GREGG ALLMAN

Low Country Blues

 Rounder Records

By Steve "Fly" Klein

Low Country Blues is Gregg Allman’s love note to the blues.

Allman has not released a new studio album since 1997.  He has referred to the death of his legendary producer, Tom Dowd in 2002, as losing a member of the band. He had been a genuine friend and Allman had cut nearly everything with Dowd -- The Allman Brothers stuff as well as his solo records.

Despite initial reservations, Allman teamed up with Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett and recorded at Burnett's Village Recorder studio in Los Angeles. While courting Allman, Burnett sent him thousands of old, obscure blues songs on a hard drive so he could choose which songs he might like to perform. That, and subsequent conversations, gave Allman the confidence to team up with Burnett and to overcome the scary notion of going into the studio without bringing his own band.

The band Burnett put together was a great one. It's composed of Eric Clapton's regular sideman, Doyle Bramhall II on guitar and Burnett's outstanding studio rhythm section of acoustic bassist Dennis Crouch and drummer Jay Bellerose. Plus as a surprise, he recruited an old Allman friend, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) to play piano.

The CD opens with "Floating Bridge," a Sleepy John Estes classic from 1937. The song starts with the bass and sets the tone for the next 12 songs -- a warm embrace. Here Rebennack's piano takes the place of the harp in the call-and-answer melody while Bramhall demonstrates a fine restraint in his accompaniment to Allman's vocal. On Junior Wells' "Little By Little," Allman has the chance to practice his Jimmy Smith licks to contrast the piano's boogie flavor.

"Devil Got My Woman" was a Skip James song that inspired many Delta blues performers like Robert Johnson. This standard starts very simply with some excellent dobro work, then builds as the band fades up and Bramhall begins throwing in a few electric punches.

"I Can't Be Satisfied" is the foray into the Chicago-style electric blues. The Muddy Waters composition has the feeling of a band that just spent all night recording at Chess studios. Bramhall's guitar has that hoarse shout that would make Hubert Sumlin proud. Turning the corner, Bobby Blue Bland's "Blind Man" begins with a blast of Memphis-style horns. A little more sophisticated in its presentation, the band plays the blues infused with a touch of jazz.

The most unexpected song on the CD is "Please Accept My Love" by B.B. King. A fun, R&B number that was arranged as an early rock 'n' roll ballad, Fats Domino could have recorded this back in the day and had a hit. Allman gives his all with great phrasing and Bramhall shows exceptional ability in conjuring up the finesse of Scotty Moore.

The last song I'll mention is the Allman/Warren Haynes number "Just Another Rider." This is easily the most contemporary song here, but its arrangement mimics the spirit of the others: powerful guitar solos, punchy horns, and a driving rhythm section, with nice fills by Rebennack.

Other songs are by Amos Milburn ("Tears Tears Tears"), the  traditional "I Believe I'll Go Back Home" (Blind Willie Johnson), Magic Sam ("My Love Is Your Love"), Otis Rush ("Check On My Baby"), and the classic "Rolling Stone."

This CD demonstrates that Mr. Allman still has his powerful voice and keyboard virtuosity. He has captured both the true feeling of the original material and managed to put his own hallmark on each song. This ensemble manages to showcase Allman's strengths and brings a gentle spin to a hard living musician's lifetime of accomplishments.

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