In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
Encyclopedia
"In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" is a jazz-influenced instrumental composed by Dickey Betts
that became one of the best-known works ever recorded by The Allman Brothers Band
, especially the version on their 1971 live album At Fillmore East
.
. It is a minor key instrumental song written by guitarist Dickey Betts
, the first of several Allmans instrumentals to be written by him, and the first original instrumental song written by a member of the band. The original Rolling Stone
review of Idlewild South said the song "just goes and goes for a stupendous, and unnoticed, seven minutes."
The song is named after a headstone
Betts saw at the Rose Hill Cemetery
in Macon, Georgia
, a place frequented by band members in their early days for relaxing and writing songs. Considerable legend has developed about what Betts was doing at the time, some originated by a possibly put-on interview Duane Allman
gave Rolling Stone
. The cemetery was later memorialized by the band as the final resting spot of both band leader Duane Allman
and bassist Berry Oakley
.
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
called "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" in its original studio incarnation "the blueprint of a concert warhorse, capturing the Allmans at their most adventurous." The New York Times
has written that "its written riffs and jazz-ish harmonies [allow] improvisers room." Accordingly, "Elizabeth Reed" has appeared in many Allman Brothers concerts, sometimes running half an hour or more, and on numerous Allman Brothers live albums, but first and most notably on At Fillmore East
, which many fans and critics believe is the definitive rendition. In 2007, Rolling Stone
named "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" one of its Fifty Best Songs Over Seven Minutes Long – and in giving it Honorable Mention on its 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time list made 2008, Rolling Stone
called the At Fillmore East performance "transcendant".
s on his guitar, giving the impression of violin
s. Slowly the first theme begins to emerge, and Duane Allman
's guitar joins Betts in a dual lead that sometimes doubles the melody, sometimes provides a harmony line, and sometimes provides counterpoint
. The next section has the tempo pick up to a Santana
-like, quasi-Latin beat, with a strong second-theme melody being driven by unison playing and harmonized guitars.
Betts now takes a solo that starts from the second theme. This leads into an organ solo from Gregg Allman
, with the two guitars playing rhythm figures in the background. Throughout, percussionists Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson
play in unison, providing what has been described as "a thick bed of ride-snare rhythm for the soloists to luxuriate upon."
Now it is Duane Allman's turn, and he starts out quietly rephrasing the first theme. He then gradually builds to a high-pitched climax, with Berry Oakley
's bass guitar playing a strong counterpoint lead underneath him against the band's trademark percussive backing. Allman cools off into a reverie, then starts up again, finding an even more furious peak. Parts of this solo would draw comparison to John Coltrane
and his sheets of sound
approach, other parts to Miles Davis
and his classic Kind of Blue
album. Duane Allman biographer Randy Poe wrote that the solo reflected the emerging jazz fusion
movement, but in reverse: "[Allman]'s playing jazz in a rock context." Allman himself told writer Robert Palmer at that time, "that kind of playing comes from Miles and Coltrane, and particularly Kind of Blue. I've listened to that album so many times that for the past couple of years, I haven't hardly listened to anything else." Almost two decades later, Palmer would write of the Allmans, "that if the musicians hadn't quite scaled Coltrane-like heights, they had come as close as any rock band was likely to get." Rolling Stone
would say in 2002 that the song's performance found the musicians "lock[ed] together ... with the grace and passion of the tightest jazz musicians," while in 2008, it said the trills
, crawls, and sustain
of the guitar work represented "the language of jazz charged with electric R&B futurism."
Following the Duane Allman solo, the band drops off and a relatively brief but to-the-point percussion break is taken by Trucks and Johanson, that reflects Kind of Blue drummer Jimmy Cobb
's work. The full band then enters to recap the mid-tempo second theme, and the song is finished off abruptly. The Fillmore audience lets a couple of silent beats pass before erupting in applause.
," it first follows a standard rhythmic part, then a guitar solo followed by a keyboard solo and then another guitar solo. A drum duet usually follows, and a bass solo is occasionally added in the end. Other songs that follow this general pattern are "Revival" and "Hot 'Lanta."
As in many Allman Brothers songs, Butch Trucks lays down a driving rhythm in 4/4 time using ride cymbal and snare while Jaimoe plays "lead"-like jazz drumming.
were edited by producer Tom Dowd
for conciseness or other reasons. However, it is uncertain whether "Elizabeth Reed" was one of those edited on the original album, on the 1992 expanded release The Fillmore Concerts
, on the 2003 revised At Fillmore East [Deluxe Edition
], or not at all.
