CHRONICLES GROUNDBREAKING GUITARIST’S CAREER,
FROM GARAGE BANDS AND R&B SESSION WORK
TO THE ALLMAN BROTHERS AND DEREK & THE DOMINOS
Seven CD set, due out March 5 on Rounder Records,
includes rare recordings by Allman’s early bands:
the Escorts, Allman Joys, the 31st of February, and the Bleus.
Extensive liner notes are accompanied by a tribute from Allman’s daughter.
CAMBRIDGE,
Mass. — Even if he’d never formed the Allman Brothers Band, Duane
Allman would be a major figure in American popular music. Long before
his name became known to mainstream audiences, he had already
established his credentials as a once-in-a-lifetime guitar visionary,
leaving his unmistakable stamp on a broad array of recordings. On March
5, 2013, Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, will
release the most ambitious retrospective of Allman’s short but
influential career titled Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective.
The deluxe seven-disc collection, carrying a list price of $139.98,
contains the guitarist’s best-known and most commercially successful
recordings with the Allman Brothers Band and Derek & the Dominos, as
well as session work with Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Boz Scaggs,
Clarence Carter, King Curtis, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Ronnie
Hawkins, Otis Rush, Laura Nyro, Lulu, the Sweet Inspirations, Laura
Lee, Spencer Wiggins, Arthur Conley, Willie Walker, the Lovelles, the
Soul Survivors, Johnny Jenkins, John Hammond, Doris Duke, Eric Quincy
Tate, Herbie Mann and more.
The set was produced by Galadrielle Allman (Duane’s daughter) and
two-time Grammy® winning producer Bill Levenson. Rounder Records’ Scott
Billington served as executive producer. Scott Schinder contributed
comprehensive historical liner notes, complemented by additional notes
by Galadrielle Allman.
In her recollection of her father, who died when she was a young child,
Galadrielle writes, “I am very lucky that my father is Duane Allman, an
artist who left behind a wealth of incredible music . . . Working on
this retrospective, I have gotten closer than I ever have been to
understanding my father’s development as a musician and a man.”
Duane Allman, known to his bandmates as Skydog, was born in Nashville in
1946. With Gregg, his only sibling, Duane had his first moment of
musical revelation upon witnessing a late ’50s R&B bill that
featured B.B. King and Jackie Wilson. By 1960, both Duane and Gregg
owned guitars and played in a series of neighborhood garage bands in
Tennessee and Florida. Continuing their interest in blues and R&B in
the shadow of blues radio station WLAC-AM’s continent-spanning signal,
as well as absorbing the influence of the British Invasion, the brothers
launched the Escorts in 1965 and the Allman Joys, who recorded a
handful of sides in Bradley’s Barn in Nashville in 1966. By 1967, Duane
and Gregg signed to Liberty as the Hour Glass and recorded two albums in
Nashville and Los Angeles. When the band sought to defy the label and
spread its musical wings, they were dropped. The brothers returned to
Florida, hooked up with drummer Butch Trucks, and recorded two sides as
the 31st of February, and later at Ardent Studio in Memphis as the
Bleus.
By this time Duane had developed a reputation as a leading session
guitarist. He was on Fame Studio’s A list, his guitar licks coloring
hits by Wilson Pickett. Atlantic Records producer and executive Jerry
Wexler took note and hired him to perform on Atlantic sessions by King
Curtis, Otis Rush, Arthur Conley, the Soul Survivors and Sweet
Inspirations. Wexler signed him to a solo Atlantic deal, resulting in a
session that contained the raucous original “Happily Married Man” and
more. The session, contained on the Skydog set, was abandoned
mid-stream. But by then Capricorn Records’ Phil Walden had noticed the
rumblings from Muscle Shoals. Duane gathered up brother Gregg, Dickey
Betts, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, Jai Johanny Johanson and others and
the Allman Brothers Band was born.
According to reissue annotator Schinder, “The [Allman Brothers Band’s]
music was complex and adventurous, yet unfailingly accessible. The
subtle and harmonic interplay between Duane and Dickey’s dual lead
guitars was matched by the three-man rhythm section’s surging, swinging
cross-rhythms, with Gregg’s massively expressive singing and organ
playing keeping the music firmly grounded in human emotion.” The band’s
profile grew with each release — the self-titled debut, Idlewild South and eventually the band’s breakthrough, At Fillmore East.
Testament to his energy and ambition, Duane still found time for side
projects. When bandmates would hole up at home after tours, Duane joined
fellow world-class guitarist Eric Clapton on Derek & the Dominos’ Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
While not an official member, he quickly emerged as a major contributor
to the classic album, his twin guitar interplay with Clapton shaping
the hits “Layla” and “Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad.” He also worked
with Delaney & Bonnie & Friends and Laura Nyro between Allman
Brothers Band projects.
