![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/gregg_allman_dc.jpg\")
The Allman Brothers Band always stood far above its so-called peers in the Southern rock movement. Calling the ABB Southern rock does their legacy a disservice; the band was always inspired as much by, say, John Coltrane as anything else. The Allmans arguably did what the Grateful Dead tried to do, and did it better.<\/p>\n
The band\u2019s history was star-crossed, with two of its key members dying in vehicle tragedies. Co-leader, co-founder and keyboardist Gregg Allman helmed the ship from its beginnings thorough to the end in 2014; he died in \u201817. The group left behind a sterling legacy, a ton of great music, a pile of excellent records and towering influence. But even with all that, the ABB had gaps; the gorp was inactive in 1977, and again for most of the 1980s.<\/p>\n
But its members weren\u2019t inactive. Nearly all of them busied themselves with other projects. Gregg Allman formed a band of his own, following on from a solo career begun when the Allman Brothers were active. His 1973 debut Laid Back established him as a force \u2013 creative and commercial \u2013 outside his main band; its lead single \u201cMidnight Rider\u201d went Top 20 and became a staple of FM rock radio.<\/p>\n
So by the time the Gregg Allman Band went on tour in 1984, its leader had plenty of material form which to draw. And this he did, serving u pa set that featured solo hits and Allman Brothers Band classics. Recorded at Washington DC\u2019s The Bayou, a new archival release is a document of the band on that night in May.<\/p>\n
Opening with the ABB chestnut \u201cDreams,\u201d the group had the audience in its metaphorical palm right from the get-go. The band sounds a bit different from the Allmans, but Gregg\u2019s powerful lead vocal and organ give the music a welcome familiarity. The jazzy \u201cHot \u2018Lanta\u201d is as on fire as its title suggests, and the vibe (if not the fine detail) of the original\u2019s multiple-guitar assault is conjured.<\/p>\n
The band\u2019s subtle, no-percussion reading of \u201cMelissa\u201d is lovely, moving and different enough from its studio counterpart to make it a must-hear. A similar approach is taken on \u201cMidnight Rider,\u201d adding some vocal harmonies to the gentle acoustic picking. The full band leans into a bouncy reading of \u201cStatesboro Blues,\u201d which again has elements of the ABB version along with a character all its own. \u201cOne Way Out\u201d is taken at a breakneck pace; in the hands of lesser-skilled players, that approach could rob the song of its nuance. Not so here; it\u2019s a fine way to close a great set.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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