One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band

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One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band Page 37

by Paul, Alan


  Worth Searching For

  One More Try (1996, ****) I wrote the liner-note essay and helped compile this collection of outtakes and alternate versions, so color me biased, but it is late night/early morning music at its finest. It’s a true shame that this collection, which so beautifully reveals a hidden side of Gregg—vulnerable, acoustic, aching, soulful—is deeply out of print.

  Dickey Betts

  Highway Call (1974, ****), credited to Richard Betts, was the guitarist’s chance to fully indulge his love for country and Texas swing. Pedal steel guitar and fiddler Vassar Clements complement Betts’s great songs and sweet, melodic guitar on one of the unsung classics in the ABB musical family.

  Dickey Betts and Great Southern (1977, ***) is somewhat inconsistent, but includes several standout tracks, including the galloping “Run Gypsy Run” and “Nothing You Can Do” and the gorgeous “Bougainvillea,” which can stand up to almost anything Betts has written.

  Atlanta’s Burning Down (1978, ***) is not as strong as its predecessor, but the title track is a moving ballad about a Confederate soldier’s horror.

  Pattern Disruptive (1988, **) is significant because it was the first time Warren Haynes recorded with the ABB family. There’s not too much else to recommend it, however.

  Let’s Get Together (2001 ***) was an impressive statement by Dickey. He made clear just a year after he was told he was no longer wanted in the ABB that he was far from done making music. Unfortunately, it sounds like it was recorded in your basement.

  The Collectors #1 (2002, ***) was a sweet acoustic follow-up, which included the Irish instrumental “Beyond the Pale,” a swinging take on jazz pianist Horace Silver’s “The Preacher,” and Dickey’s version of Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue.” Unfortunately, the sound quality was even worse than on Let’s Get Together. This one sounds like it was recorded in your grandfather’s garage, which is a pity because the tunes are great.

  Sea Level

  On their self-titled debut, Sea Level (1977, ***), Jaimoe, Lamar Williams, and Chuck Leavell are joined by guitarist Jimmy Nalls for this hard-swinging set. On his own, without partner Butch Trucks, Jaimoe’s diverse work is a revelation and Leavell proves himself to be a solid singer, but the instrumentals carry the day.

  Released less than a year after their debut, Cats on the Coast (1977, ***) is less to my taste. Though still solid, the expanded ensemble leans heavily toward fusion. Jaimoe’s role is also reduced to mostly percussion. This album has not aged as gracefully as its predecessor.

  Jaimoe was back in the Allman Brothers by the time Sea Level recorded On the Edge (1978, **), replaced by Joe English, and the band seems to be trying to catch some disco grooves. Still plenty of instrumental prowess, of course, and some nice flights of fancy, but not enough of the good stuff here.

  Long Walk on a Short Pier (1979, ***) was appropriately titled; it was released just before Capricorn Records went bankrupt and promptly vanished for almost twenty years. That’s too bad, because it was an improvement from its predecessor. Still uneven and sometimes too slick, this album has more high points, and unleashes Leavell’s rollicking piano a bit more.

  Gov’t Mule

  Gov’t Mule (1995, ***) announced the debut of a dynamic, heavy group. From the opening a capella “Grinning in Your Face” to the last ringing notes of “World of Difference,” this self-titled debut grabbed listeners by the face and didn’t let go.

  Live at Roseland Ballroom (1996, ****) captures the original band in their full sonic glory. Delivers what the debut hinted was coming.

  Dose (1998, ****) is the Mule’s finest recording, as the band fully finds its sound. Recorded live in the studio, Dose debuted Mule classics like “Birth of the Mule,” “Thelonious Beck,” and “Thorazine Shuffle” and introduced more dynamics, including the power ballad “I Shall Return” and acoustic instrumentation on “John the Revelator” and “Raven Black Night.” It’s a powerful work that has stood the test of time.

  Life Before Insanity (2001, ***) fails to match the brilliance of its predecessor, but not by much. Another great album, as the Mule moves away from its trio base, adding some keyboards, harmonica, and overdubbed guitar tracks.