By then acknowledged as one of rock’s premier guitarists, Duane and the Allman Brothers Band began recording their follow-up to At Fillmore East — Eat a Peach.
Tom Dowd, another legendary Atlantic house producer, oversaw sessions
at Criteria Studios. Then on October 29, 1971, four days after Fillmore
had been certified gold, Duane was riding his motorcycle and swerved to
avoid hitting a truck. He crashed and died of internal injuries. He was
24 years old.
The band forged ahead as a quintet on Eat a Peach, which
became one of their best selling albums. The Allman Brothers, led by
Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks, continue to perform to this day.
Schinder notes, “More than four decades after his death, Duane Allman
remains a towering figure whose stature has only increased in his
absence. His influence lives on, not only in the multiple generations of
guitarists who have been motivated by his input, but also in the
legions of listeners who have continued to find inspiration in his
vibrant vision of American music, which remains as fresh and truthful
today as when it was created.”
“When a musician of my father’s caliber dies, every note he ever
recorded becomes even more precious,” writes Galadrielle. “Each song is
pressed into the service of telling his story. The longer Duane is gone,
the clearer it becomes that there will never be another like him.”
Over seven discs, Skydog tells the Duane Allman story with rare and never-before-heard gems alongside smash hits.
“I hope the celebration of Duane’s life inspires you to live fearlessly
and enjoy life,” Galadrielle concludes. “I know that would have made him
proud.”
Disc One
1 THE ESCORTS Turn On Your Love Light 2:33
2 THE ESCORTS No Name Instrumental 3:13
3 THE ESCORTS What’d I Say 4:04
4 THE ALLMAN JOYS Spoonful 2:27
5 THE ALLMAN JOYS Gotta Get Away 2:38
6 THE ALLMAN JOYS Shapes Of Things 2:47
7 THE ALLMAN JOYS Crossroads 3:32
8 THE ALLMAN JOYS Mister, You’re A Better Man Than I 4:45
9 THE ALLMAN JOYS Lost Woman 5:23
10 HOUR GLASS Cast Off All My Fears 3:31
11 HOUR GLASS I’ve Been Trying 2:39
12 HOUR GLASS Nothing But Tears 2:29
13 HOUR GLASS Power Of Love 2:51
14 HOUR GLASS Down In Texas 3:08
15 HOUR GLASS Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) 3:01
16 HOUR GLASS B.B. King Medley 7:07
17 HOUR GLASS Been Gone Too Long 3:03
18 HOUR GLASS Ain’t No Good To Cry 3:08
19 31ST OF FEBRUARY Morning Dew 3:46
20 31ST OF FEBRUARY Melissa 3:12
21 THE BLEUS Milk And Honey 2:34
22 THE BLEUS Leavin’ Lisa 2:43
23 THE BLEUS Julianna’s Gone 2:59
Disc Two
1 CLARENCE CARTER The Road Of Love 2:54
2 CLARENCE CARTER Light My Fire 2:49
3 WILSON PICKETT Hey Jude 4:06
4 WILSON PICKETT Toe Hold 2:49
5 WILSON PICKETT My Own Style Of Loving 2:41
6 WILSON PICKETT Born to Be Wild 2:45
7 LAURA LEE It’s How You Make It Good 2:32
8 LAURA LEE It Ain’t What You Do (But How You Do It) 2:05
9 SPENCER WIGGINS I Never Loved A Woman (The Way I Love You) 3:01
10 ARTHUR CONLEY Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 3:00
11 ARTHUR CONLEY Stuff You Gotta Watch 2:15
12 ARTHUR CONLEY Speak Her Name 2:39
13 ARTHUR CONLEY That Can’t Be My Baby 2:22
14 WILLIE WALKER A Lucky Loser 2:20
15 THE LOVELLES I’m Coming Today 2:59
16 THE LOVELLES Pretending Dear 2:38
17 ARETHA FRANKLIN The Weight 2:53
18 ARETHA FRANKLIN It Ain’t Fair 3:22
19 SOUL SURVIVORS Darkness 2:56
20 SOUL SURVIVORS Tell Daddy 2:30
21 SOUL SURVIVORS Got Down On Saturday 3:10
22 KING CURTIS Hey Joe 2:56
23 KING CURTIS Foot Pattin’ 4:49
24 KING CURTIS Games People Play 2:46
25 KING CURTIS The Weight 2:47
26 THE SWEET INSPIRATIONS Get A Little Order 2:06
Disc Three
1 THE BARRY GOLDBERG BLUES BAND Twice A Man 4:26
2 DUANE ALLMAN Goin’ Down Slow 8:44
3 DUANE ALLMAN No Money Down 3:25
4 DUANE ALLMAN Happily Married Man 2:40
5 OTIS RUSH Me 2:55
6 OTIS RUSH Reap What You Sow 4:53
7 OTIS RUSH It Takes Time 3:25
8 THE DUCK & THE BEAR Going Up The Country 2:34
9 THE DUCK & THE BEAR Hand Jive 2:41
