"I have not come to testify about our bad bad misfortune" sings Greg Allman on the opening verse of It's Not My Cross To Bear. These are the first lyrics recorded by this once powerhouse southern rock band...Prophetic words that speak volumes about a band that suffered more than its share of heartache and tragedy. But along the way they virtually wrote the book and defined what the term Southern Rock meant. I caught the ABB several times during the Duane Allman/Berry Oakley era. Words can do little to describe the electrifying experience of their dual guitar/dual percussion attack. Add the rock solid bottom of Berry Oakley along with Greg's gritty blues inspired vocals and you've got the winningest combination this side of hot dogs and mustard.

The Road Goes On Forever chronicles their recorded legacy and provides both first-time listener and Allman fanatic a great overview of their ten-year recorded output on Capricorn Records, from 1969-1979. These selections include an accurate sampling of their studio work from their self-titled debut album through 1979's Enlightened Rouges. But the real gems here are taken from the Filmore sessions, Live At Fillmore East and Eat A Peach. It's on One Way Out, Statesboro Blues, Hot 'Lannta and In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed that they soar like no other band, before or since.

As I said before, these guys wrote the book...Sure Skynard, Marshall Tucker, Wet Willie and others picked up the torch and kept the genre alive. But no one, absolutely NO ONE could smoke the roof off a concert hall like the Allmans could. If you doubt me, just cue up disc one, selections 11-14 and crank up the volume. When I hear this stuff it takes right back to The Fillmore East, The Manhattan Center, (on 34th St and 8th Ave) and the old Capital Theatre in Portchester, NY, where I first caught them, as the opening act for Delaney & Bonnie in 1969. Those were truly magical times and they were pure magic in their prime.

If you look at the original track listing for the first edition of ABB's "The Road Goes on Forever" retrospective, you get the sneaking suspicion that the record label was fighting the clock. Maybe a deadline kept them from including classic album tracks from "Idlewild South" and "Eat a Peach." Is there any other explaination for excluding excellent southern standards like "Not My Cross To Bare?"

Well, on this 2001 reissue right is put right. The set is expanded to 2 discs and it is the prefect introduction and even a better summary than anything they have done live. That comment may require some explaination to many hard-cores preferring "At Fillmore East," but for those of us not raised on southern rock, 30-plus minutes of "Mountain Jam" may require more than just time. On these tracks, the Allman Brothers power is showcased in a closed, controlled, and focused enviornment, expunging anything occuring outside the magic. The tracks are presented chronologically, a plus for newcomers. I prefer the studio versions of "Trouble No More," "Blackhearted Woman," and even the post-Duane "Ramblin' Man" to the bloated live versions. And yes, disc two dies down a bit after the generous 6 tracks from the classic "Eat a Peach" LP, but what can you say for a band who loses the greatest slide-guitar hand of all-time? This set is orderly, definitive, and near perfect.

Overall: 9 out of 10.

If you like southern rock, if you like rock, or if you just like to listen to good lyrics, and exceptional musicians. Well, this is the album for you. I personally am a fan of disk one, but that is because by the time I have listened to it, and repeated several of the cuts 3 or 4 times, am to tired to listen to disk two. The music is arranged in a chronological order, and that is fine, you can listen to the band evolve. The intricate guitar work, combined with superb drum and bass work, and the evocitive lyrics make this a truely memorable experiance, almost like a real concert. Believe me, try this and you will experience the Allman Brothers Band and Southern Rock as they were meant to be enjoyed.

I disagree strongly with MUTIMAman on this CD. In my opinion, any Allman Brothers greatest hits package that does not contain "It's Not My Cross To Bear" is a total waste of time and this is the only one that has it...aside from the box set. "Cross" is , in my opinion, the best blues song ever laid down on vinyl. I have been a professionl musician for almost 30 years now and am still amazed at the passion and tastefulness of the lead vocals and guitar solos in that song. I rarely find a greatest hits package that totally pleases me, but this one does. Buy it and you'll see.

THE ROAD GOES ON FOREVER, in its expanded, remastered incarnation, is a great Anthology of prime-period Allman Brothers Band material, even if the more concise A DECADE OF HITS 1969-1979, along with AT FILLMORE EAST, BEGINNINGS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, and EAT A PEACH, when purchased together, pack a harder punch. Highlights include "Whipping Post", "Ain't Wastin' Time No More", "Wasted Words", "Ramblin' Man", "Southbound", "Jessica", and "Crazy Love." The belief among past and present Allman Brothers Band members that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia on drug-smuggling charges was unjustly convicted makes this an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.