Allman Brothers Band - Hittin' the Note

After Warren Haynes and Allen Woody left the Allman Brothers to concentrate full-time on Gov’t Mule, things got confused for the Allman Brothers.  They got Jack Pearson to replace Warren and Otiel Burbridge to replace Allen Woody.  This line-up lasted for a couple of years, and then Jack Pearson had to bow out.  He was replaced by Derek Trucks, Butch’s nephew who is a slide guitar savant who channels Duane Allman.  Then things got vey confused.  After a tour in the spring of 2000, Gregg, Butch and Jaimoe informed Dickey that his services would not be required for touring that summer.  Dickey drank a lot, his playing got sloppy, and he was not easy to get along with.  They told Dickey to take some time off to get help for his addictions and he could rejoin them when he got better.  Dickey didn’t see it that way, and the temporary separation became a divorce when Dickey sued the other three.  With Dickey gone, the Brothers got Jimmy Herring to take his place.  Jimmy toured with the Brothers that summer, but when the Brothers offered him a permanent slot in the band, Jimmy declined.

During all this time, Gov’t Mule was doing fairly well.  They made three studio records [Gov’t Mule, Dose, Life Before Insanity], two live albums [Live at the Roseland Ballroom, Live…With a Little Help From Out Friends], and toured a lot.  Warren Haynes teamed up with Jimmy Herring and toured a lot with Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh in the group Phil Lesh & Friends.  Then tragedy struck – Allen Woody died in a New York hotel in August 2000.  The cause of death was never released.  Gov’t Mule were without a bass player.  The Allman Brothers were down a guitar player.  Guess who Butch called?  Yup – Warren Haynes.  Warren rejoined the band to play the Beacon run as a guest to see how things were since he left in 1997.  He liked what he saw and rejoined permanently.  Warren and Gregg wrote a bunch of new songs and hit the road.  These new songs, with a few older songs, became the album we now know as Hittin’ the Note.  The title comes from Berry Oakley.  It was his description of how the band played in the old days when they were all “on.”  This is the first album to feature both Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, and also the first without Dickey Betts.

Worried Down With the Blues – A dry-run for Hittin’ the Note written by Allen Woody and Warren Haynes, this song was in Allman Brothers setlists as far back as 1996.  On The Deep End Volume 1 [2001], Warren gives us a preview of what the Allman Brothers sounds like with Derek Trucks.  Derek, Otiel Burbridge (bass) and Gregg Allman (Hammond B-3, vocals) all guest on this cut, with Gregg taking the vocals on the second verse.  Gregg steals the show.  The Allman Brothers later added this song to their canon by recording it for the live One Way Out album.   

And now for Hittin’ the Note…

Firing Line –The opening salvo on Hittin’ the Note, the band bursts out of the gate with all guns blazing.  Warren and Derek both play slide.   Gregg is in fine vocal form.  Gregg Allman, of all people, advises a younger person to clean up his act.  Gregg’s been clean and sober since 1996.  Change your life’s direction, get off the firing line… 

High Cost of Low Living – this one continues the theme from Firing Line.  You been chasing each dream with whiskey, from here to Tokyo, using up all your real friends with places left to go…  Given the band’s nasty divorce from Dickey Betts, is Gregg singing to his former partner in crime here?  The high cost of low living is bound to put you six feet in the ground… Great interplay between Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes.

Desdemona – a nine-minute minor chord blues that has shades of Gregg’s Queen of Hearts with the ¾ time signature.  This is blues with a jazz twist.  Warren and Derek make a great guitar tandem.  Tempo changes in mid-song just like in the old days.  Gregg shows why he’s one of the finest blues singers of this or any other time.  I make my livin’ pouring out my pain, tryin’ to make it through another day…My soul’s is empty as the sky…

Woman Across the River – a cover of a Freddie King song sung by Warren.  I can take it or leave it, but it’s ok.

Old Before My Time – this is the most emotionally intense song, both lyrically and musically, on Hittin’ the Note.  This is the Gregg Allman story told in five minutes, and told very well.  Warren’s slide solo almost sounds like his guitar is crying. Given that Gregg didn’t like Dickey Betts’ country leanings, its ironic this song sounds almost country-ish.  This is the best song on the album, and with all the high quality songs on Hittin’ the Note, that’s an accomplishment!  On par with Melissa from Eat a Peach – that’s how good Old Before My Time is.

Who to Believe – this is sort of an update to Whipping Post, only Gregg doesn’t feel like dying.  The usual themes of “are you cheating or not?”

Maydell – the shortest song on Hittin’ the Note at 4:35, this one is a Warren Haynes/Johnny Neel leftover from Seven Turns. Not bad, but not essential either.

Heart of Stone – the Allman Brothers cover the Rolling Stones.  This was in their setlists during the spring tour in 1995.  Very bluesy.  Mick and Keith would be proud.