10 BOZ SCAGGS Finding Her 4:10
11 BOZ SCAGGS Look What I Got 4:13
12 BOZ SCAGGS Waiting For A Train 2:41
13 BOZ SCAGGS Loan Me A Dime 13:01
14 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Don’t Want You No More 2:26
15 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND It’s Not My Cross To Bear 5:01
16 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Black Hearted Woman 5:07
17 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Trouble No More 3:45
Disc Four
1 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Every Hungry Woman 4:13
2 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Dreams 7:16
3 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Whipping Post 5:16
4 RONNIE HAWKINS One More Night 2:22
5 RONNIE HAWKINS Will The Circle Be Unbroken 2:50
6 RONNIE HAWKINS Matchbox 3:05
7 RONNIE HAWKINS Down In The Alley 5:08
8 RONNIE HAWKINS Who Do You Love 2:13
9 LULU Marley Purt Drive 3:21
10 LULU Dirty Old Man 2:20
11 LULU Mr. Bojangles 3:08
12 LULU Sweep Around Your Own Back Door 2:40
13 JOHNNY JENKINS I Walk On Gilded Splinters 5:16
14 JOHNNY JENKINS Rollin’ Stone 4:56
15 JOHNNY JENKINS Down Along The Cove 3:02
16 JOHNNY JENKINS Voodoo In You 4:50
17 JOHN HAMMOND Shake For Me 2:42
18 JOHN HAMMOND Cryin’ For My Baby 2:39
19 JOHN HAMMOND I’m Leavin’ You 3:20
20 JOHN HAMMOND You’ll Be Mine 2:42
21 DORIS DUKE Ghost Of Myself 3:06
Disc Five
1 ERIC QUINCY TATE Comin’ Down (demo version) 2:52
2 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Hoochie Coochie Man (live) 5:00
3 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Midnight Rider 2:58
4 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Dimples (live) 4:59
5 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND I’m Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town (live) 9:21
6 DELANEY & BONNIE & FRIENDS Soul Shake 3:06
7 LAURA NYRO Beads Of Sweat 4:47
8 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ 3:28
9 DELANEY & BONNIE & FRIENDS Living On The Open Road 3:03
10 ELLA BROWN A Woman Left Lonely 3:23
11 ELLA BROWN Touch Me 2:59
12 BOBBY LANCE More Than Enough Rain 5:51
13 DEREK & THE DOMINOS I Am Yours 3:34
14 DEREK & THE DOMINOS Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad? 4:41
15 DEREK & THE DOMINOS Have You Ever Loved A Woman 6:52
16 DEREK & THE DOMINOS Layla 7:03
17 ERIC CLAPTON & DUANE ALLMAN Mean Old World 3:48
Disc Six
1 SAM SAMUDIO Me And Bobby McGee 3:31
2 SAM SAMUDIO Relativity 3:14
3 SAM SAMUDIO Goin’ Upstairs 5:06
4 RONNIE HAWKINS Don’t Tell Me Your Troubles 2:13
5 RONNIE HAWKINS Sick And Tired 2:45
6 RONNIE HAWKINS Odessa 3:19
7 DELANEY & BONNIE & FRIENDS Gift Of Love 2:09
8 DELANEY & BONNIE & FRIENDS Sing My Way Home 4:02
9 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Statesboro Blues (live) 4:17
10 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (live) 13:04
11 GRATEFUL DEAD Sugar Magnolia (live) 7:20
12 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND One Way Out (live) 4:57
13 HERBIE MANN Push Push 10:03
14 HERBIE MANN Spirit In The Dark 7:59
15 HERBIE MANN What’d I Say 4:57
Disc Seven
1 DELANEY & BONNIE & FRIENDS Come On In My Kitchen (live) 3:42
2 DELANEY & BONNIE & FRIENDS Going Down The Road Feeling Bad (live) 4:03
3 DELANEY & BONNIE & FRIENDS Poor Elijah / Tribute To Johnson (Medley) (live) 4:54
4 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND You Don’t Love Me / Soul Serenade (live) 19:25
5 COWBOY Please Be With Me 3:41
6 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Stand Back 3:24
7 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Blue Sky 5:09
8 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Blue Sky (live) 11:24
9 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Dreams (live) 17:56
10 THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND Little Martha 2:07
If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, – ”LIKE” —Bman’s Blues Report— Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!