Eat a Peach

Several weeks before the gold certification of At Fillmore East and their rehabilitation, the band headed to Miami's Criteria Studios to work on their third studio album. Once again they'd be working with producer Tom Dowd, whom had been instrumental in the successful recording and production of At Fillmore East. The band laid down the initial tracks for "Blue Sky".^[11] The band saved money on studio time by writing and debuting songs on the road.^[11] The band worked on three songs: "Blue Sky", an instrumental titled "The Road to Calico" (which would eventually develop into "Stand Back", with added vocals) and "Little Martha", the only song solely credited to Duane Allman.^[12] The band laid down these three songs and went back on the road for a short run of shows, and at this point several checked into rehab.^[3] After Duane's death, the band held a meeting on their future; it was clear all wanted to continue, and after a short period, the band returned to the road.^[13] Drummer Butch Trucks later said, "We all had this thing in us and Duane put it there. He was the teacher and he gave something to us—his disciples—that we had to play out."^[10]

Following Duane's death, which severely impacted younger brother, organist/lead vocalist/songwriter Gregg Allman, lead guitarist Dickey Betts gradually took over as group leader.^[13] The band returned to Miami in December to complete work on the album.^[14] Twiggs Lyndon, the band's former head roadie, joined them; he had just completed a stay in a psychiatric hospital stemming from his 1970 arrest for the murder of a concert promoter at one of the band's shows. Lyndon became the band's production manager.^[14] The band recorded three more tracks with Dowd, including "Melissa", "Les Brers in A Minor", and "Ain't Wastin' Time No More".^[14] Allman's death provided the band with motivation: "We were all putting more into it, trying so hard to make it as good as it would have been with Duane. We knew our driving force, our soul, the guy that set us all on fire, wasn't there and we had to do something for him," said Trucks.^[15] The heroin addictions had taken their toll on the band members; Gregg Allman later said, "We were taking vitamins, we had doctors coming over and sticking us in the ass with B₁₂ shots every day. Little by little by little, we crawled back up to the point where we were standing erect."^[16]

The other material on Eat a Peach comes from live recordings. Dowd later said, "When we recorded At Fillmore East, we ended up with almost a whole other album's worth of good material, and we used [two] tracks on Eat a Peach. Again, there was no

Completing the recording of Eat a Peach raised each members' spirits. Said Allman, "The music brought life back to us all, and it was simultaneously realized by every one of us. We found strength, vitality, newness, reason, and belonging as we worked on finishing Eat a Peach".[19] "Those last three songs ... just kinda floated right on out of us ... The music was still good, it was still rich, and it still had that energy—it was still the Allman Brothers Band."^[19]

Composition

Much of the music on Eat a Peach that was recorded after Duane's death directly dealt with the tragedy.

The album's artwork was created by W. David Powell at Wonder Graphics. He had seen old postcards at a drugstore in

At the time the artwork was finalized, Duane Allman was still alive and the title had not been finalized.[18] As a result, the album lacks a title on the cover, which was an unusual approach for bands at the time. Powell later said, "When we showed it to someone at the label, he said, 'They are so hot right now, we could sell it in a brown paper bag'".^[22] Atlantic initially intended to title the album The Kind We Grow in Dixie, the label of the postcard series Powell had seen in Athens,^[18] but the band refused. Trucks suggested they name the album Eat a Peach for Peace, after a quote from Duane Allman. When the writer Ellen Mandel asked him what he was doing to help the revolution, he replied:

I'm hitting a lick for peace—and every time I'm in Georgia, I eat a peach for peace. But you can't help the revolution, because there's just evolution. I understand the need for a lot of changes in the country, but I believe that as soon as everybody can just see a little bit better, and get a little hipper to what's going on, they're going to change it. Everybody will—not just the young people. Everybody is going to say, 'Man, this stinks. I cannot tolerate the smell of this thing anymore. Let's eliminate it and get straight with ourselves.' I believe if everybody does it for themselves, it'll take care of itself.^[23][22]

Drummer Butch Trucks considered Allman's comment a sly reference to the poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot, one of Allman's favorite poets.^[22] An untrue story persisted for many years after the album's release that it was named after the truck Allman crashed into, purported to be a peach truck.^[24] The album art was later selected by Rolling Stone magazine in 1991 as one of the 100 greatest album covers of all time.^[25]

Release

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Rolling Stone Album Guide	[29]

Before the release of Eat a Peach, industry talk suggested the demise of the group after the death of Duane Allman.

Rolling Stone's Tony Glover wrote that, even without their leader, "the Allman Brothers are still the best goddamned band in the land ... I hope the band keeps playing forever—how many groups can you think of who really make you believe they're playing for the joy of it?"^[32] In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau called side three "a magnificent testament", but was relatively unimpressed by the rest of the album, especially the low-tempo "Mountain Jam" sides: "I know the pace of living is slow down there, but this verges on the comatose. And all the tape in the world isn't going to bring Duane back."^[27] In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the record a showcase of "the Allmans at their peak".^[26] David Quantick of BBC Music also considered it their "creative peak", praising the album's "well-played, surprisingly lean bluesy rock".^[33] The album is mentioned as the band's top studio recording in the 2008 book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008), with author Tom Moon praising the record's "sedate, beautifully contemplative studio material".^[34]

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Biographer Alan Paul notes that the band's members "all profoundly felt the absence of their guiding light" during the touring cycle for Eat a Peach.[30] Dickey Betts had to convince the band members to tour, since all other members were reluctant.^[30] Despite rumors, the band did not replace Duane Allman, and simply toured as a five-piece.^[36] The Allman Brothers Band played 90 shows in 1972 in support of the record. "We were playing for him and that was the way to be closest to him," said Trucks.^[30] Allman and Oakley took turns introducing songs, which was traditionally Duane's role.^[36] Betts learned Duane's slide guitar parts, but put his own spin on them.^[36] Oakley had a downward spiral following Duane's death and was significantly inebriated for many shows on the tour. "He wasn't playing like he used to—instead, he'd hit maybe every fifth note," recalled Allman.^[37] Occasionally, the band would have bassist Joe Dan Petty, later of Grinderswitch, cover for Oakley for the show.^[37] After nearly a year of severe depression, Oakley was killed in a motorcycle accident not dissimilar from his friend's in November 1972.

Many label mates on Capricorn opened for the band, including Wet Willie, Cowboy, and Dr. John.^[38]

Track listing

Notes

• "Mountain Jam", "One Way Out" and "Trouble No More" recorded live at the Fillmore East:

• "Mountain Jam" – March 13, 1971 (late show)
• "Trouble No More" – March 13, 1971 (early show)
• "One Way Out" – June 27, 1971

• All compact disc editions of the album include the entirety of "Mountain Jam" (which runs 33:44) as track 4.

Personnel

All credits adapted from liner notes.^[39]

Charts

Certifications

Notes