Rockin’ Horse – this is the same song that didn’t make it onto Where It All Begins and done by Gov’t Mule on their eponymous debut.  Here it’s given the Allman Brothers treatment with one organ, two guitarists, and three drummers.   It’s about twice as long as the Gov’t Mule original.

Instrumental Illness – this is the first instrumental to appear on an Allman Brothers album not written by Dickey Betts.  Co-written by Warren and bassist Otiel Burbridge, this twelve-minute excursion is very jazzy in the same vein as Kind of Bird from Shades of Two Worlds.

Old Friend – I first heard this song when Chris Anderson opened for the Allman Brothers at the Classic Amphitheatre in Richmond, VA.  Matt Abts [Gov’t Mule] was his drummer, and Warren joined him on-stage to play this song.  Co-written with Warren, this appeared on Anderson’s Old Friend album, on which Warren also played.  On Hittin’ the Note, Warren and Derek play it as an old-time acoustic blues.  This is the only Allman Brothers song to not feature an original member.

To date, Hittin’ the Note has been the last studio album from the Allman Brothers.  Will they make another one?  They are not signed to any record label.  Warren has Gov’t Mule and is touring this year behind a soul album recorded under his own name [Man in Motion].  Derek Trucks has a new band with his wife, Susan Tedeschi.  They have a new album out titled Revelator.  Gregg Allman is touring behind his first solo album in 14 years [Low Country Blues].  Right now the Allman Brothers Band is the side project for these guys.  As of now they are content to play shows every summer, all of which they record and release to the public.  I hope they record something new, but I don’t see it happening.

What do I think of Hittin’ the Note?  It’s their best album since Brothers and Sisters [1973].  Given that the three albums they recorded for Epic [Seven Turns, Shades of Two Worlds, Where It All Begins] were all of high quality, that’s a bold statement, but the music backs up that statement.  If this is to be their last album, it’s the best way to call it a career.

Allman Brothers Band - The Revival Part II

July 1991 saw the release of more new Allman Brothers music. The album was called Shades of Two Worlds. After the band finished touring for Seven Turns, they let Johnny Neel go and they returned to being a six-piece for awhile. But then they added a percussionist, Marc Quiñones. Butch Trucks “stole” him from Spyro Gyra. Again with Tom Dowd producing, Shades of Two Worlds again run the gamut through rock, electric and acoustic blues, and jazz. End of the Line is a song Gregg Allman finished that Warren Haynes and Allen Woody started. It’s the familiar tale of what Gregg Allman has put himself through [mountains I have climbed could have killed a thousand men..]. It’s a very tough hard-rocking song they still play today. To me it’s the song that put the “Allman” back in the Allman Brothers band. Gregg contributes a slow electric blues number, Get On With Your Life. The one song that Dickey Betts sings is Desert Blues. He wrote that song for all the people who served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm. I thought “wow! A song that could be about me!” Dickey’s instrumental contribution [co-written with Warren] is Kind of Bird. As you might suspect, it’s inspired by Charlie Parker. They still play that one from time to time, even if it is a “Dickey” tune. The Allman Brothers showed a sign of things to come when they played MTV’s Unplugged show. I recorded that show and I replayed it so many times I wore out the tape. It being a half-hour show [22 minutes when you cut the commercials], they played four songs – Midnight Rider / Melissa / Seven Turns / Come On In My Kitchen. That last song is from the late, great Robert Johnson. The band liked how the Unplugged session went they recorded the song, acoustic arrangement and all, for Shades of Two Worlds. It was a good change of pace for a band that has been known for long electric jams. Speaking of which there is one of those jams on Shades. It’s called Nobody Knows, another song written by Dickey Betts but sung by Gregg. It’s about eleven minutes long, and only High Falls [from Win, Lose or Draw] is a longer studio cut. As good as this version was, when they put out a live version on An Evening With the Allman Brothers Band – First Set [1992], it absolutely smoked. It was sixteen and a half minutes of jamming bliss. It would not be out of place on At Fillmore East.

End of the Line

Come On In My Kitchen

Nobody Knows [Live]

At this time, Carol and I picked up from Northern California and moved to the Washington DC area. Shades had come out just before we left California, so we knew the Allman Brothers would be touring soon. Sure enough, we found where they were going to be playing and when, bough two tickets and went to see them for the third time. Here’s the setlist from that show:

August 27, 1991 – Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

Hot ‘Lanta / Statesboro Blues / Blue Sky / End of the Line / Nobody Knows / Kind of Bird / Low Down Dirty Mean / Melissa* / Come On In My Kitchen* / Midnight Rider* / Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad* / Hoochie Coochie Man / Get On With Your Life / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed / Revival / Jessica / Whipping Post

*Acoustic

Such was the popularity of the Unplugged format, they played a four song acoustic set. It was something different for them – they hadn’t played any acoustic sets when Duane and Berry were alive, and by the time they were big successes, they were playing stadium shows where nobody could hear an acoustic set. It was hot, it was muggy and sweaty, but we suffered happily as we got to hear some more Allman Brothers music live. Soon, the rest of the world would get to hear more live Allman Brothers performances because they recorded several shows from the Shades tour.

