One of the most difficult things for listeners of the
\npresent-day to do is try to understand the historical significance
\nof recordings from years past. Oh, sure, some artists, like Elvis
\nPresley and The Beatles, are easy to analyze, maybe because they’ve
\nbeen kept under the crosshairs of the microscope of fame for as
\nlong as anyone can remember.<\/p>\n
In the case of The Allman Brothers Band and their 1969
\nself-titled debut, it might be a little harder for listeners in
\n2002 to understand what the fuss was about. After all, the blues
\nexplosion had taken hold around this time, and anyone these days
\nwho hears the names of Gregg and Duane Allman immediately tie them
\nin with the burgeoning Southern Rock genre, right?<\/p>\n
Guess again, Lumpy. While the blues influence is undeniable on
\nthis disc,
\nThe Allman Brothers Band<\/i> is about as Southern Rock as Pat
\nBoone is a metalhead. If anything, this six-piece combo could have
\neasily been on the Stax label for their soulful renditions of
\nsongs, both covers and originals. It’s not the best Allman Brothers
\nrecord out there, but it’s got some stuff that is, even today,
\nabsolutely jaw-dropping.<\/p>\n
On the surface, the Allmans had the makings of fitting in to any
\nnumber of genres. Their Southern upbringing might have mistakenly
\nled people to assume they were some kind of a country band. The
\ntwo-man percussion unit (Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson)
\nwasn’t a new idea – hell, the Grateful Dead had started using that
\nnot long before this disc hit the market. The psychedelia crowd
\nlatched onto the Allmans; it was not uncommon early in their career
\nto share a stage with the Dead (and sometimes even jam with
\nthem).<\/p>\n
If you’re getting the feeling that The Allman Brothers Band
\nwere, at least early in their career, unclassifiable, you’re
\ngetting the picture – a picture which becomes crystal clear once
\nyou hear the music on this disc. Their riveting take on Muddy
\nWaters’s “Trouble No More” still sends shivers up my spine, even
\nthough I’ve heard it more times than I can count. Likewise, the
\njazz-tinged “Dreams” and the show-stopper “Whipping Post” (the
\nlatter a playful thorn in Frank Zappa’s side) continue to amaze me,
\namong many other listeners. Even a lesser track like “It’s Not My
\nCross To Bear” has its foundation reduced to sonic rubble courtesy
\nof the blues wailings of Gregg Allman – he seals the deal for this
\ntrack.<\/p>\n
I dared to hint that
\nThe Allman Brothers Band<\/i> was not the strongest disc in their
\ncollection – a statement I make only because I can run hot or cold
\non tracks like “Every Hungry Woman” and “Black Hearted Woman”. This
\nisn’t suggesting these are bad tracks, just that they don’t have
\nthe same emotional punch to the gut that the barn-burners do.<\/p>\n
In all honesty, I’d have no problem recommending to someone
\ninterested in learning about the Allman Brothers Band to pick up
\ntheir boxed set
\nDreams<\/i>, price be damned, and to take a big drink from its
\nmusical pond. If they only wanted to experience one album – well,
\nit would be a hard call.
\nEat A Peach<\/i> is a recognized classic, but
\nThe Allman Brothers Band<\/i> has more than a few strong
\narguments on its side as well. It’s probably the most appropriate
\nplace to begin one’s journey on all things Allman – and even with
\nslight weaknesses, it was a fine way to introduce themselves to the
\nrecord-buying public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5655],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-37308","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-allman-brothers-band","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37308"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=37308"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=37308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}