Bentley's Bandstand: Gregg Allman, Low Country Blues

BY BILL BENTLEY

Gregg Allman, Low Country Blues, Rounder Records

Over 30 years ago, musician Jimmie Vaughan made one of the most astute comments regarding blues when he said, “You either love it or you don’t like it at all.” Speak to any true blues fan, and the sense of passion  to the style can be overwhelming. It’s a sound that gets them through hardship and past pain, and for that there is an undying sense of commitment and joy. But take a non-believer into the blues realm, and don’t be surprised if the room is lit up by yawns and a sense of extreme distraction. It’s like they’re listening to something from another planet.

Gregg Allman had his life changed when he saw B.B. King perform in 1959. Like a lot of pivotal moments, he and brother Duane knew they’d seen and heard their future, and quickly found a path to follow. Allman is still on that road, through a lot of twisty turns and some major obstacles. Living through those kind of challenges can make you all the more resolved to honor your roots, and Low Country Blues is about as high a compliment as a modern musician can pay to the blues. It is steeped in the soul of those who invented this music, people like Robert Johnson, Sleepy John Estes and Skip James, and also pays respect to other kingpins like Muddy Waters, Amos Milburn, Bobby Bland and B.B. King. Wisely, Allman also tips his Hammond organ to slightly more modern heros Otis Rush and Magic Sam, doing so in a way that is strictly his own. He knows that the blues is not something to be copied. Nothing kills it quicker. Rather, it is music to be lived and breathe your own life and love into.

Gregg Allman’s voice is a wonder unto itself. It has shades of softness to temper the years he’s spent fronting the Allman Brothers Band, and the way he adds an irresistible charm to lyrics about some of the the world’s greatest heartbreak makes instant believers out of us all. Even better, he never overpowers these songs, which he likely still could, but instead seduces them with pure feeling and experienced finesse. Producer T Bone Burnett has assembled a band beyond dreams, and thankfully each player has signed onto the less-is-more school of instrumental prowess. They absolutely murder the material, much like Muddy Waters’ unbeatable 1950s combo could do all those years ago.

Blues albums can be a minefield, since in so many ways the great ones have already been made. It takes a lot to ring those bells anew. But Gregg Allman has done it, as surely as he probably realizes the undeniable luck he’s encountered since having his world turned upside down by the blues over a half century ago when he had the great good fortune to first see Riley “Blues Boy” King in action. Some things are meant to be, we find out, and one for certain is that Gregory Allman was put on this planet to play the blues. Put that in the alley for keeps.

Bill Bentley is a writer, musician, publicist, record producer and A&R director. He once played drums with Lightnin’ Hopkins.