The record industry's blatantly greedy ploy of remastering and "upgrading" CDs is shameful. The sonics are usually improved, but the CDs could have been mastered properly the first time. But then fans wouldn't buy the same titles twice.
The Allman Brothers Band's indispensable compilation
A Decade of Hits 1969-1979 was reissued in 2000, just nine years after the original release. The remastered 2000 edition still features the same 16 songs, but the packaging and liner notes include an essay by Guitar World journalist
Alan Paul, photos, and detailed recording credits. It would be easy to argue that individual albums like
Idlewild South, Live at Fillmore East,
Eat a Peach, or
Brothers and Sisters are more cohesive artistic statements, but no self-respecting rock & roll fan should be without a copy of
A Decade of Hits 1969-1979, which includes the cream of those albums. It's impossible to go wrong with one CD featuring
Gregg Allman's harrowing "Whipping Post" and gorgeous "Midnight Rider,"
Dickey Betts' soaring "Ramblin' Man," and the lovely instrumentals "Jessica" and "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," let alone the blues covers "Statesboro Blues" and "One Way Out," which many people probably don't realize are covers because the band embodies them so much. Fans shouldn't have much of a problem recognizing the 2000 version. The cover featuring the band logo stitched on the denim jacket is still intact, but the white lettering is laid out a little differently on both the front and back covers. Plus, the shrink-wrap has an identifying sticker. Better still, just look at the copyright date. The first pressing's liner notes include a typographical error; there's a noticeable gap within the essay text where the
Enlightened Rogues title is missing. ~ Bret Adams