  Live … with a Little Help from Our Friends (2001, ****) is the Mule album I go back to over and over. A two-CD set of the original trio powering through fantastic originals like “Thorazine Shuffle” and covers of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs,” among others. They are joined by friends like Derek Trucks, Jimmy Herring, and Chuck Leavell for “Cortez the Killer” among many great covers, culminating in a 29-minute “Afro Blue.” Nothing makes me miss Woody quite as much as this album, which sums up everything great about the original Mule.

  The Deep End, Vol. 1 (2001, ***) is Warren’s response to the passing of his partner in crime, Allen Woody. He rounded up every guest bassist he could think of, from Phish’s Mike Gordon to Deep Purple’s Roger Glover and from Cream’s Jack Bruce to the Family Stone’s Larry Graham to pay tribute. The results are predictably inconsistent, but often great. Woody himself makes a cameo on a previously unreleased cover of Grand Funk’s “Sin’s a Good Man’s Brother.”

  The Deep End, Vol. 2 (2002, ***) keeps the Woody tribute going, this time with bassists including Phil Lesh, Billy Cox, George Porter Jr., and Jason Newsted. Again, somewhat inconsistent, but often great, and the plethora of guests is a tribute to how highly regarded both Warren and Woody are.

  The Deepest End: Live in Concert (2003, ****) was recorded during the 2003 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and it seems as if everyone from the fairgrounds piled into the theater for a five-hour concert that yielded this sprawling tribute to the late Woody. Jack Casady, Les Claypool, Will Lee, George Porter Jr., Karl Denson, and Sonny Landreth are just the tip of the iceberg. It seemed like Warren needed to produce this blowout before Gov’t Mule could resume normal band life without Woody. Long live Cap’n Al!

  On Deja Voodoo (2004, ***), Gov’t Mule returns as a quartet with keyboardist Danny Louis on board, along with bassist Andy Hess.

  High and Mighty (2006, ***) is good but not essential.

  Mighty High (2007, **) is a cool idea—reggae versions of the Mule’s High and Mighty album—that just doesn’t quite work.

  By a Thread (2009, ***) includes a guest appearance by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons.

  Mulennium (Live at the Roxy, Atlanta, GA, December 31, 1999) (2010, ****) is a three-CD collection that made me miss Woody all over again. More special guests, including the late blues great Little Milton, who leads a six-song blues set.

  The Georgia Bootleg Box (2012, ****) captures three shows from April 1996 as the Mule was just really learning how to kick. Powerful stuff, raw and ready.

  Shout! (2013, ****) is a stirring album, the strongest collection of songs in years. It also includes a fascinating bonus disk of the same songs with guest vocalists (including Steve Winwood, Ben Harper, and Dave Matthews).

  Warren Haynes

  Tales of Ordinary Madness (1993, ***) was Haynes’s solo debut and much of it holds up twenty years later.

  Live at Bonnaroo (2004, ***) is a slightly uneven acoustic collection with some very nice moments, most notably the version of “Soulshine” with South African singer Vusi Mahlasela.

  Man in Motion (2011, ****) is Haynes’s soul album, and it’s a good one. Echoes of Traffic and Joe Cocker along with R&B giants. Dual keyboardists Cyril Neville and Ian McLagan create a beautiful bed, where Haynes makes himself at home.

  Live at the Moody Theater (2012, ***) is a two-disc, one-DVD live companion to Man in Motion, featuring most of the album, as well as several new Haynes tunes and covers of Jimi Hendrix’s “Spanish Castle Magic” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Puts an exclamation point on the fact that no one covers as much ground as well as Warren Haynes.

  The Derek Trucks Band

  The Derek Trucks Band (1997, ***) announced loud and clear that Trucks was not your average teenaged guitar whiz. The album starts with th
e original, 35-second instrumental “Sarod,” played on the traditional Indian instrument, and goes right into John Coltrane’s “Mr. P.C.”

