Allman Brothers Band ( The ) - Mountain Jam

First performance: 17/03/1972


Coverinfo

As far as it's known, Bruce covered the song only once as a snippet:
 
during ' When you dance'
 
1972-03-17 Richmond Arena, Richmond, VA

No set details known on Brucebase but the information is taken from a copie from a bootleg with following setlist:
 
DO IT WITH A FEELING / CHEROKEE QUEEN (DADDAY SING ME A CRADLE SONG) / LOOK TOWARDS THE LAND / NOT FADE AWAY - BO DIDDELEYS GUNSLINGER / MOUNTAIN JAM - WHEN YOU DANCE / GOIN' BACK TO GEORGIA /  GOT MY MOJO WORKING / IT'S AAL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE

One show, quadruple bill, with The Bruce Springsteen Band opening the evening's festivities for Bang, The Mike Quatro Jam Band and Mitch Ryder & Detroit. This was a festival-styled show, with each act allocated 80-90 minute time slots. Although Mitch Ryder & Detroit were top-billed it was electronic space music favorite The Mike Quatro Jam Band (70s rocker Suzi Quatro's brother) who performed last. In an attempt to minimize the 6,500 seat Richmond Arena's lack of intimacy and notorious echo problems the promoter revamped the seating layout to house 4,500 by rotating the stage 90 degrees and placing it against the centre wall. The stage was also enlarged to allow two bands to be set up simultaneously, reducing the delay between acts. However, an article in the following day's paper noted a turnout of only about 1,000. A newspaper review of the show briefly mentions Springsteen and notes the wide variety of styles performed in his set.
 

Songinfo

"Mountain Jam" is an improvised instrumental jam by The Allman Brothers Band. 33:41 in length in its March 1971 Eat a Peach performance, the song is instrumental and features solos from all of the band members. Duane Allman starts with a guitar solo, after which Gregg Allman solos on Hammond organ, followed by a guitar solo by Dickey Betts. Midway through the song there is a drum duet by Butch Trucks and Jaimoe, later joined by a bass guitar solo by Berry Oakley. Then Duane comes back in for the slide guitar climax, and produces some of his best-known slide guitar, 23 minutes in. The song's first known recording is on May 4, 1969 at Macon Central Park. "Mountain Jam" was originally released on the 1972 Eat a Peach album, as recorded at the Fillmore East concert hall, in March 1971 during the same sessions that produced their prior live double album At Fillmore East. That is the rendition that is best known. Other live recordings have been released on the albums Fillmore East, February 1970, Live at Ludlow Garage: 1970, Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival: July 3 & 5, 1970, The Fillmore Concerts, and deluxe edition of At Fillmore East (1971). Notably, Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival: July 3 & 5, 1970 contains two recordings of the song (the second of which features guest musicians Johnny Winter on slide guitar, and Thom Doucette on harmonica). In fact it makes its first appearance at the end of 1971's At Fillmore East when its first notes are heard and then faded out when it is started immediately out of "Whipping Post". There was much interplay in the development of this song between The Allman Brothers Band and another influential jam band, the Grateful Dead. According to the book Bill Graham Presents, one night at the Fillmore East when The Allman Brothers were there with the Grateful Dead and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, Bill Graham came into an area where Duane Allman, Peter Green, and Jerry Garcia were jamming together on Donovan's 1967 hit single "There Is a Mountain"; Jimi Hendrix's "Third Stone from the Sun" is also quoted musically in the piece, roughly 22 minutes in. Also heard is a section of the hymn "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". Preceding The Allman Brothers Band's official release of the song, the Grateful Dead had briefly referenced "There Is a Mountain," both live and in studio. They can be heard quoting a few bars of "There is a Mountain" in their song "Alligator" on their 1968 album Anthem of the Sun. An example of the Dead jamming live on the "There is a Mountain" riff can be heard at the 4:53 mark on the version of "Alligator" they performed at their August 21, 1968, show at the Fillmore West. Conversely, after the Allman Brothers Band release, The Grateful Dead performed a 22:57 version of Mountain Jam on July 28, 1973, at the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen. They also played a 55-second version of "Mountain Jam" to transition between "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad" and "Not Fade Away" on November 6, 1970, at Capitol Theater in Port Chester, New York.
 
 
 

Other cover versions

Bruce on the artist

Lyrics

instrumental