DEVON ALLMAN

Ragged & Dirty

Ruf Records

12 tracks/48:12

by Greg Easterling

At first glance, Devon Allman’s 2014 Ruf Records release, Ragged & Dirty might not seem to be a natural choice for Chicago Blues Guide to review. Especially for the St. Louis connected son of one of the South’s most famous set of musical brothers, Gregg and Duane Allman. Sure, the Allman Brothers have a local following, just like they do almost everywhere but what does Devon have to do with Chicago?

Plenty, as it turns out with the release of Ragged & Dirty. The picture of Chicago’s skyline on the back cover of the compact disc should be a clue that Sweet Home Chicago played a major role in the recording of Allman’s fine new album. He made a conscious decision to journey north to soak up the Windy City blues influences. As Allman puts it, “I decided it was time to go to the electric blues mecca, tap into that vibe and surround myself with the cats who live and breathe it.”

Those cats include Buddy Guy’s Grammy Award-winning producer Tom Hambridge, who’s also worked with George Thorogood, the late Johnny Winter, James Cotton and Joe Louis Walker.  Hambridge brought four songs to Ragged & Dirty and drummed on every cut. Allman and Hambridge  selected  a talented group of experienced Chicago musicians that include Marty Sammon (Buddy Guy), bassist Felton Crews (Charlie Musslewhite) and guitarist Giles Corey (Billy Branch). Sammon and Corey are also known around Chicago for their club appearances at Buddy Guy’s Legends, B.L.U.E.S., and Harlem Avenue Lounge.

There’s no shortage of good songs to enjoy here and it’s an album that wears well with repeated listening. There’s five Allman originals plus covers of songs by Luther Allison, Otis Taylor and The Spinners.  Ragged and Dirty kicks off with the Hambridge-penned “Half The Truth,” a hard rockin’ memo to a two-timing lover. When Allman sings “Half the truth is still a lie”, you hear the indignation in his voice and feel the heat in the sound of his guitar. The intro to “Can’t Lose ‘Em All” recalls the Allman Brothers, which catches you by surprise because there’s not a lot of those moments on Devon’s album. His guitar solo is fluid and sweet while the lyrics are encouraging: “Don’t give up, this could be your lucky day”. While Devon sings well, his voice doesn’t sound much like Gregg’s nor does he play slide guitar, which would have invited comparisons to Duane. Devon is his own man musically and nothing on Ragged & Dirty sounds especially imitative of his famous family connection.

Other highlights include the moody sounding instrumental “Midnight Lake Michigan,” a tip of the hat to the Windy City and support players such as Marty Sammon whose keyboard sound helps to color the jam midnight blue. Allman gets the chance to wail wah wah style on his original “Traveling” while the tone gets funkier on “Blackjack Heartattack” and his tough cover of the Luther Allison penned title track. “Back To You” is another classic sounding jam with plenty of room for Allman and Sammon to shine. Allman switches to resonator for “Leave This City” which is an appropriate way to end the album.

Devon Allman was raised by his mother Shelly in Texas and didn’t meet his birth father Gregg until the age of 16. Devon eventually wound up in St. Louis where he put his band Honeytribe together in 1999.  They gigged and recorded there for several years, winning awards in their adopted hometown. After his son was born, Allman took a break from Honeytribe and the road, eventually reforming in 2005. In 2010, he released the album Space Age Blues. Then by 2011 there was change in the air. Allman joined Cyril Neville and Mike Zito to form Royal Southern Brotherhood. Their 2012 self-titled debut was well received as was the followup, heartsoulblood, released earlier this year. RSB also earned a Blues Music Award in 2014 for their live DVD/CD, Songs From The Road.

Ragged & Dirty is a definite step forward for Devon Allman and it’s nice to know that Chicago has played a big part in helping that to happen. He’s welcome to come back anytime to experience our amazing local legacy from Muddy and the Wolf to Buddy and Junior and the next generation appearing at your friendly neighborhood blues or roots establishment. 

Greg Easterling hosts the 12 midnight – 5 a.m. shift on WDRV (97.1 FM) He also hosts American Backroads on WDCB (90.9 FM), Thursdays 9-10 p.m.