An Evening With the Allman Brothers Band – First Set:

End of the Line / Blue Sky / Get On With Your Life / Southbound / Midnight Blues / Nobody Knows / Dreams / Revival

The song selection was kind of curious – there’s new stuff from the previous studio album, there’s a new acoustic blues number [Midnight Blues], there’s old stuff [Blue Sky, Southbound], and there’s stuff from their Jurassic period [Dreams, Revival]. Get On With Your Life was ok, but I thought if they would add a new slow blues number it would be Gambler’s Roll. Warren’s slide solos on Dreams and Blue Sky are a bit repetitive and after one or two listens you don’t want to here them anymore. But Southbound is another matter. Gregg sang the original on Brothers and Sisters, but for this version the band played the arrangement Dickey had been playing with his band before the Allman Brothers’ “revival.” It’s the same arrangement Carol and I heard him play in 1986 at Denver’s Rainbow Music Hall with Lonnie Mack. The playing on Southbound and Nobody Knows make this CD worth buying in and of themselves. When I saw the title of the album had the words “first set” in it, I assumed there would be a second set sometime. Then several months later the Allman Brothers put out an all-acoustic charity CD to help support the International Rhett Syndrome Association [IRSA]. There were only 15,000 copies made [I have one of them]. Was this the “second set”? As it turned out later, the answer to that question was “no.” But it would suffice for awhile until a proper “second set” would be released.

Southbound [Live]

Midnight Blues [Live]

The IRSA Acoustic Set:

Come On In My Kitchen / Seven Turns / Midnight Rider / Southbound / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed / Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad / Melissa / Midnight Blues

Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad [Live]

After 1992, there was silence. Being the prolific writer he is, Warren Haynes recorded an album with Chuck Leavell producing called Tales of Ordinary Madness. I found a copy while I was stationed in Korea. It’s a fairly good album, full of songs that would not fit on an Allman Brothers album. The Allman Brothers did tour in 1993, but they ran into a problem: Dickey Betts. When the band reformed in 1989, Dickey had a bit of a drinking problem. He said for the first couple of years it was ok, but the third year was a nightmare. It all came to a head before a gig in Saratoga Springs, NY in 1993. He and his wife had a domestic disturbance and somebody called the cops. When they arrived, he pushed one of them. He was arrested for assault and for resisting arrest. While he cooled his heels in jail, the band went to the next tour stop without him. Dickey was the musical director of the group, and with him gone off the rails the band was in disarray. For one night, Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist Zakk Wylde [?!?} filled in for Dickey. He didn’t quite fill in, so the band later got David Grissom from John Mellencamp’s band, and when he had to go back to his day job, guitarist Jack Pearson got the temporary gig. Dickey went to rehab to dry out and sort out the demons that were bothering him. After Dickey got his act back together, it was time to do another album. The title: Where It All Begins.

The Allman Brothers don’t like recording studios. Playing in live is their thing. After a long search for a good place to record their next album, they found a place. It was at Burt Reynold’s place. It had a soundstage and they thought it the perfect place to record this album. As it turned out, Where It All Begins was a very good album. It has another very long Dickey Betts song called Back Where It All Begins that is much in the same vein as Nobody Knows from Shades, but not so intense. Curiously, Dickey had a medium-tempo blues called Change My Way of Living that was written before the Saratoga Springs incident. But clearly Dickey could see what was coming. But for me, the best sign of all that all was better in the world of the Allman Brothers was seeing that Gregg Allman had a hand in writing four songs – All Night Train, Sailin’ ‘Cross the Devil’s Sea, What’s Done Is Done, and Temptation is a Gun. The first is another tale of Gregg’s struggle with drug addiction with an explanation of why he had the problem in the first place – took a little trip to keep from going insane, spent the rest of my life on the all night train. The other three songs are cautionary tales about the dangers of women and rowdy behavior [as HE sees them]. Dickey threw in Mean Woman Blues [sung by Warren] and No One To Run With, a Bo Diddley-style lamentation that friends from long ago are disappearing. All in all it’s a very good album. What is interesting are two songs that didn’t make the album – Rocking Horse and The Same Thing. Rocking Horse is a Warren Haynes original [written with Gregg, Allen and Jack Pearson] that the band had trouble getting down, and The Same Thing is an old Willie Dixon/Muddy Waters tune the band had similar problems with. By the time they went out on tour to support the album, they had worked out the kinks in The Same Thing and played it for us to hear.

