The Gregg Allman Band - Playin' Up A Storm (1978)

Gregg Allman is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his role as lead singer and organist with The Allman Brothers Band.

The Allman Brothers Band broke up in 1976, with Gregg parting from his bandmates on bad terms. He was then free to explore a solo career, one which had seen such a promising start in 1973 with Laid Back. For his next release he put together a new band, and so 1978's Playin' Up A Storm was credited to The Gregg Allman Band. The band itself (which featured bassist Willie Weeks) was also helped out by a large cast of guests, including Dr John, Little Feat's Bill Payne and jazz bassist Red Callender. It was a good album, a collection of R&B and soul based tunes that included Ray Charles' "The Brightest Smile In Town", Candi Staton's "Sweet Feelin'" and Allman's own "Come And Go Blues" (originally from the Allman Brothers' Brothers And Sisters album), plus some good new songs.

The Gregg Allman Tour (1974) <|> I'm No Angel (1986)
More from Gregg Allman

Download

Gregg Allman - The Gregg Allman Tour (1974)

Gregg Allman is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his role as lead singer and organist with The Allman Brothers Band.

Gregg Allman's second solo album was a live double LP, following quickly in the wake of his debut's success. It was recorded with a large band, consisting of Allman himself (lead vocals/organ), Tommy Talton (lead guitar), Scott Boyer (rhythm guitar), Chuck Leavell (piano), Kenny Tibbetts (bass), Bill Stewart (drums), Johnny Lee Johnson (drums/percussion), Randall Bramblett (soprano & alto sax), David Brown (tenor sax), Harold Williams (baritone sax), Todd Logan (trumpet) and Peter Eklund (trumpet), plus backing vocals from Annie Sutton, Erin Dickins, and Lynn Rubin... and a 24-piece orchestra! Leavell was playing with Allman at the time in The Allman Brothers Band, and Boyer he had recorded with back in 1968 (see the album Duane & Greg Allman). He had also recorded one of Boyer's songs ("All My Friends") on Laid Back.

Most of the backing musicians (Talton, Boyer, Stewart, Bramblett and Brown) were actually a band called Cowboy, on the same label as Allman (Capricon). They got to perform two of their songs in a guest spot, with Talton singing lead (plus Bramblett moving over to organ and Brown moving to bass).

The plan was an ambitious one, but it came together wonderfully into an excellent live album which mixed rock, soul, blues and gospel, the orchestra adding some lovely touches. The songs were a mix of those from Laid Back, a few Allman Brothers tunes in new arrangements ("Stand Back" and "Dreams"), a couple of new songs ("Double Cross" and "Oncoming Traffic"), and some choice covers (including Chuck Willis' "I Feel So Bad" and Bobby Bland's "Turn On Your Love Light").

The album only performed modestly on the charts (#50), but it firmly cemented Allman's reputation as an massively talented singer and bandleader away from the Allman Brothers.

Laid Back (1973) <|> Playin' Up A Storm (1978)
More from Gregg Allman

Download

Gregg Allman - Laid Back (1973)

Gregg Allman is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known for his role as lead singer and organist with The Allman Brothers Band.

Gregg Allman first started playing music with his older brother Duane in the southeast during the mid 60s. The two of them played in a number of bands, including The Escorts, The Allman Joys, and The Hour Glass, before they founded The Allman Brothers Band in 1969. With the Allman Brothers, Gregg acted as the lead singer, and also played the Hammond organ. The band were pioneers in the genre of Southern rock, and also were recognised as one of the best 'jam bands' of their era. With the death of Duane Allman in 1971, things looked set to fall apart, but they perservered and released the commercially successful Brothers And Sisters in 1973.
Around the same time as Brothers And Sisters, Gregg worked on his first solo album. Laid Back came out in October 1973, and showed a different side to him, eschewing the improvisational focus of the Allman Brothers in favour of short, concise soul-based songs. With backing singers and orchestral arrangements, it was music that would not have fit in with the band's style. It featured strong original songs alongside covers of "Don't Mess Up A Good Thing" (by Oliver Sain), "These Days" (by Jackson Browne), the country-folk standard "Will The Circle Be Unbroken", and "All My Friends" (by Scott Boyer, who Allman had briefly worked with in The 31st Of February). It also featured new versions of his own "Please Call Home" and "Midnight Rider", both originally Allman Brothers Band songs (from Idlewild South), the latter re-worked into a moodier and more elaborate arrangement, helped along by some powerful string and horn backing - it got to #19 on the pop charts.
The album was a great success, and showed what Gregg could do outside the band, casting him in the role of a soulful singer-songwriter.

|> The Gregg Allman Tour (1974)
More from Gregg Allman

Download