Given his place in the pantheon of American rock music,
Gregg Allman's solo career away from
the Allman Brothers Band has been generally disappointing. Perhaps that's why it took nearly a decade between his previous album, 1997's
Searching for Simplicity (its title alone indicates his frustrations) and 1988's over-produced yet underwhelming
Just Before the Bullets Fly. A whopping 14 years later,
Allman joins forces with roots producer to the stars
T-Bone Burnett, hoping that some of the latter's mojo can rub off on a singer who is one of the great white soul and blues vocalists in rock music. For the most part it does, as the duo choose 11 relatively obscure covers from classic artists such as
Bobby "Blue" Bland,
Junior Wells, and
B.B. King that have clearly influenced
Allman's musical approach. The backing is organic but far from stripped-down with horns, multiple guitars, and even background vocalists supporting the singer's patented crusty growl. From the opening raw thump of the ominous
Sleepy John Estes' "Floating Bridge" to a peppy yet intense take on
Muddy Waters' "I Can't be Satisfied" and a fiery reworking of
Magic Sam's "My Love Is Your Love,"
Allman sounds invested and inspired by this material and his musical surroundings. Veterans such as
Dr. John (credited here with his real name,
Mac Rebennack),
Doyle Bramhall II, and
Burnett's often used rhythm section of drummer
Jay Bellerose and
Dennis Crouch on bass keep a taut yet easygoing lock on the groove. That's particularly evident on the predominantly acoustic version of
Skip James' "Devil Got My Woman." The horns that appear on five tunes never overpower the sound yet help propel
Allman's soul-searing performance of
Bland's "Blind Man." Ditto for
Otis Rush's slow blues "Checking on My Baby," which brings the vocalist back to his "Stormy Monday"-styled beginnings. One original co-written with
Allman Brothers Band guitarist
Warren Haynes, "Just Another Rider," while not a terrible song, pales in comparison with the rest of the material and could have been saved for the next
Brothers album, where it might make a better fit.
Allman is credited with B-3 on the majority of the tunes, but his contributions are generally mixed so low as to be nearly inaudible. His organ can be heard on a low-down run-through of
Amos Milburn's "Tears, Tears, Tears" that captures a sweet, jazzy noir West Coast blues. It adds up to
Allman's best and surely most focused and cohesive solo release, and one where the template can hopefully be repeated in less time than it took this to appear. ~ Hal Horowitz