GREGG ALLMAN – LOW COUNTRY BLUES

After three mid-70’s albums, Allman Brother vocalist Gregg Allman has been rather subdued on the solo front. The next three decades saw only three more releases of solid, but less than inspiring work given that Allman possesses one of the great white soul and blues voices. So the release of Low Country Blues has the advantage of low expectations. To see Allman teaming with producer T-Bone Burnett is encouraging, and Burnett’s influence is immediately noticeable on the raw and rollin’ cover of Sleepy John Estes Floating Bridge. Eleven well picked, lesser-know blues covers (and one co-write) are given the simple treatment by Burnett; horns used where they should be, but otherwise the basic bar room blues band arrangements allow for Allman’s voice to be given its best platform in decades. Hearing him on Skip James’ Little By Little – “Well I’d rather be that devil / Than be that woman’s man” – is truly haunting; and his upbeat take on Muddy Waters’ I Can’t Be Satisfied has considerable depth. Allman closes out a decided return to form with the traditional Rolling Stone, and one is left asking why this took so long.

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