Word is this album was recorded before Gregg Allman had his liver transplant last summer, but you’ll find no gloomy, death’s door vibe in these intentionally lo-fi grooves. Ubiquitous producer T Bone Burnett brings his favorite players to bear on a sound which calls to mind some of the blues greats Allman grew up idolizing (if his early-career cover songs are any indication). For better or worse, this album sounds like a dusty old analog recording, and Burnett’s uncannily encyclopedic knowledge of long-forgotten gems from the likes of “Sleepy” John Estes, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and Otis Rush fits Allman’s delivery like a glove.
Seeing Allman perform the one original from the set, “Just another Rider,” on the David Letterman show, I was struck by how adept and frisky his B-3 playing still was at age 63. He made it look so effortless, but he was hardly just going through the motions. His trademark bluesy growl might be a little thinner, but it still has presence, and the band was absolutely aces. The subdued horn arrangements added a welcome sparkle to the song without overwhelming its gritty earthiness, and the same can be said for the sound of the album. It sounds like the Muscle Shoals album Allman probably always wanted to make.
As the Allman Brothers Band gears up for another epic Beacon run in March, the bad news is Allman’s tour schedule overall for 2011 is very scaled back. After his surgery last summer, Allman was quoted as saying, “I changed my ways years ago, but we can’t turn back time. Every day is a gift.” Maybe at this point we should treat every Allman performance and recording as a gift, too. Here’s hoping he has years of great playing ahead of him, but if “Low Country Blues” should end up being his swan song, it would be a great one.
~ Chris Diestler, a.k.a. "TOAST"
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