So, why should I be so melancholy over this? It's been ten years since a new ABB album, after all and in most still touring classic rock bands. the role that these men would be playing would be under selling their talents. In an alternate universe where they ended up in the sallow husk of a cover band that is what's left of Lynyrd Skynyrd, maybe nobody would have noticed how good they were in the first place. But they're not in most still touring classic rock bands, they're in the Allman Brothers, which means that albums or not, they've still been able to explore their own artistry in this band and I've gotten to reap the benefits by hearing it. Maybe I should back up forty-five years or so to educate the uninitiated and maybe you'll be sympathetic to my woes.
ABB classic put out its self-titled first album in 1969. The band at the time was made up of Gregg Allman on vocals and organ, Berry Oakley on bass, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson on drums, and two of the most creative guitarists of their era, which is saying something, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, whose styles both contrasted and complemented each other. Duane Allman is still today heralded as a slide guitar genius, his style had a seamless, blues-derived fluidity that earned him the undying respect of no less than Eric Clapton. Betts, by contrast, boasted a style that one could see as having more to do with country music, but still rooted in the best of heavy blues music. Together the two men formed a fascinating dual guitar harmonization and counterpoint style, which when put together with the rest of the band was nothing short of hypnotizing.
While the Allman Brothers Band's first two albums were brilliant in their own way, it wasn't until the release of their 1971 live album At Filmore East that anybody really noticed. The album took some of their already long and complex songs like "Whippin' Post" and extended them into 20 + minute jams that allowed Duane and Dickey to showcase the full extent of their creativity.
Duane Allman died in October 1971, and while the band's actual commercial peak didn't come until a couple years later, The Allman Brother's Band classic is not what I'm here to discuss. Duane Allman and Dickey Betts are legends among guitar players, and their role in making rock guitar playing what it is can't be diminished, but they are not the guitar gods that I grew up worshiping. They set the ground work for what I got to watch happen in my life time. For my closest guitar heroes, Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks.
When the Allman Brothers Band got back together in 1989, they had a few spots to fill, among them, the theoretical "Duane Allman" guitar spot. Dickey Betts suggested the second guitarist from his band at the time, Warren Haynes, and the rest of the band agreed.
Warren Haynes has always kind of been known as a man who can play anything, a true guitar scientist who can work wherever he's needed. He started his career in 1980 in the backing band for country singer David Allan Coe before being picked up by Betts, and he had little problem filling the spot of Duane Allman, who he emulated and admired, but he's not a musical parrot either. In the first three studio albums put out post reunion, 1990's Seven Turns, 1991's Shades of Two Worlds, and 1994's Where It All Begins, you can hear him not only add a progressively unique style to everything he touches, but you can see him grow into an excellent singer and songwriter too.
Warren has never let himself grow complacent. In 1995, he and fellow ABB alum, bassist Allen Woody, along with former Dickey Betts Band drummer Matt Abts formed the power trio throwback Gov't Mule, which still records and tours today as one of the most popular jam bands working (now as a four piece, following Woody's death). In addition he makes numerous guest appearances and solo outings and seems to be the go-to guy to fill an absent Jerry Garcia spot in any Grateful Dead related happenings. In spite of this, he's never come across as a man who doesn't have the energy for whatever thing he's doing at the time, and he's always managed to show what a musician and an artist he is with the Allman Brothers or wherever else he might be at the time.
Warren stepped away from the band for a short time in the late 90's, and for a while the Allman Brothers Band was somewhat in flux. In 1999, the "Duane" spot got filled by then nineteen year old Derek Trucks, nephew of drummer Butch Trucks, and by all measures a guitar prodigy.
While Warren Hayes is something of a stylistic chameleon, in the best way possible, Derek Trucks is a wholly unique presence in rock music. He's always admitted that Duane Allman was a primary influence on him, and you can certainly hear it, but the way the Trucks plays the slide guitar is damn near revolutionary in its own right, as much reminiscent of the jazz greats like saxophonist John Coltrane as it is to the classics of blues slide guitar like Elmore James. He's astonishingly creative and never repeats himself.
Like Warren, Derek Trucks has always maintained other projects on top of the ABB. He formed The Derek Trucks Band in 1996, three years before even joining the Allmans, and put out an album with that group every year or so like clockwork until 2011, when he switched his focus to The Tedeschi Trucks Band, a collaboration with his wife, Susan Tedeschi, and a huge nine-piece backing band. In addition, he's performed with the likes of Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton.
Dickey Betts left the band amid some mysterious falling out in 2000, and the two guitarists I admire most would finally end up together in one place when Warren jumped in to take his place. This left Derek Trucks in the "Duane" spot and Warren Haynes in the "Dickey" spot. I use quotes because those are arbitrary designations when working with musicians of this caliber. From the second they were in these positions, these two musicians owned them completely. Want proof? I highly recommend 2003's Hittin' the Note, the first studio album the two appear on together. The album is all together excellent and leaves the entire band sounding fresh and creative, including Gregg Allman, who sounded more alive in 2003 then he did in 1990.
There it was, in my life time. I was a big classic rock fan, and even ten years ago most of the classic rock bands had burnt out or changed line ups to the point of being little more than an official cover band. But these guys were real modern day guitar heroes to me, who were putting out multiple projects and touring constantly. The hooks were in deep and there was no escape.
And at first glance, that would seem to be it, as no other albums of new material were released by the ABB before this January's announcement. But that wasn't it. This was the twenty-first century, the age of Youtube and online archives, and I've been able to have the pleasure of hunting down live footage of the Allman Brothers on a regular basis. I've been able to see how the solos and sets change from night to night, I've gotten to watch these guys branch out and change, to explore new styles and interests both with ABB and their other projects. Two of the most influential guitarists of my life time have been playing together for the past fourteen years, and I've gotten to hear it as much as I've wanted to, which is a lot.
So, while I look forward to hearing what these two giants of their instrument put out in the future, and I hope that they still play together from time to time, one of the most exciting musical partnerships of my life time will come to an end after this year, and I'm sad to see them go. I guess I always have the archives.
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