  Out of the Madness (1998, ***) goes a bit more mainstream than Trucks’s debut, with guest vocals by Haynes and Larry McCray and some hot jamming by Jimmy Herring. This is more of a jam session than a cohesive band album, but it is a lot of fun.

  Joyful Noise (2002, ****) represented a big leap for the Trucks Band, with the addition of keyboardist/flautist Kofi Burbridge. Some find the juxtaposition of guests to be chaotic but it works for me because the band gels with everyone: salsa star Rubén Blades, soul great Solomon Burke, blues singer and wife-to-be Susan Tedeschi, and Sufi singing master Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

  Soul Serenade (2003, ***) is a more laid-back effort than its predecessor (which it was recorded before). The title track was one of Duane Allman’s favorite tunes, and brother Gregg makes an appearance on Ray Charles’s “Drown in My Own Tears,” delivering one of his best vocal tracks of the new millennium.

  Live at the Georgia Theatre (2004, ***) is a very representative live album.

  Songlines (2006, ****) kicks off with a blast of righteous slide guitar on “Volunteered Slavery” and never really looks back.

  Already Free (2009, ****) is a strong collection of focused, low-key Americana, with Doyle Bramhall II, Trucks’s wife, Susan Tedeschi, and other guests beginning to hint that Derek was looking past his longtime band. There’s a lot to love here, especially the gentle duet “Back Where I Started,” featuring Trucks on sarod and guitar and Tedeschi on vocals. It is a gorgeous love song.

  Roadsongs (2010, ***) is a very solid double live album that is the Trucks Band’s swan song, as the guitarist had already moved on to the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

  Tedeschi Trucks Band

  Revelator (2011, ***) is a strong start for the new group, but the material does not sound fully gelled.

  Live: Everybody’s Talking (2012, ***) is a double live from the TTB’s first full-length tour. All the music comes together here, hinting at what a powerful ensemble this group is becoming, though it remains curiously languid, leaving me longing to hear Derek open up and unwind.

  On Made Up Mind (2013, ****), the TTB seem to find their groove: Strong, hard-driving R and B and material that feels better suited to the large ensemble.

  Jaimoe’s Jassz Band

  Double Down Grill, 1/28/06 (***) The Jassz Band was mostly a local Connecticut band at the time, not playing much original music, but highlighting Jaimoe’s swinging drum work and an evolving band with a horn section that alternated between accenting singer/guitarist Junior Mack and taking the melodic lead. The two-disc set starts out heavy on the blues, and then goes deep into jazz on set two, with versions of Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,” Dizzy Gillespie’s “Night in Tunisia,” and a unique, horn-driven “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”

  Ed Blackwell Memorial Concert 2/27/2008 (***) More straight-ahead jazz takes the fore at this show dedicated to one of Jaimoe’s jazz heroes, drummer Ed Blackwell, but Mack’s searing take on Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” is a highlight.

  Renaissance Man (2011,****) is a fantastic collection of songs, with guitarist/singer/songwriter Junior Mack really stepping up and riding the groove created by Jaimoe’s swinging drumming, Bruce Katz’s keys, and a surging horn section playing terrific charts. This is a sleeper album in the Allman Brothers Band family tree.

  Index

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  Abts, Matt

  An Acoustic Evening with the Allman Brothers Band & the Indigo Girls

  “Afro Blue”

  “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More”

