At the height of The Allman Brothers Band's career, their charismatic leader, Duane Allman, died in a tragic Harley-Davidson accident.
It was October 29, 1971, and their legendary album, "At The Fillmore East", released four months earlier, had just gone gold. This unfortunate event occurred in the middle of recording a new album, and his death was a tremendous shock to the rest of the band. Many feared that this would be the end of The Allman Brothers Band, but some time later they decided to continue without their leader and mentor. They finally finished the album, and five months later, in February 1972, "Eat A Peach", the group's fourth album, was released, marked by that tragic death. Nevertheless, Duane appears on almost all of the album's tracks, except for three. Released as a double album and divided into three parts, the first focuses on songs recorded without Duane, the second features those completed with the late guitarist, and the third comprises tracks from the Fillmore East sessions of the previous year. The album opens with "Ain't Wastin' No More", where Gregg Allman, grappling with his brother's death, reminisces about the old musical days with a phenomenal performance by Dickey Betts on slide guitar. This is followed by the extended jam "Les Brers in a Minor" and the country-rock track "Melissa" (the latter performed at Duane's funeral). The 34 minutes of “Mountain Jam” are a pure exercise in unprecedented musical ecstasy, while “Little Martha” showcases Duane's mastery of the six strings on his Dobro acoustic guitar a virtuosity he would repeat with his thrilling cover of Muddy Waters' “Trouble No More”, this time on his incendiary and abrasive Gibson Les Paul electric guitar.
“Eat A Peach” was the final chapter for one of the greatest guitarists who ever lived, whose short but intense career left a vital and essential legacy in the history of electric guitar and rock music.
