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“Laid Back” GREGG ALLMAN |
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Looking to step out from the ALLMAN BROTHERS to a parallel solo career in 1973 Greg Allman started releasing albums that spun in different directions than the Allmans ever would yet the results are inseverable from the greater Allman cannon which is why to this day you are just as likely to hear material from any of Greg’s solo outings at an ALLMAN BROTHERS concert as you are actual ALLMAN BROTHERS tunes. “LAID BACK” was the first “solo” record but it was led off by a bluesier retake of the Allman classic, “Midnight Rider, so much for separating the two camps, but it truly worked brilliantly. In addition to several new tracks Allman also covers Jackson Browne’s “These Days” as well as giving the a new life to the old standard “Will the circle be Unbroken.” By discs end you have all the familiar ALLMAN BROTHERS ticklings and doodlings pared down to more commercially digestible bites which in the end served as a sort of gateway to the ALLMAN BROTHERS proper. The disc went gold and is likely close to platinum by this point, perfect time for a remastering to eliminate the hiss of previous CD pressings. “THE GREGG ALLMAN
TOUR” is a bit more of a movie soundtrack than it is the live in
concert album that you would think. Recorded and released in 1974, only
months after “LAID BACK,” this live document features Allman The oddest part of
the package comes with the inclusion of two songs by the band COWBOY with
Allman sitting I don’t know but it fits somehow and the performances here may not have the meandering magic of the ALLMAN BROTHERS best live gigs but the orchestral textures provide more than enough texture to Allman’s songs so a twenty minute jam wasn’t really necessary. The vinyl version of this release was a two disc set which just doesn’t fit here still, the digital remastering makes this preferable to the flatness of previously released versions. The version of “Dreams” included here is likely the best ever recorded by Allman solo or with the rest of the ALLMAN BROTHERS. “PLAYING UP A
STORM” didn’t come until 1977, just in time for disco. Almost
as a reaction to the musical environment of the time Allman gets really
funky and probably his most Southern. Enlisting fellow down home Each of the nine tracks conforms to the radio ready time standards with the longest number clocking in at 4:44 which means that Gregg wasn’t off wandering the keyboard at all quite the contrary actually, his playing comes in short jabs until the hook takes the listener down, out and into the next song. There are several
“hit” type songs here but “Come and Go Blues” is the
track that centers the disc and is a necessary To have these three discs available on CD and remastered to the sound quality that they have very simply means that it is time to head to the used CD store for an exchange. If you have never owned these, now is the time to buy but start with “LAID BACK” and then move on to “PLAYING UP A STORM” before getting the live disc. All Released by Polydor Records Review By David Lee |