Fifty-five years ago tonight, the Allman Brothers Band walked off the Fillmore East stage for the last time that weekend—and walked into history.

At Fillmore East was a make-or-break third album for a band several hundred thousand dollars in debt. No artist from the rock underground had scored a major hit with a live record. They did it anyway, on their own terms.

Every solo improvised. No overdubs. Fade-outs instead of applause.

New post breaks down the album track by track, explains the Johnny Winter story nobody tells right, and makes the case for why this record is an artistic statement as much as a commercial one.