All Night Train

Sailin’ ‘Cross the Devil’s Sea

No One To Run With

So there we were - another album, another tour. We saw them again at Merriweather Post Pavilion in 1994. Here's the setlist:

August 26, 1994 - Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

Sailin’ ‘Cross the Devil’s Sea / Statesboro Blues / Blue Sky / The Same Thing* / Change My Way of Living / Soulshine / Seven Turns / Midnight Rider / Jessica / No One To Run With / Back Where It All begins / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed / One Way Out / Whipping Post

*Duane Betts, guitar

So with another tour came another album – the Second Set I had been awaiting for years. The madness to their method became clear to me – they’d have two sets of new, old and really old songs that flowed together as a single work. If you put the first two sets together, the concept works [save for an acoustic Elizabeth Reed]. The standout track [IMHO] is Warren Haynes’ Soulshine, which is sung by Gregg. It is better than its studio counterpart from Where It All Begins.

An Evening With the Allman Brothers Band – Second Set:

Sailin’ ‘Cross the Devil’s Sea / You Don’t Love Me / Soulshine / Back Where It All Begins / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed* / The Same Thing / No One Left To Run With / Jessica

*Acoustic – same version as was on the limited edition IRSA set

The Same Thing

Soulshine

Once again Carol and I got to see the Allman Brothers on tour that summer, but this time it was with a twist. Back then I heard through this “new” thing called the Internet that the Allman Brothers were beginning to mix up their sets. They wouldn’t be playing the same songs in the same order night after night, so we decided to get tickets for shows on back-to-back nights. That’s the only time we’ve ever done that. As you can see for yourself below, we weren’t disappointed.

July 30, 1995 – Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA

Don’t Want You No More -> It’s Not My Cross to bear / Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More / Ramblin’ Man / Good Clean Fun / Sailin’ ‘Cross the Devil’s Sea / The Same Thing* / Southbound* / Soulshine / End of the Line / Stormy Monday / Back Where It All Begins / Jessica / Hoochie Coochie Man / One Way Out / Whipping Post

*Chris Anderson on third guitar

August 1, 1995 – Classic Amphitheatre, Richmond, VA

Statesboro Blues / Midnight Rider / You Don’t Love Me / Blue Sky / What’s Done Is Done / Soulshine / The Same Thing / Dreams / Change My Way of Living / End of the Line / Back Where It All Begins / No One To Run With / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed / One Way Out / Whipping Post

At the Nissan Pavilion, we heard the best version of Southbound we would ever hear [and we’d heard some damn good ones up to this point]. Chris Anderson [now of The Outlaws] joined the Brothers for The Same Thing and Southbound. When it was time for the three guitarists to trade solos on Southbound, we were all transported to another plane of consciousness. I’m not a big fan of God, but during that performance there was definitely something otherworldly happening. After seventeen minutes, both the band and the crowd were exhilarated. The only word I can find to describe what I heard is “amazing.”

Following this burst of activity from the Allman Brothers [three studio albums, three live albums, seven tours], there was only silence from the band. Then I found out that Warren and bassist Allen Woody, along with Dickey Betts drummer Matt Abts, formed there own power trio called Gov’t Mule. While touring with the Allman Brothers, Warren and Allen talked about how there weren’t any power trio bands like there were in the late 60s/early 70s [Cream, Mountain, the Jimi Hendrix Experience], so they and Matt Abts formed their own group to keep them busy when the Allman Brothers were inactive. As the Allman Brothers’ inactivity went on, Gov’t Mule decided to record their debut CD, imaginatively titled Gov’t Mule. As promised, Gov’t Mule was full of power-trio greatness. Allen Woody’s bass was much more prominent in the mix than it had been on the Allman Brothers albums. Gov’t Mule included Rocking Horse, the song that didn’t make it on to Where It All Begins. It began with the a capella Grinnin’ in Your Face [Son House] that segued into Mother Earth. It has the bass-driven Mule which is still a Mule concert favorite [it’s played with Van Morrison’s I’ve Been Working shoehorned in the middle], and a pretty good cover of Free’s Mr. Big, complete with bass solo. Left Coast Groovies is a tribute to Frank Zappa. Gov’t Mule is a good listen with only a hint of things to come.

Rocking Horse

Mule

Stormy seas were on the horizon for the Allman Brothers. They toured, but after Where It All Begins they stopped recording. I don’t know why this happened. It could be they had trouble with Epic as they had with Arista. It could be that Gregg and Dickey couldn’t see eye to eye on things. Whatever, the reason, it happened. And when that happened, Warren and Allen got restless, fed up and left the Allman Brothers after the Beacon run in March 1997. Their mission was to concentrate on Gov’t Mule full-time. They left the band and didn’t look back.

