Now this is a wonderful collection of songs! Everyone has their opinion as to who is the very best southern rock band. For me it's the Allman Brothers Band. They have a distinct style of blues and southern rock that immediately stands out. These guys can jam, and they can even do what most southern rock bands haven't been able to do, and that's create feelings and pictures for the listener because the songwriting is always unexpectedly good. Sure, other southern rock bands can move you and bring you to tears, but these guys are constantly doing this in every song, and they're doing it on a whole other level. When you combine that with all the beautiful guitar work and the sincerity of the vocals, it's easy to see this is not your typical southern rock band.

The guitar playing from the Allman Brothers is different from other bands. There's so MUCH of it. How many bands can you think of that feature THIS much guitar? There's never a boring second on the entire CD because of the heavy amount of guitar playing involved. And it's not like there's ever TOO much of it. There's always just the right amount to make it very listenable. It might even make you wonder why other southern rock bands don't feature more guitar playing. You don't even have to be a big fan of blues/southern rock to enjoy this band. I'm not a big fan of blues I'll admit right now, but I simply adore this bands style because it's unlike anyone else.

What you have here is the first two Allman Brothers Band albums on one CD. I don't know if the sound quality is any worse or better than owning the albums individually, because I only own this CD. This sounds very good, though. Loud, too.

Both albums have layers and layers of guitar work, making this the most exciting way to listen to southern blues. The singer sounds incredibly honest and special. You can tell he really wants the listener to feel the emotion in his voice, and the same can be said for the other members of the band on their respective instrument. You couldn't ask for a better singer.

Now, if you want me to choose which album I like more, I think Idlewild South might barely win over the debut album, but no one can deny how unique and wonderful the Allman Brothers were when they first appeared with their own style of blues/southen rock on the debut. And this is not to take anything away from other southern rock bands, who are fantastic in their own way. It's just that this is the one band to immediataly stand out to be as being different.

Some of the standouts from the debut are "trouble no more" which has a forceful vocal delivery and a good guitar riff, "dreams" which is the one Allman Brothers Band song to stand above the others in terms of how incredibly heavenly sounding the guitar jamming is. The entire middle section of this song is played slowly and is amazingly hypnotic, and I mean that in a good way. Maybe the best song they ever put out. Of course "whipping post" is another big highlight. You can still hear that one on the radio sometimes. There's nothing like this band and if there is, I haven't heard it. The rest of the debut is fantastic with the other songs not any worse than the hits.

After that song is over "revival" starts up, which is the beginning of the next album. This album is called Idlewild South and the sound and style is basically the same as the first album but I think it's better because the songwriting has improved, ever (EVER!) so slightly. We have two very consistently enjoyable albums on one CD, after all. "don't keep me wonderin" and "leave my blues at home" are very similar in style, almost identical, and it's almost guaranteed you'll enjoy them if you like "trouble no more" from the debut.

Back to "revival" for a moment. I love the way the chorus chants "people can you feel it, love is everywhere" and the first 90 seconds of this song feature more of that excellent guitar jamming you've come to love from the first album. It's hard to believe but that chorus mixes with the 90-second guitar introduction really, really well, and I love how they throw in keyboards, acoustic guitar and other things in between the chorus near the end of the song. It's great!

"in memory of elizabeth reed" is an instrumental I believe, and it's one of those songs you've heard before but you wouldn't recognize it just by looking at the title. An exciting and completely fantastic song that you might get the urge to dance to, even though it's not dance music exactly. It features moments of intense guitar playing that will keep you interested. Overall, this Beginnings collection is something you need to own. I may have picked certain songs as being the highlights, but any other song on these two albums could easily be the highlight for you.

One other thing I want to mention is how this band leans toward the progressive rock side of the big rock movement of the early 70's, with the band throwing in unexpected shifts and melodies and instrumental work where you least expect it. In that sense, you could compare them to someone like Jethro Tull. But as for sound, they're more of a blues/southern rock band unlike anyone else. You don't hear music like this very often so please pick up this wonderful 2 albums on one CD set!

When the Allman Brothers emerged in the early 1970's, they were a breath of fresh air, purely and simply. These tracks fairly gushed forth out of the doors of collegiate dorm rooms... "The Allman Brothers Band" and "Idlewild South" were continually in friends' collections, and I heard them so often I never felt the need to buy them for myself. This cd is a great way to revisit the fundamental Allman Brothers music, thirty-five years later.

These albums capture a young, hungry, and incredibly tight band that was focused on making records with a good groove. Southern bands like the Allmans did seem to have a natural affinity with British blues outfits--there's a total lack of pretentiousness here. The band just oozes authenticity.

Duane Allman laid down some 'mutha' blues guitar on tracks like "It's Not My Cross to Bear" and "Please Call Home". I love the laugh that punctuates Gregg's Johnny Winter-like blues yodel on "Black-Hearted Woman".

"Idlewild South", the album that forms the second half of this set, seems a little better produced, with touches like Thom Doucette's harmonica, and prominent acoustic guitars. Then, there's that classic bit of Southern Gothic magic, "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed"...a beautiful piece of reverie.

This music is timeless, and it set the stage for what came next: the greatest live rock album of all time.

Beginnings is a true testiment to the great sound of the Allman Brothers. A must have if your a fan.