The Allman Brothers Band Album by Album Thread (Part Two)

http://www.knightarts.org/community...e-unveiled-at-the-allman-brothers-band-museum

You can see a photo of the famous dress that little Brittany wore on the album's back cover

 

What musicians played on the Allman and Woman album? LA studio guys, or was it recorded in Macon?

 

I have to say that listening to the debut album again, this time in the original mix, is making me appreciate the album in a whole new way. I like that the guitars are more front and center. It also made me begin thinking that, although it didn't show right away, it was more than just drugs and success that splintered the band apart in the mid 70's. It's become more clear to me than ever that it was Duane's absence that was the main cause. The band was able to storm through "Eat A Peach" and "Brothers and Sisters" with astonishing success, and Dickey came through in spades with his ever improving songwriting but I feel that with Duane's guidance he would have reeled them in a bit more and provided the focus that was needed to take it to the next level. Gregg and Dickey are wonderful songwriters and quite capable of keeping the band afloat for the time being but without Duane's guiding hand the cracks began to show.

I'm sure this isn't a revelation to anyone reading here but as someone such as myself who didn't give it much thought as I've always just focused on the musical aspect of the band and how they were able to fill those holes from a musical standpoint, I realize now more than ever that the one hole that couldn't be replaced was the one of their leader, the one who provided the focus and kept it all grounded..Mr. Duane Allman.

 

A mix of LA and Macon musicians.

Gregg Allman, Neil Larsen - keyboards
Ricky Hirsch, John Leslie Hug, Fred Tackett, Scott Boyer - guitar
Randall Bramblett, Harvey Thompson, Ronnie Eades - saxophone
Harrison Calloway, Jim Horn - horn
Ben Cauley - trumpet
Dennis Good - trombone
Mickey Raphael - harmonica
Bobbye Hall - percussion
Willie Weeks - bass
Bill Stewart - drums

 

I may have to track this one down - I never considered it back in the day, but am curious now

 

Gregg Allman-Laid Back

Released October 1973
Produced by Johnny Sandlin and Gregg

All songs by Gregg unless noted otherwise

"Midnight Rider" (Allman, Robert Kim Payne)
"Queen of Hearts"
"Please Call Home"
"Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" (Oliver Sain)
"These Days" (Jackson Browne)
"Multi-Colored Lady"
"All My Friends" (Scott Boyer)
"Will the Circle Be Unbroken" (Traditional; arranged by Allman & Johnny Sandlin)

Personnel
Gregg and too many others too mention

Midnight Rider

Gregg's gussied up version of his great song. The little 6 note repeating motif from the original is dropped for a more simple guitar drone like arrangement. Some nice electric piano from Leavell. The outro has some new melodies and they sound great.

Queen of Hearts

An awesome C Major blues with some great jazz chords along the way. Some nice rhythmic breaks to boot. Beautiful melody. The playing is first rate by all the musicians on this one. This sounds like it could have been a Boz Scaggs tune.

Please Call Home

Another remake. He sticks to the original chords and key but the arrangements are different. Not a bad remake and the vocals are great. Nice harmonies in the outro.

Don't Mess Up a Good Thing

Another C Major bluesy tune that is Motown inspired. Could have been a apt song for Marvin Gaye but Gregg does a great job. Gospel harmonies really make the tune sing. The playing from all the musicians again is first rate.

These Days

The Jackson Browne tune that is highly covered. I can't say that Gregg's version is my favorite but I like it regardless. Smooth as silk pedal steel from Scott Boyer. Leavell adds more electric piano magic. I don't know...it is pretty hard to make this song sound bad. One of Jackson Browne's masterpieces.

Multi-Colored Lady

A Major blues inflected tune with some folky flourishes. Nice vocal harmonies. Mellow tune. Some New Orleans type solos in the break. Great stuff.

