 The Allman Brothers Band have a 30 year tradition of blending
the new and the old... playing the songs that stir our souls because they bring
back so many great memories, casting classic blues tunes in a new light, and
then hitting us with something completely fresh and new that is destined to
become a classic.
A small sampling of their hits include: "Whipping Post," "In Memory of Elizabeth
Reed," "Midnight Rider," "Ramblin' Man," "Jessica," "It's Not My Cross to Bear,"
"Stand Back," "Seven Turns," "Southbound," "Melissa," "Statesboro Blues," "Blue
Sky," and "Stormy Monday."
They're already legends, with a secure place in history and a plaque at the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame. The Allman Brothers Band is also a vital contemporary
phenomenon, as much a part of the present and future of music as any band can
be.
Not many groups have been around as long as The Allman Brothers Band. Of those
that have, most have either lapsed into a nostalgia-act coma or withered on a
weary vine. If you're talking about a band that has both legs and heart, whose
experience feeds an intensity that's rare even among the greenest music newbies,
that narrows the field pretty much down to these psychedelic sons of the South.
But passion doesn't come easily, which helps explain why it's taken them so long
to record once again. In April 1997, frustrated by tensions within the group
that were threatening to slow its creative momentum, Warren Haynes and bassist
Allen Woody left to pursue Gov't Mule, and the focus of the group shifted
exclusively to live performance. Though they still delivered killer shows,
something was missing, and eventually it became clear that the only way to get
it back was to make a change in the personnel.
The Brothers had been in this place before; it had expanded its improvisational
range by bringing a fresh face, 21-year-old Derek Trucks, into the lineup, with
a solo style that mingled elements of Southern rock, bluesy slide guitar, and
free-form jazz. In September 2000, after the departure of longtime guitarist
Dickey Betts, they reached this time into their past by inviting Haynes to come
back. It was a poignant moment for all concerned, as Allen Woody's passing had
suddenly put Gov't Mule on hold.
Sitting in with the Allman Brothers Band in 2001, during their annual concert
series at New York's Beacon Theatre, Haynes slid easily into his old role,
trading licks and cruising through the group's trademark twin-guitar passages,
paired for the first time with Trucks. That's all it took to convince the band
to start laying down tracks again.
"Everybody was itching to get back into the studio," Haynes says. "We all wanted
to break some new ground, and at the same time we wanted to maintain the Allman
Brothers Band. Of course, that's not difficult with this band, but with all the
new blood and excitement about making a new record, we found ourselves exploring
a lot of new territory. The chemistry between me and Derek very quickly reached
a telepathic level, and I think Gregg started singing better than he has since
the '70s."
More critically, a rush of new songs accelerated the band's momentum. "Gregg and
I started writing, and everything fell into place, even more so than in the
past," Haynes says. "The first song we wrote this time out was 'Desdemona,' and
it was such a high water mark that we were like, 'Okay, now we've got to compete
with that in every song we write.'"
"Things have changed in a good way," Gregg Allman muses. "They say everything
happens for the best, and you wonder why at the time, but then in the long run
you see why. Someone will go, and that's a real drag, but then somebody else
comes in who adds so much more than you even expected. With the people we've got
now, as long as we just keep playing without any gimmicks or cutting any
corners, I guess we'll be around for a long time more."
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