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One Way Out: The Inside History Of The Allman Brothers Band (2014)

by Alan Paul(Favorite Author)

4.1 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1250040493 (ISBN13: 9781250040497)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

St. Martin's Press

review 1: The first half or so of this was very good indeed--definite five-star material. On occasion it veered toward hagiography, but not enough to become distracting. Unfortunately though later on that tendency got to be a good deal more pronounced, and indeed finally swamped the entire production. The last hundred pages or so could've pretty much been disposed of, except of course for the occasional Amusing/Scarifying Anecdote (like that thing about Dickey, Woody and the knife--eek!). But I mean, how many times do we have to hear what a Legendary Band this band was/is? Along with exchanges like: "I feel honored just to be up there on stage playing with that guy." "Is he kidding? I'm the one who keeps thinking it's a dream and I'm gonna wake up any minute." Then too thin... moregs started sounding an awful lot like mere PR, like those band interviews on tour when everybody says how this is the best lineup they've ever had and the new album has a lot of killer songs on it, some really strong new material, etc etc. But anyway, I better quit knocking the stuff (before Dickey comes by my place looking to beat me up). All the stuff about Duane and communal living and Derek and the D's and their climb to the top was great, and it was a good idea to let them all contradict each other freely in their comments. And after all--in fairness to the narrative, and as the events seem to have proved--it's often a helluva more interesting and uplifting Getting There than Being There. ;)
review 2: A fun read that delves into every era of the Allman Brothers' 45 year history. This book relies almost exclusively on the words of the band members themselves as Paul interviews every living current and former member of the band. While much of this story has already been told, this book provides fresh insights into Duane Allman's leadership, Berry Oakley's crucial role in the early band, the recording of several big hits, and the controversial break up between the band and Dickey Betts, who comes across as brilliant at thoughtful at his best and dictatorial and violent at his worst. In particular, you'll be impressed by the love that each of these members have for their music and the ways in which they articulate that love. Recommend for all music fans! less

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