All My Friends

Scott Boyer's country inspired tune. Some gospel like harmonies. Not a bad song but not a knockout to say the least. If anyone else but Gregg tackled it would not have sounded as good.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

The Trad tune done justice by Mr. Allman. Gospel all the way and Gregg's voice is fine for this type of music. A nice way to finish the album.

A fine solo debut. Not a bad song on it IMO. I wish there were more originals on it though. Gregg's vocals are more laid back (sorry) and softened compared to his work with the ABB. I have listened to it pretty regularly since its release.

 

I think you will like the Joshua Tree Inn. Lots of Gram photos and information.
That was a great price for the Fillmore SACD. I like that version the best. The guitars do sound mean on the Fillmore SACD especially. A little too upfront for some tastes though. Have fun listening!

 

I've been listening to songs from this album on YouTube this evening. Midnight Rider sounds even more mournful than the original. I'm not saying its better than the original but I like it a lot. I also like Queen Of Hearts and Multi Colored Lady very much.
Not a bad song in the bunch.
Guess I'll have to buy this one too

 

"Laid Back" is probably my favorite Gregg Allman solo album. I like the feel of the whole album, which is a bit different from the Allman Brothers' sound. I also think it is very well recorded.

I always thought that the old Polydor CD mastered by Dennis M. Drake sounded really good, but then I got a German vinyl copy cut by Guenther F. Pfanz (PF in deadwax), and that one sounds miles better than the CD.

Favorite song is probably "Queen of Hearts", love the strings and brass in it.

 

I've only become familiar with this album in the past year or so and immediately it became one of my favorites. I enjoy the feel of the whole album and I play it fairly often. My favorite song is "Multi-Colored Lady" followed by "Queen of Hearts" and, of course, "Midnight Rider" although I prefer the original. I also prefer Jackson Browne's original of "These Days" but there is no point nitpicking when a record is this good...

Gregg has certainly mellowed and sometimes I wonder what happened to the guy who felt like he was tied to the whipping post, hung up on dreams he'll never see? This isn't a complaint as much as it's just an observation..

Excellent record by Gregg, stepping out of the Allman Brothers box to make something soulful and unique.

 

I never cared for Laid Back too much due to the fact that it was too laid back.

 

Sessions for Laid Back began right around the same time as Brothers and Sisters...Fall 1972. Chuck Leavell's presence on the LB sessions would lead to him being invited to join The Allmans. Gregg actually demo'd several tracks acoustically at Criteria Studios in Miami during the spring of that year, with Berry Oakley present for moral support. Those demos can be heard on the "One More Try" anthology. The album's engineering and production (Johnny Sandlin) are top notch. If you've not heard this album, you must realize that this is a departure for Gregg. There are no screaming Les Pauls here...it's nothing like The Allman Brothers. It's refreshing.

Midnight Rider

A rearranged version of the classic song. It's been said that Gregg taught the band the song, and when the backing track was cut in his absence, it was realized later that they got the intro somewhat wrong. So, they left it as it was. I love the swampy bottleneck, courtesy of Tommy Talton (Capricorn band "Cowboy"). Jamioe adds some congas, and Chuck's fender rhodes piano is like icing on the cake. The string arrangement is really tasteful, and those vibrating string towards the end give the song an eerie feel, as if you're standing at the crossroads at midnight.

Queen of Hearts

Jazz meets r&b here...And it's Gregg's song to his 2nd wife, Janice. The sax solo is courtesy of David "Fathead" Newman, whom played with Ray Charles. Chuck takes the 2nd solo at the end oand those electric piano notes are jazzy and glide right along.

Please Call Home

Another remake, with Chuck starting it off on piano. And it's cool that it sounds nothing like The Allmans' take on "Idlewild South". The song soon build to Spector-like wall of sound with strings, horns and backup singers. Fantastic singing by Gregg...just a wonderful production.

Don't Mess Up a Good Thing

Gregg does an R&B cover here, Bobby McClure had a hit with this song in 1965. The song really swings here...another great sax solo from David "Fathead" Newman and Chuck pounding on the keys.