  Air travel

  Alabama (State of) v. the Members of the Allman Brothers Band

  Alaimo, Steve

  Album covers

  Allman Brothers Band

  Brothers and Sisters

  Eat a Peach

  At Fillmore East

  Win, Lose, or Draw

  Albums

  An Acoustic Evening with the Allman Brothers Band & the Indigo Girls

  Allman Brothers Band

  Already Free

  American University 12/13/70

  Atlanta’s Burning Down

  Beginnings

  Boston Common—Boston, MA 8/17/71

  Brothers and Sisters

  Brothers of the Road

  Cats on the Coast

  The Collectors #1

  The Deep End

  The Deep End, Vol. 1

  The Deep End, Vol. 2

  The Deepest End: Live in Concert

  Deja Voodoo

  The Derek Trucks Band

  Dickey Betts and Great Southern

  Dose

  Double Down Grill, 1/28/06

  Dreams

  Duane and Gregg Allman

  Eat a Peach

  Ed Blackwell Memorial Concert 2/27/2008

  On the Edge

  Enlightened Rogues

  An Evening with … Second Set

  An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band, First Set

  The Fillmore Concerts

  At Fillmore East

  The Gatlinburg Tapes

  The Georgia Bootleg Box

  Gov’t Mule

  The Gregg Allman Tour

  Hell and High Water

  High and Mighty

  Highway Call

  Hittin’ the Note

  Idlewild South

  I’m No Angel

  Joyful Noise

  Just Before the Bullets Fly

  Laid Back

  The Layla Sessions and

  Let’s Get Together

  Life Before Insanity

  Live at Bonnaroo

  Live at Ludlow Garage

  Live at Roseland Ballroom

  Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival July 3 & 5, 1970

  Live at the Georgia Theatre

  Live at the Moody Theater

  Live at the Regal

  Live: Everybody’s Talking

  Live it at the Apollo

  Live … with a Little Help from Our Friends

  Long Walk on a Short Pier

  Low Country Blues

  Macon City Auditorium: 2/11/72

  On Made Up Mind

  Man in Motion

  Mighty High

  Motel Shot

  Mulennium

  Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, 5/1/73

  One More Try

  One Way Out: Live at the Beacon Theater

  Out of the Madness

  Pattern Disruptive

  Peakin’ at the Beacon

  Playin’ Up a Storm

  Reach for the Sky

  Renaissance Man

  Revelator

  The Road to Escondido

  Roadsongs

  Sea Level

  Searching for Simplicity

  Seven Turns

  Shades of Two Worlds

  Shout

  Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective

  Songlines

  Soul Serenade

  SUNY at StonyBrook: Stony Brook, NY 9/19/71

  Tales of Ordinary Madness

  By a Thread

  Where It All Begins

  Win, Lose, or Draw

  Wipe the Windows, Check the Oil, Dollar Gas

  Alcohol

  Berry Oakley and

  Dickey Betts and

  Duane Allman and

  Gregg Allman and

  Ali, Muhammad

  Alimony

  Aliotta, Angelo

  “All Blues”

  “All My Friends”

  Allman, Donna

  after death of Duane Allman

  Big House and

  child support and

  as mother of Duane Allman’s
daughter

  separation from

  Allman, Duane

  Alabama drug bust and

  birth of

  burial of

  death of

  drugs and

  dual-lead guitars and

  leadership of

  motorcycles and

  rehab and

  relationship with Dickey Betts

  signing with Atlantic Records

  songwriting and

  still missing

  teamwork and

  wife of

  Wilson Pickett and

  Allman, Galadrielle

  Allman, Geraldine

  Allman, Gregg

  acoustic guitar and

  after death of Berry Oakley

  after liver transplant

  alcohol and

  bad advice and

  birth of

  breakups of band and

  Cher and

  drugs and

  Gregg Allman Band and

  hepatitis and

  induction into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and

  joining band

  liver transplant and

  loudness and

  “Melissa” and

  organ and

  overdose of

  rehab and

  reunions of band and

  Scooter Herring and

  signing with Epic Records

  sobriety and

  solo albums of

  songwriting and

  stage fright and

  touring without Dickey Betts and

  vocals of

  Win, Lose, or Draw and

  Allman, Stacey Fountain

  Allman, Willis Turner

  Allman Brothers Band

  Allman Brothers Band Museum

  The Allman Joys

  Already Free

  American University 12/13/70

  Amphetamine psychosis

  Anastasio, Trey

  Anniversary tours

  “Anyday”

  Aquarium Rescue Unit

  Arbitration

  Arista Records

  Arrests. See also Murder of Angelo Aliotta

  At Fillmore East

  assessment of

  recording of

  Southern rock and

  succcess of

  Atlanta’s Burning Down

 

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