchange their faces for those of the original ABB. I chose a song I know extremely well, “Blue Sky,” for comparison purposes. I first heard it around 1972 when my girlfriend bought me “Eat a Peach” which includes that song. “Blue Sky” was my favorite song of all music, at that time. Recently I learned to play Duane’s solo, so I well know what the song needs and what it has.
Well, pilgrim, the first tribute group did it okay, but it didn’t ring any bells. Their bass player was just…not there. The guitar solos were okay. The whole thing was okay, but the rendition lacked life.
Not expecting much I tried the same song by “End of the Line.” Starts okay. Sounds right. Now comes the guitar break, two solos, and finally a blending of the two lead guitars and the finish of the song. Well, the first guy’s solo started off like Duane’s, and then…something happened. The guitarist started to do stuff I’d expect from Duane Allman, playing variations as Duane did in live performances of the tune. And it went on, reaching pretty far out into space. Then the second guy began his solo…and I thought Dicky Betts had just grabbed this guy’s guitar and was making it sing. And it went on and on, never boring.
Throughout these two fabulous solos the bass player’s sound was DANCING all through, over and under, the lead guitar solos. My God, I thought it was Berry Oakley! I had to look to be sure. Up and down the neck, totally alive, WOW! That’s bass playin’!
And there were the two drummers. For sure, one of ’em has a jazz background, or mighty close to it. Finally the two guitars came together in the familiar dance of the fingers and the closing verse. Never have I heard a better version of “Blue Sky.”
Despite its length, never was it boring, never humdrum, just brilliant stuff from every member of the band. The keyboard played a quiet role that I confess I didn’t much pay attention to, but again the entire thing from beginning to end was JUST MAGNIFICENT! If you like good music and have knowledge of the Allman Brothers Band in its heyday, give these guys a listen. Here ya go: