Allman Brothers' '71 Pittsburgh concert album released

PITTSBURGH – Southern rock trailblazers the Allman Brothers Band will release a live recording of the band's Jan. 17, 1971, show at one of Pittsburgh's late, great music venues, the Syria Mosque.

The audio recording, captured 22-months into the existence of the Allman Brothers' founding line-up, includes classic-rock staples "Statesboro Blues," "Midnight Rider" and "Whipping Post."

Renowned for spontaneous improvisations, the band made its Pittsburgh debut that night, after 300 shows in 1970 and the launch of the '71 tour in its Georgia home base.

The 3,700-seat Syria Mosque, built in 1916 in Pittsburgh's Oakland section, hosted other famed rock bands like The Who, Pink Floyd, The Band, Deep Purple, Yes, Steppenwolf and Alice Cooper, and was regularly used by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Despite efforts to preserve the building for its historical value, the Syria Mosque was demolished in 1991.

Arriving Oct. 28 on CD and digital via Allman Brothers Band Recording Company,"Syria Mosque: Pittsburgh, PA January 17, 1971" makes public a recording long circulated in bootleg fashion, though often mistakenly identified. Fans can pre-order and pre-save the band-approved album at orcd.co/evgeyjv

Recorded direct from the Allman Brothers' soundboard and restored and remastered, "Syria Mosque: Pittsburgh, PA January 17, 1971" presents the band gearing up for the classic "At Fillmore East" live album recorded just eight weeks later.

"When you listen, it’s apparent how tight and in the pocket the original ABB line-up ― Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe ― were on this recording," an Oct. 6 press release from the band said.

"After Duane’s heartfelt acknowledgment of the band’s debt to opening act Taj Mahal, the show began with 'Statesboro Blues,' and the shuffle perfection of this tune set the standard for the rest of the evening. 'Trouble No More' slid right along, propelled by the rhythm work of Berry, Jaimoe and Butch, while'Elizabeth Reed' featured an unusually ethereal solo by Dickey before Duane finished it off in incendiary style. Gregg’s visceral and weary vocals highlighted the autobiographical 'Midnight Rider,' before giving way to 'You Don’t Love Me,'which was centered around the run-and-gun guitar work of Duane and Dickey. This version is almost embryonic in development when compared to the magnum opus take that would be recorded two months later for the iconic 'At Fillmore East' live album."

The standard set closer, "Whipping Post," stretched to 20 minutes, about six minutes longer than usual.

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The group returned to the Syria Mosque nine months later, on Oct. 15, playing what would be Duane Allman’s third-to-last show before his death on Oct. 29, 1971. Copies of both the Jan. 17 and Oct. 15 Pittsburgh performances would circulate amongst the ABB tape-trading community during the 1990s, with the Oct. 15 tape many times misidentified as Duane’s final show, and, in some cases, the dates of the Syria Mosque shows were mistakenly swapped. The confusion has been straightened out on this, the official release. (A recording of Duane’s last show from Oct.17, 1971, at Painters Mill Music Fair, near Baltimore, came out in 2020 as "The Final Note.")

Two years ago, the Allman Brothers released a live recording of a July 19, 2005, show at the Warner Theatre in Erie.

Information on the vinyl release of "Syria Mosque: Pittsburgh, PA January 17, 1971" will be forthcoming.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Allman Brothers' 1971 Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh concert album released