Allman Brothers Band - The Revival Part I

After two sub-par albums with Arista, the Allman Brothers broke up for the second time, this time it felt like it was for good. Punk and disco had come and gone, New Wave became the big thing. Acts like the Allman Brothers couldn’t get arrested. Nobody wanted to hear their kind of blues-based rock music. Then something extraordinary happened. A guitar whiz from Dallas by way of Austin named Stevie Ray Vaughan caught fire. Suddenly blues-based music was hip again. Stevie Ray’s big brother Jimmie’s band, the Fabulous Thunderbirds got a record deal with Epic. They had a massive hit with Tuff Enuff. Before we knew it, both Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts had record deals with Epic. In 1987 Gregg put out I’m No Angel. It reeked of 1980s production techniques [as did the follow-up Before the Bullets Fly], but the spirit was there, and at that time that was good enough for me. He did a new recording of Don't Want You No More/It's Not My Cross to Bear, and I never tire of his horn-laden Anything Goes. Another stand-out track is Faces Without Names. Carol and I ended up seeing him open for SRV in Pueblo, Colorado the day after we got married in 1987.

Dickey Betts put out an album in 1988 called Pattern Disruptive. It served as a blueprint for Allman Brothers albums to come. The pretty, countrified sound from his albums with Great Southern was long gone. He got himself some Marshall amps and turned up the volume. I can attribute this to the addition of guitarist Warren Haynes. Finally Dickey had an on-stage foil who could push him every night. Warren is absolutely fearless when going toe-to-toe with other guitar players. Dickey hadn’t had that since the days of Duane. In addition to Warren Haynes, keyboardist Johnny Neel was also in Dickey’s band. There are many good songs on Pattern Disruptive, but there is one great one – the instrumental Duane’s Tune.



Duane's Tune - Dickey Betts

In 1988, Polydor decided to put out what was unusual at the time – the box set. Up until then there was only one – Bob Dylan’s Biograph. The object of their first box was Eric Clapton. His set was called Crossroads, and was a very thorough compilation of music EC had done between the Yardbirds, through the Cream, Blind Faith and Derek & the Dominoes years, and his solo work up until 1988. Crossroads sold by the truckload and began the box set trend that continues today. Polydor decided the success of Crossroads would give them another opportunity to put out another box set from someone equal to Eric Clapton’s stature. Polydor’s choice for the next box set was the Allman Brothers Band. Producer Bill Levenson, who compiled Crossroads, brought together lots of Allman Brothers music for their box set, simply titled Dreams. This four-disc set had music from the Allman Joys, the Hour Glass, the Second Coming [featuring Dickey Betts and Berry Oakley], the Allman Brothers Band, Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, and Dickey Betts [with and without Great Southern]. Included on Dreams were the aforementioned I’m No Angel and Duane’s Tune. To my surprise, the band agreed to re-group and tour to support the release of Dreams. We finally got to see one of my favorite bands in Sacramento. The band included the four original surviving members [Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Butch Trucks, and Jaimoe], Warren Haynes and Johnny Neel from Dickey Betts’ band, and newcomer Allen Woody on bass. We finally got to see my favorite band [outside the Beatles, of course]. Here’s what the setlist looked like:


August 11, 1989 – Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA
Don’t Want You No More -> It’s Not My Cross To Bear / Statesboro Blues / Blue Sky / I’m No Angel / Duane’s Tune / Trouble No More / Blues Ain’t Nothin’ / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed / One Way Out / Melissa / Just Before the Bullets Fly / Dreams / Southbound* / Jessica / Les Brers in A Minor / Whipping Post
*Berry Duane Oakley, bass


I figured the Dreams tour was just a one-off thing, but in July 1990, Seven Turns appeared. Produced by Tom Dowd and recorded at the same studio as Eat a Peach and Layla [Criteria Studios in Miami], Seven Turns was by far their best work since Brothers and Sisters [1973]. Seven Turns has that same hard sound as Dickey's Pattern Disruptive, but there are elements in Seven Turns that make it quintessential Allman Brothers. There are elements of country, blues, jazz, and rock mixed all together on this record that set this band apart from its contemporaries. Bassist Allen Woody [RIP] was like Berry Oakley [RIP] in that he played bass like a third lead guitarist. Warren had the unenviable task of playing Duane Allman’s parts live. But the band had such faith in him they didn’t tell him what or what not to play. Warren knew the fans expected to hear some of Duane’s stuff note-for-note [such as the intro to Statesboro Blues], but he had the leeway to play his own interpretations of Duane’s work if the mood struck him. On Seven Turns he was free to play his own music, and there was plenty to play. Jaimoe and Butch Trucks played together so well you wouldn’t know they had been apart for nine years. Of the nine tunes on the album, Warren Haynes had a hand in writing four of them [he even got to sing one of them – Loaded Dice]. Gregg Allman had only one songwriting credit [Good Clean Fun], but he was in fine voice as he sang and played the Hammond organ. Johnny Neel, also from Dickey Betts’ band, provides piano and harmonica.