These Days

A cover of his former LA roommate's song. And the steel guitar is a nice touch, without sounding twangy. Gregg makes this song his own. One thing he does different is that he excludes the final verse:

I'll keep on moving
Things are bound to be improving these days
These days-
These days I sit on corner stones
And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend

Therefore leaving himself unresolved perhaps, ending with:

Please don't confront me with my failures, I'm aware of them.



Multi-Colored Lady

A gem of a song, one of Gregg's best and that sweet string arrangement really makes the song. I think this is my favorite track on the album.

All My Friends

Written by Scott Boyer (Capricorn band "Cowboy") and they also cut the song on the album "5'll Getcha Ten". A nicely done song, but perhaps the weakest song on an album with no really weak songs.

Here's Boyer and Talton playing it in 2010, which is really close to how they did way back when...Bill Stewart (Capricorn house band on drums) and Capricorn producer Paul Hornsby is on keys.



Will The Circle Be Unbroken

The song had real meaning in The Allmans' circle, especially with the deaths of Duane and Berry. Gregg's goes gospel here, and not something you would expect from him. But the entire track is well done without sounding overly done and preachy.

Not a real long album, sorta short and sweet. And that's ok...if it's too short, play it again This album is a candidate for a Universal "deluxe edition"...fill up disc 1 with the original album, plus any outtakes and demos (see One More Try anthology) and maybe some unreleased stuff.
Disc 2 could be live material from the Spring 1974 tour...three shows were recorded for use on "The Gregg Allman Tour", so there would be plenty of outtakes. Gregg played the entire album live, but only three Laid Back songs made it onto "The Gregg Allman Tour" (Don't Mess Up A Good Thing, Queen Of Hearts and Will The Circle Be Unbroken). The 2nd disc could have unreleased live versions of all 8 songs, plus other stuff in the set. That would be great


Some of the players, LP gatefold sleeve:


Gregg's 2nd wife, Janice Blair...sister of Ron Blair (Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers):

 

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Great reviews and comments from all on Laid Back.

 

The title is an apt one considering his softened vocals on the album and as others have said regarding the arrangements.

 

Up next.

 

Gregg looks like he is giving someone the evil eye with his fingers in that shot with his wife.
Great review.

 

Ok, due to popular demand I've decided to post an updated list of Allman Brothers purchases I have made since the onset of this thread as it continues me down the path to financial ruin..

1) The debut album because for all of these years I've never owned it as a stand alone release, just packaged with "Beginnings". Better mix!!!!!

2) Idlewild South - see above..

3) The Fillmore box - exchanging Blu-ray for CD set today.

4) Highway Call - Never heard it and since it's next to be reviewed, listening to it is on my "to do" list for today

5) I just ordered the "Brothers and Sisters" box about ten minutes ago...

Oh boy, and we're only up to 1974.

Rose River Bear, you'll be getting the bill.

 

.[/QUOTE]

That dobro sitting next to that suitcase, it belonged to Duane.

 

Where from?!?
It's been out of stock on Amazon UK since a week after it came out...

 

MYKE posted this link earlier, cheapest price by far..I dont think they ship outside the US though.

http://www.bullmoose.com/p/14828771/allman-brothesr-band-brothers-sisters-super-deluxe-ed-4-cd

 

" We only ship within the U.S. at this time. We especially apologize to our Canadian neighbors. You would be surprised by how much fraud there is. "

http://www.bullmoose.com/content/FAQ ...... @Bull Moose

 

Speaking of Bull Moose, my copy of Southbound : An Illustrated History Of Southern Rock just arrived from them.
A big, heavy, coffee table book, which like all Bull Moose shipments, arrived quickly, and undamaged.
The foreword from Tucker frontman Doug Gray, and the Introduction alone were interesting as hell !!!

http://www.bullmoose.com/p/15248325