As I set out to write this, I still haven't chosen the Song of the Week! During the week, I listened to a couple of 'classic' Allman Brothers Band albums and was pretty sure which song I would choose for the week. The tune I had in mind was released in 1973. However, as it was my birthday on Friday, we went to see a tribute act in Dunfermline, and I was reminded of a beautiful song I first heard in 1972, although it was released the year before when it reached Number 4 on the U.S. Pop Singles Chart in May '71. So I am now thinking that "age comes before beauty" (although I think both songs are equally 'beautiful'!) and will go with the 1971 song!
As I said, I first heard this song in '72, which formed the culmination of what I still consider one of the two best live albums I have listened to. By the time the song was written, its composer had moved from New York (Brooklyn, there's a hint!) to L.A. and found the change challenging. Indeed, he once said about this song, "It was consciously an attempt on my part to express what my dreams were about, what my aspirations were about and what I was about. And without any question, it came from my sessions with the analyst."
Given its live setting, this version is the best version I have heard, and I love the slow and climactic build-up, culminating in the drum intro to the symphonic trail out!
And so, before I introduce my Song of the Week, my final thoughts on the song relate to the cover for the album from it which comes. While I enjoy the album immensely, I have always thought the cover photo was inappropriate, not just because it looks nothing like the artist!
Anyway, my choice for this week is "I am....I Said" by Neil Diamond from his 1972 seminal album "Hot August Night."