The guiding light and musical director for this album was Dickey Betts. Of the nine songs, seven of them are his. Highlights include the country-ish title track. Warren Haynes provides a fantastic slide solo that introduced him to Allman Brothers fans in the same way Chuck Leavell did with his piano solo on Jessica. The icing on the cake is the call-and-response vocals of Dickey and Gregg. They had never done a vocal arrangement that way, and here they did it perfectly. No Allman Brothers album would be complete without an instrumental from Dickey Betts. In this case it’s True Gravity. Dickey wrote most of it on one of Berry Oakley’s basses, which is why you’ve got the eight-string Alembic lead bass from Allen Woody [he played the four-string live]. Warren threw in the middle section where he does a solo. And to show how good these guys are, they changed up the time signature in that middle section, with Butch playing half-time while Jaimoe plays double time. The band got to play a truncated version of True Gravity [along with Good Clean Fun] on The Tonight Show when Johnny Carson was still the host. As a bonus, Doc Severinson and the orchestra joined the band on True Gravity, and the results were fantastic. Carson loved it! He didn’t usually let guests play more than one song, but with the Allman Brothers he made an exception. A true fan he was – I still miss Carson.




True Gravity [The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson]


Warren and Johnny Neel contribute a good slow blues tune called Gambler's Roll. The Allman Brothers still play it in their sets on occasion to this day. Johnny Neel also contributed It Ain't Over Yet. Dickey said the band had trouble nailing this one down because half the band thought it should go like Hotel California, the other half though it should go like The Thrill Is Gone.

On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. I knew that sometime shortly after that I would have to deploy to Saudi Arabia to support Operation Desert Shield. Luckily, I got to see the Allman Brothers at Cal Expo again before I deployed. When I did deploy I took a copy of Seven Turns with me. It was my little piece of Americana while I was deployed to that faraway place. Here’s the setlist from the 1990 show at Cal Expo:


August 5, 1990– Cal Expo, Sacramento, CA
Don’t Want You No More -> It’s Not My Cross To Bear / Statesboro Blues / Blue Sky / Low Down Dirty Mean / Seven Turns / Good Clean Fun / Gambler’s Roll / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed / One Way Out / True Gravity / Ramblin’ Man / Southbound / Jessica / Whipping Post


Here ends my first chapter on the revival of the Allman Brothers Band. Coming next: Shades of Two Worlds, Where It All Begins, more live albums and the birth of Gov’t Mule.

Warren Haynes - A Tale of Two Albums

In 1994, Warren Haynes was pulling his first stint as a member of the Allman Brothers Band. By this time, the Allman Brothers had recorded three studio albums [Seven Turns, Shades of Two Worlds, Where It All Begins] and one live album [An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: First Set]. He and ABB bassist Allen Woody were both hired guns for the Allman Brothers. There was lots of downtime between tours and both men had the itch to play in front of paying audiences more often. They decided to form a power trio with drummer Matt Abts, whom Warren Haynes knew during his [and Matt’s] tenure in the Dickey Betts Band before the Allman Brothers reformed in 1989. They called this power trio Gov’t Mule. Originally it was just a side project in between ABB albums and tours. But then the ABB studio albums stopped. I still don’t know the reason they quit making studio albums, but the effect was to stifle an outlet for Warren Haynes’ creativity.

After the Beacon Theatre run in the spring of 1997, both Warren Haynes and Allen Woody left the Allman Brothers to concentrate on Gov’t Mule full time. They made three studio albums [Gov’t Mule, Dose, Life Before Insanity] and two live albums [Live at the Roseland Ballroom, Live…With a Little Help From Our Friends] before Allen Woody died in a New York hotel room in 2000. Other Gov’t Mule albums followed. There’s the three-album Deep End project [The Deep End Vol 1, The Deep End Vol 2, The Deepest End] that paid tribute to Allen Woody. Once that project was put to bed, Gov’t Mule settled on a permanent bassist – Andy Hess. They recorded three albums with Andy Hess [Déjà Voodoo, High & Mighty, and Mighty High] before they parted ways. And since Woody’s death, Warren Haynes rejoined the Allman Brothers in 2001. Warren is a prolific writer who needs several outlets for his creativity. Recently he recorded two albums back-to-back – By a Thread with Gov’t Mule, and Man in Motion under his own name. Here are my thoughts on a “tale of two albums.”

By a Thread, like High & Mighty before it, was recorded at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio. Warren Haynes co-produced the album with Gordie Johnson. Unlike previous albums where Warren would show up with completed songs ready to record, By a Thread boasts many tunes credited to the entire band. Most of these songs were created in the studio from scratch. This was a very different approach for Gov’t Mule, but one that appears to make the others in the band happy.