In the 1992 Fillmore Concerts liner notes, an interview with Dowd clarified that he did edit the 1992 version:
Other sources confirm. Bruce Eder's Allmusic review of the 1992 volume says that "It is also a slightly less honest release [than the original], where "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" is concerned — Dowd edited the version here together from two different performances, first and second shows, the dividing line being where Duane Allman's solo comes in." C. Michael Bailey of All About Jazz
also states that the 1992 The Fillmore Concerts represented "digital editing" combining multiple takes of "Elizabeth Reed" onto one track. Dave Lynch's Allmusic review of the 2003 At Fillmore East [Deluxe Edition] says of the 1992 volume that "Duane's 'Liz Reed' solo, although from the same take used on At Fillmore East, is mixed lower than on the version listeners first heard in 1971 — as a result, the power and beauty of the solo doesn't stand out quite as effectively," and that the 2003 edition restores the 1971 mix.
Dickey Betts
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won with the band a best rock performance Grammy Award for his...
that became one of the best-known works ever recorded by The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
, especially the version on their 1971 live album At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue...
.
Overview
The original studio recording of "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" is the fourth song on the group's 1970 album Idlewild SouthIdlewild South
Idlewild South is the second album of The Allman Brothers Band, released in 1970.Unlike the band's self-titled debut album, Idlewild South enjoyed some popular success as well as critical enthusiasm, mostly due to what Rolling Stone magazine called "briefer, tighter, less 'heavy' numbers" which...
. It is a minor key instrumental song written by guitarist Dickey Betts
Dickey Betts
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won with the band a best rock performance Grammy Award for his...
, the first of several Allmans instrumentals to be written by him, and the first original instrumental song written by a member of the band. The original Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
review of Idlewild South said the song "just goes and goes for a stupendous, and unnoticed, seven minutes."
The song is named after a headstone
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
Betts saw at the Rose Hill Cemetery
Rose Hill Cemetery (Georgia)
Rose Hill Cemetery is in Macon, Georgia, U.S. The cemetery opened in 1840. It was a hangout and artistic inspiration for the Allman Brothers Band during their early years...
in Macon, Georgia
Macon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
, a place frequented by band members in their early days for relaxing and writing songs. Considerable legend has developed about what Betts was doing at the time, some originated by a possibly put-on interview Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
gave Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. The cemetery was later memorialized by the band as the final resting spot of both band leader Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
and bassist Berry Oakley
Berry Oakley
Raymond Berry Oakley III , was an American bassist and one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.-Biography:...
.
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Rolling Stone Album Guide
The Rolling Stone Album Guide, previously known as The Rolling Stone Record Guide, is a book that, along with its sister publication Rolling Stone magazine, contains professional reviews of popular music...
called "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" in its original studio incarnation "the blueprint of a concert warhorse, capturing the Allmans at their most adventurous." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
has written that "its written riffs and jazz-ish harmonies [allow] improvisers room." Accordingly, "Elizabeth Reed" has appeared in many Allman Brothers concerts, sometimes running half an hour or more, and on numerous Allman Brothers live albums, but first and most notably on At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue...
, which many fans and critics believe is the definitive rendition. In 2007, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
named "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" one of its Fifty Best Songs Over Seven Minutes Long – and in giving it Honorable Mention on its 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time list made 2008, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
called the At Fillmore East performance "transcendant".
Fillmore East recording
In this performance, Betts opens the song with ethereal volume swellVolume swell
A volume swell is a musical crescendo commonly associated with the electric guitar.Roughly speaking, the sound of a guitar note is characterized by an initial 'attack' where the pick or nail produces higher pitched overtones over the top of the fundamental note, followed by a diminution of these...
s on his guitar, giving the impression of violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s. Slowly the first theme begins to emerge, and Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
's guitar joins Betts in a dual lead that sometimes doubles the melody, sometimes provides a harmony line, and sometimes provides counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
. The next section has the tempo pick up to a Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
-like, quasi-Latin beat, with a strong second-theme melody being driven by unison playing and harmonized guitars.
Betts now takes a solo that starts from the second theme. This leads into an organ solo from Gregg Allman
Gregg Allman
Gregory Lenoir Allman , known as Gregg Allman, is a rock and blues singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia...
, with the two guitars playing rhythm figures in the background. Throughout, percussionists Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson
Jai Johanny Johanson
Jai Johanny Johanson , frequently known by the stage name Jaimoe, is an American drummer and percussionist. He is best known as one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.-Early years:...
play in unison, providing what has been described as "a thick bed of ride-snare rhythm for the soloists to luxuriate upon."
Now it is Duane Allman's turn, and he starts out quietly rephrasing the first theme. He then gradually builds to a high-pitched climax, with Berry Oakley
Berry Oakley
Raymond Berry Oakley III , was an American bassist and one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.-Biography:...
