The Allman Brothers’ improvised, often inspired, blend of rock, blues, country and jazz receives the lavish 10LP boxset treatment. Ben Wardle tunes in
Like any long-standing musical institution, lazy genre categorisation precedes The Allman Brothers Band: Southern Rock or, worse, jam rock, suggests interminable, redneck, double-denimed noodling. The band always eschewed such catch-alls, mainstay guitarist Dickey Betts opting for ‘a progressive rock band from the South’, which also manages to fall short of doing justice to this twin-drummer, sprawling blues-rock-jazz feast.
Universal’s £350, 10LP wood veneer boxset attempts to capture it all. No fewer than three “Allman Brothers Band historians” are responsible for putting it together and the comprehensive 56-page book boasts unreleased photos, plus a hefty 9,000-word essay. Heck, there’s even an orange and red splatter vinyl edition that is meant to “evoke the inside of a peach”. If you don’t own any Allman Brothers, it’s a great, albeit pricey, way in.
Trouble No More was the first song the six-piece recorded in 1969, and the set kicks off with a previously unreleased demo recording of it, concluding with a live version from their final New York residency. In between, the set traces a long career that, despite death, commercial failure, drug and alcohol addiction, illness, fall-outs and line-up changes, chugged on like a Duane Allman solo.
The set is arranged chronologically, so discs 1 and 2 cover highlights of the first three albums, including the epic Whipping Post and riff ballad Midnight Rider. The band’s breakthrough album, live double At Fillmore East, is represented by three tracks, including the 13-minute definitive version of Betts’ superb jazz jam In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed, which still sounds like some amazing Blue Note nugget; both drummers, jazz sticksman Jaimoe and brilliantly-named Butch Trucks trading licks and time signatures. Before this, ABB shows were outselling their records, but everything changed after its release.
The band’s next album, Eat A Peach, was the last to feature founder member Duane Allman, who died in a motorcycle crash after leaving rehab for heroin addiction. Brother Gregg’s tribute to him, Melissa is a highlight here, along with Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More, represented here by a live version.
Tragedy continued with 1973 follow-up Brothers And Sisters, when bass player Berry Oakley, inconsolable over Duane’s death, died in a second drugs-related motorcycle