Broke Down on the Brazos kicks off the album with Matt Abts and new bassist Jorgen Carlsson leading the way. Jorgen Carlsson replaced Andy Hess a couple of years back. With his inclusion, Gov’t Mule has some of its “in-your-face” swagger they had when Allen Woody was still alive. Jorgen plays his bass loud, aggressive and dirty. I like his sound. When the guitars kick in, the astute Mule listener will immediately notice it isn’t Warren Haynes, but none other than ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, the Rev. Willie G. himself. Warren mentioned one time the song itself was inspired by early ZZ Top. It was the last song written and recorded for By a Thread. Warren called up Billy Gibbons, sent him the track, and got a call back to say “let’s do it.” And so they did.

Steppin’ Lightly oozes that 70s vibe. LOTS of guitar solos abound.

Railroad Boy is a Celtic folk tune that gets the Led Zeppelin treatment, most especially from drummer Matt Abts. Matt channels his inner John Bonham on this tune. A rarity among Mule tracks, Warren plays a Les Paul 12-string capoed at the 7^th fret. After Warren’s blistering slide solo he makes way for Danny Louis and his Hammond. If you close your eyes you could swear you were hearing Deep Purple’s Jon Lord, vintage Made in Japan. His Hammond has that same fire-belching, uncaged beast sound that Jon Lord used so effectively as a counterpoint to Ritchie Blackmore. My favorite song on By a Thread. I can listen to it anytime.

Monday Mourning Meltdown is a rip on the Bush Administration. “Shame on you for fooling me, shame on me for believing. Who would have thought your Patriot Act would be so damn deceiving? What’s happened to you?” The music strikes me a cross-between of Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix with backwards guitar solos to boot.

Gordon James is a folk song about an arms dealer. It starts of which churchy organ and acoustic guitar. Then when the drums kick in, you can also hear a violin or two. This song is very out of character for Gov’t Mule, but its fun to listen to.

Any Open Window is a fast track, especially for Gov’t Mule. When I heard the riff and Matt Abts pounding out the drums, something inside told me “Hendrix – Stone Free.” Wouldn’t you know that I opened the CD booklet, and between the songwriting credits and the lyrics, you see the words “Dedicated to Mitch Mitchell and Buddy Miles.” I like it when Warren says “excuse me” before he rips into a solo. I’ve heard Albert King do that numerous times.

Frozen Fear – Gov’t Mule flirted with reggae on High & Mighty on the song Unring the Bell. They return to that reggae-ish vibe on Frozen Fear. This is the lighter side of Gov’t Mule, like Beautifully Broken from The Deep End Vol. 1.

Forevermore – I first heard Warren play this on his Live at Bonnaroo CD. On that CD he played it solo and acoustic in front of 250,000 people. Apparently Gordie Johnson talked him into recording it with the band. On By a Thread it starts out the same way – solo and acoustic through the first verse. Danny Louis adds organ tones starting with the second verse. Right at the 2:00 mark, Jorgen and Matt Abts join the song, and Warren plays electric. At 3:03, a scorching wah-wah drenched solo, until the 3:45 mark, where the song ends as begun- solo and acoustic.

Inside Outside Woman Blues #3 is Warren’s answer to Cream’s Outside Woman Blues. It has a big, fat Les Paul tone with greasy wah-wah to boot. It’s called “#3” because they recorded two other versions, which [according to Warren] are going to see the light of day one way or another. Each version had a different vibe – they chose this one to release. If jamming is what you like, here it is.

Scenes from a Troubled Mind and World Wake Up. Both are leftovers from High & Mighty with Andy Hess on the bass. If there is a Gov’t Mule, it’s that Warren saves the slow, moody tunes for the end of an album. By a Thread is no exception.

Man in Motion is Warren Haynes’ first solo studio album since 1993’s Tales of Ordinary Madness. The album’s title is appropriate. Since the death of James Brown, Warren Haynes has assumed the title of “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.” When he is not touring or recording with Gov’t Mule, he’s one of the guitarists in the Allman Brothers Band. To underscore his importance to that band, Gregg Allman often refers to Warren as “my right arm.” Whenever The Dead want to tour, Warren usually gets the call to fill in for the late, lamented Jerry Garcia. He was an integral part of Phil Lesh & Friends for three years, appearing on that group’s lone studio album There and Back Again. In his spare time he produced a few tracks for Taj Mahal’s Maestro album. And when most people are sleeping, he’s usually sitting in with somebody else at a gig.