's bass guitar playing a strong counterpoint lead underneath him against the band's trademark percussive backing. Allman cools off into a reverie, then starts up again, finding an even more furious peak. Parts of this solo would draw comparison to John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
and his sheets of sound
Sheets of sound
Sheets of sound was a term coined in 1958 by Down Beat magazine jazz critic Ira Gitler to describe the new, unique improvisational style of John Coltrane...
approach, other parts to Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and his classic Kind of Blue
Kind of Blue
Kind of Blue is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released August 17, 1959, on Columbia Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City on March 2 and April 22, 1959...
album. Duane Allman biographer Randy Poe wrote that the solo reflected the emerging jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
movement, but in reverse: "[Allman]'s playing jazz in a rock context." Allman himself told writer Robert Palmer at that time, "that kind of playing comes from Miles and Coltrane, and particularly Kind of Blue. I've listened to that album so many times that for the past couple of years, I haven't hardly listened to anything else." Almost two decades later, Palmer would write of the Allmans, "that if the musicians hadn't quite scaled Coltrane-like heights, they had come as close as any rock band was likely to get." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
would say in 2002 that the song's performance found the musicians "lock[ed] together ... with the grace and passion of the tightest jazz musicians," while in 2008, it said the trills
Trill (music)
The trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill....
, crawls, and sustain
Sustain
In music, sustain is a parameter of musical sound over time. As its name implies, it denotes the period of time during which the sound remains before it becomes inaudible, or silent.Additionally, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope...
of the guitar work represented "the language of jazz charged with electric R&B futurism."
Following the Duane Allman solo, the band drops off and a relatively brief but to-the-point percussion break is taken by Trucks and Johanson, that reflects Kind of Blue drummer Jimmy Cobb
Jimmy Cobb
-External links:* - includes full discography* * * * * * *...
's work. The full band then enters to recap the mid-tempo second theme, and the song is finished off abruptly. The Fillmore audience lets a couple of silent beats pass before erupting in applause.
An Allman pattern
"Elizabeth Reed" follows a song pattern similar with other Allman songs. Much like "Mountain JamMountain Jam
"Mountain Jam" is an improvised instrumental jam by The Allman Brothers Band. The song's first known recording is on 5-4-1969 at Macon Central Park, but was officially released later on the albums; Live at Ludlow Garage: 1970, Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival: July 3 & 5, 1970, The...
," it first follows a standard rhythmic part, then a guitar solo followed by a keyboard solo and then another guitar solo. A drum duet usually follows, and a bass solo is occasionally added in the end. Other songs that follow this general pattern are "Revival" and "Hot 'Lanta."
As in many Allman Brothers songs, Butch Trucks lays down a driving rhythm in 4/4 time using ride cymbal and snare while Jaimoe plays "lead"-like jazz drumming.
Composite takes?
Some selections on the original At Fillmore EastAt Fillmore East
At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue...
were edited by producer Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
for conciseness or other reasons. However, it is uncertain whether "Elizabeth Reed" was one of those edited on the original album, on the 1992 expanded release The Fillmore Concerts
At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue...
, on the 2003 revised At Fillmore East [Deluxe Edition
At Fillmore East
At Fillmore East is a double live album by The Allman Brothers Band. The band's breakthrough success, At Fillmore East was released in July 1971. It ranks Number 49 among Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and remains among the top-selling albums in the band’s catalogue...
], or not at all.
In the 1992 Fillmore Concerts liner notes, an interview with Dowd clarified that he did edit the 1992 version:
The clearest example of Tom Dowd's approach to the project comes in the 13 minute version of "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" that is pieced together from multiple takes, one of them being the March 13th (first show) version that appeared on the original album. The band played the song three times during its Fillmore stand. "One of them I hated," Dowd says, "but two of them were fantastic!" Dowd and mixer Jay Mark mixed down those two versions and proceeded to, as Dowd puts it, "take this song apart. I came to the conclusion that in the first half of the song, up to Duane's solo, I had a better band performance and Dickey Betts solo on the version that we had not used before. Starting with Duane's solo, though, it's the original version. Twenty-one years later, I know 'Liz Reed' as well as I know any song, certainly more than I did in that time of instant decisions. Putting the two versions together showed off the song best. Listen to it! Listen to the togetherness of Dickey, Duane, and Gregg on the theme lines, and how Butch and Jaimoe adjust to the changes up front. There's much more exciting interplay now, more like the band sounded those nights."
Other sources confirm. Bruce Eder's Allmusic review of the 1992 volume says that "It is also a slightly less honest release [than the original], where "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" is concerned — Dowd edited the version here together from two different performances, first and second shows, the dividing line being where Duane Allman's solo comes in." C. Michael Bailey of All About Jazz
All About Jazz
All About Jazz is a leading jazz music website for enthusiasts and industry professionals based in Philadelphia in the United States.Founded by Michael Ricci in 1995, the Web-Site is maintained by a volunteer staff of writers, editors, and musicians, and provides coverage of all genres of jazz from...
also states that the 1992 The Fillmore Concerts represented "digital editing" combining multiple takes of "Elizabeth Reed" onto one track. Dave Lynch's Allmusic review of the 2003 At Fillmore East [Deluxe Edition] says of the 1992 volume that "Duane's 'Liz Reed' solo, although from the same take used on At Fillmore East, is mixed lower than on the version listeners first heard in 1971 — as a result, the power and beauty of the solo doesn't stand out quite as effectively," and that the 2003 edition restores the 1971 mix.
External links
- Elizabeth Reed on Find A Grave