By: Brooke Johnpier, Music Department Member

Ya girl is getting sick of the same articles week after week, so I’m now going to take a different approach to these pieces. I’m still going to focus on specific band or artist weekly, of course, but I’m going to change it up a little bit. Let’s jump in, shall we?

In honor of the late, great Dickey Betts, this week’s piece will feature The Allman Brothers Band. Dickey Betts, along with brothers Gregg and Duane Allman, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, and Johanny Johanson founded The Allman Brothers Band in 1969. By the end of the year, they had their debut self-titled album out.

While travelling to New York City from Macon, GA, to record the album that was eventually recorded and mixed in just two weeks, they ran into some serious problems, such as their equipment truck breaking down and the producer that was scheduled to produce the album for them becoming unavailable. But that didn’t stop them, and their first album was released on November 4^th of ‘69.

Since their first album came out on the fourth of the month, that means that I will be listening to their fourth song on every album and reviewing it. Spoiler alert!: that’s the new approach to these articles; song reviews. Let’s get into it!

The Allman Brothers Band: Trouble No More – 3:47

As soon as the song starts, it hits you with a drumbeat, and then the blues comes in. It’s a rock song with extremely heavy blues influences and is very catchy. The bridge of the song has a scale all the instruments follow, and it’s a really cool effect. 

Idlewild South: In Memory of Elizabeth Reed – 6:59

This song starts off with a whiny guitar sound and a psychedelic feel. You can also hear the keyboards and sound effects in the background. About a minute and a half into the song, the tempo increases and you get some different instruments like bongos. The entire song is an instrumental and is constantly changing.

Brothers and Sisters: Jelly Jelly – 5:45

The first thing that stuck out to me about this song was that it wasn’t on Spotify. So, I had to search for it on YouTube. Luckily, it was on there, but sadly, it won’t be included in the playlist at the end of this article. Anyway, this song is extremely bluesy, more so than “Trouble No More.” Even the singing is bluesy. It’s got a very slow beat with a honky-tonk piano in the background, along with keyboards.

Win, Lose or Draw: Win, Lose or Draw – 4:44

The song starts out with beautiful piano that leads into an acoustic guitar. As the singing kicks in and the song starts to build the drums kick in, as well as an electric guitar. It’s a very slow-paced song that has country roots and influences, but it’s pretty good.

Enlightened Rogues: Need Your Love So Bad – 4:02

Once again, this song starts with a very bluesy feel. If I didn’t know the Allman Brothers were a rock band, I would say they’re a blues band. This song has one instrument in it that I haven’t heard in any of their works thus far: harmonica. And with the backbeat and other sounds of the song, it works very well. This song also ends with the classic ending of slowing down and having a drum hit.

Reach For The Sky: I Got a Right to be Wrong – 3:47

This song starts out fast-paced and with more of a rock sound. There’s definitely some blues influences there, but it’s not a blues song; it’s rock. The lyrics of this song are also really good, and are sung at the same fast-pace, almost having a rap-like sound to it. The music sort of overpowers the singing at some points in the song, but it’s extremely catchy.

Brothers Of The Road: The Heat Is On – 4:11

Starting off with a more country-like vibe than rock or blues, that’s exactly what it turns into for the chorus. The second chorus turns into a story that actually has nothing to do with the first part of the song, and the backing music is just a keyboard hitting the same key over and over. After that though, it turns into their normal style again with more blues influences in their rock than not.

Seven Turns: Shine It On – 4:51

This song sounds a lot like Travis Tritt’s stuff, except it’s better and doesn’t have an annoying country accent. About a minute and a half into the song though, it changes a lot and goes down a more rock-like path by slowing down slightly. And then the bridge of the song is just Dickey Betts kicking it on the guitar.

Shades Of Two Worlds: Desert Blues – 5:02

Following the title of the song, this song is blues-based for sure. The lyrics are very literary and about two minutes in, you hear the slightest change in drums from the rock beat to a more militaristic style of the snare, but then it goes back into the solo where you hear Betts working the six-string again.

Where It All Begins: Soulshine – 6:43

Again, this song is bluesy. It starts off really slow with a heavy beat. The keyboard in the background of the chorus though, gives a slight psychedelic vibe to it. This song also includes the genre of country as it tells a story. But as you get deeper into the song, you hear the rock influences of it, and it begins to lose the blues and country and just becomes rock. This song also ends with a classic ending.

Hittin’ The Note: Woman Across The River – 5:51

This song starts off powerful and is once again bluesy. It tells a pretty good story, and everything flows well together. As the title of their last studio album claims, they hit the note well.

To conclude, all of the above songs were pretty good, and The Allman Brothers Band is extremely talented. As promised, here is the playlist link:

Click on it to hear some great stuff.

Want to share your thoughts? Have a band/artist that you want to be featured? Email Brooke at johnpibl23@bonaventure.edu!