The antithesis of a Gov’t Mule album, Man in Motion is a vocal driven affair. According to Warren, "before I started playing guitar, I wanted to be a singer, right from the age of five or six, and what I wanted to sing was soul music. My brothers and I had just a handful of albums. First they were the ‘Best of' collections by Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, James Brown, the Temptations, Aretha Franklin…and eventually albums by the three Kings of the blues, Freddie King, B.B. King and Albert King. In fact, it was hearing B.B. and Freddie that made me realize you could be a great singer and a great guitar player. So I decided to model myself after them." Fear not guitar lovers, there’s plenty of Warren’s playing on Man in Motion. It just isn’t the face-melting variety one is used to from his work with Gov’t Mule and the Allman Brothers. According to Warren, there’s a heavy influence of the “Three Kings” [Albert, Freddie, and B.B.]. Instead of his trusty Les Pauls, Warren utilizes vintage Gibson semi-hollow body instruments — ES-335 and ES-345 models from his extensive collection.

After Gov’t Mule finished recording By a Thread, Warren Haynes recorded Man in Motion. He worked in the same studio [Pedernales Studio], same producer [Gordie Johnson], but he swapped out Gov’t Mule with a different set of players. He put together his soul-band “dream team” - a New Orleans based trio of George Porter Jr. on bass, Ivan Neville on keys and Neville’s Dumpstaphunk bandmate Raymond Weber on drums. This lineup soon expanded with the addition of second keyboard player Ian McLagan from The Faces, as well as vocalist Ruthie Foster and Ron Holloway on saxophone. Also present are the Grooveline Horns [Carlos Sosa, Fernando Zastillo, Reggie Watkins]. This may be a band of all-stars, but they sound like they’ve been playing together for a long time. Putting Ivan Neville and Ian McLagan together was a stroke of inspiration from co-producer Gordie Johnson. It gives Man in Motion that Richard Manuel/Garth Hudson feel. A testament to the skill of these musicians, Warren Haynes and company recorded this gem in six days.

Man in Motion – Who starts an album with an eight-minute song? Warren Haynes does. “Still life is overrated.” What would Warren Haynes know about being still? When I first heard this song, I was reminded of Booker T. & The MGs, which is fitting since this album was released on Stax Records. From the opening notes of George Porter, Jr.’s bass line to the wah-drenched rhythm guitar on the title track, this album is all about groove and soul. Warren describes the title track as "a snapshot of someone who is evolving and in constant change, and I can certainly relate to that. I feel that musicians are students for life, so it's important for me to always seek new experiences and throw myself curve balls, to remain inspired and challenged, and to grow. And while I've been thinking about getting back to another solo studio album for a long time now, I've had other things demanding my attention." You think?

River’s Gonna Rise – Warren has been playing this with the Allman Brothers. If they ever do another studio album, they could do this one and Gregg Allman’s Just Another Rider, which Warren co-wrote with Gregg. I can always dream… Ruthie Foster is all over this one while Warren solos the last two minutes – think Merry Clayton on Gimme Shelter.

Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday – written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell, this is the lone cover on the album. I haven’t heard the original (yet), so I don’t have a frame of reference. This version is pretty good.

Sick of My Shadow – sax man Ron Holloway plays his tenor sax through a wah-wah. That’s something he used to do when he was in a band called Root Boy Slim. He swaps call-and-response solos with Warren for the last two minutes. Warren sounds almost…jazzy.

Your Wildest Dreams – Gospel! When I hear this song, I hear Otis Redding. I’m reminded of Dreams to Remember. I’ve heard Warren sing that song, and this one sounds like that one. He shows off his vocal chops here – his best vocal on the album. Ron Holloway gets to stretch out during the last minute. It’s a toss-up between this one and the title track for my favorite song on the album.

On a Real Lonely Night – funk! There’s a formula emerging on this album – when you think the song is over, and then Warren starts a solo that takes the last two to three minutes of the song. Sometimes it’s just him, sometimes he swaps solos with Ron Holloway. On this number, he trades off with the entire horn section. Nice!

Hattiesburg Hustle – this is about as close to Gov’t Mule that Warren gets on Man in Motion. There aren’t the face-melting solos you’d normally hear on any Mule CD. This song is more along the lines of Banks of the Deep End or Beautifully Broken. I foresee Gov’t Mule and/or the Allman Brothers doing this one live. There’s a great lyric on this song – Ego is a muscle – just add fame and watch it swell.

A Friend To You – a slow song about unrequited love that has a tempo change in the middle. That kind of dynamic keeps things interesting – it does for me anyway. This one is very laid back, and I mean that in a good way.

Take a Bullet –This one reminds me of In the Midnight Hour. Somewhere Wilson Pickett is smiling – Steve Cropper too.

Save Me – the album closer, this opens with both Neville and McLagan taking things to church while Warren’s vocal sounds like it was recorded during a Sunday morning service. Save Me has a false ending – in the coda you can hear just a little bit of Warren’s guitar. A great song and a great way to finish an album.

So there you have it – two sides of Warren Haynes. If you like good original music played by fantastic musicians, these two albums are a good addition to your music collection. Enjoy!