The Gregg Allman Concert Album

The Allman Brothers were our EDM.

Too much has been written about the Grateful Dead, but the dirty little secret was they were lousy, they'd play for four hours, one would be completely unlistenable, two mediocre and one great, and I know, I was there, the first time around, before they became an oldies act in the eighties and all the Gen X'ers discovered them.

Now that's not really the name of this two record set, which I'm listening to on Spotify after being tipped off by Mike Marrone's adds at SiriusXM's Loft, it's really "All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs & Voice Of Gregg Allman"...what, you really want no commercial success?

And believe me, this album will be a commercial failure.

But unlike the execrable tribute albums, this is a live document of a concert that I read about and figured I could miss, because Gregg's still alive and touring and...

But I was wrong.

There's so much energy here, so much excitement, it makes me feel like I really missed something.

They don't make live albums anymore. Because that work has been relegated to YouTube and the truth is so many of the new acts cannot play, but what set the Allmans apart was their ability to do so.

So I pulled up Taj Mahal and Gregg's rendition of "Statesboro Blues."

The deejay pushes the button and you start to jump, but that's nothing compared to that slide guitar, which had us hopping up from our seats, instantly excited. Will people ever know this magic again?

The Allman Brothers have been playing the Beacon, but that's for fans only. And with so many shows, the roof no longer lifts off the joint, because they've got nothing to prove. But strangely, when everybody should have been phoning it in, they didn't, not at this show.

There's a wild cornucopia of acts, Eric Church does "Ain't Wastin' Time No More," one of my absolute favorites from "Eat A Peach," it's all about the changes, back when songs were written by bands for themselves as opposed to famous producers behind the scenes.

And the Allmans themselves do "Dreams."

And Gregg and Jackson Browne do the latter's song that the former made famous, "These Days." "Well, I've been out walkin'..." Hear Jackson and your body will tingle, mine just did.

And then they switch roles, the duo does Gregg's "Melissa." And this was the hit, sitting in the dorm, reflective. "Ramblin' Man" may have been all over the radio, but that slid right off you, "Melissa" penetrated.

Trace Adkins does "I'm No Angel," and he ain't.

John Hiatt is reminiscent of his days on tour with Ry Cooder three decades ago on "One Way Out," it's a tear!

And not all songs are fast, Sam Moore performs "Please Call Home."

But the album opens with the other understated classic, the track I adore from "Brothers and Sisters," "Come And Go Blues."

Ever been in this relationship?

I certainly have.

They don't want you to have them, but they don't want to let you go. I envy those who've been married since their teens, but they missed out on so much heartbreak and experience.

And that's what the Allman Brothers were all about, you could hear the miles in Gregg Allman's voice, back when your rock stardom opened all doors, to drugs, cars and Cher.

And "Come And Go Blues" is sung by journeyman Warren Haynes, who's never gotten his due, and probably never will, he'll probably die with most people never knowing his name.

And there you've got it, modern music, which is all pop all the time.

But it didn't used to be that way. Used to be we lived for the album cuts, they brought us to the show.

But that was back when it was about the music, not the stardom, when the acts were ripped off and didn't bitch about it, when being on the road, drinkin', druggin' and screwin', was enough.

Not really, eventually they'd emerge from the fog and realize they'd been ripped off, in this case by Phil Walden.

But the experience was more important than the cash. And ain't that life. Today everybody gets a job that pays but doesn't fulfill. And pursuing your dream means you often can't put a roof over your head. And if you like an act, you can't get a good seat, and when you do, it's prohibitively expensive.

But once upon a time ducats were way less than ten bucks. And sure, you wanted to check out the crowd, but really you were most interested in bonding with the people on stage, the music emanating from the amps.

Listen to this album and you'll remember.

And if you never knew you'll pooh-pooh and move on.

But know that once upon a time, we didn't listen to techies, not even politicians, but musicians, hell, the Allmans got Jimmy Carter started on his Presidential run.

We went to each other's house and checked out the collection.

We closed our eyes and played air guitar.

We were tied to the whipping post.

Spotify link (and if you don't have Spotify, sign up immediately, it's free, and it's where most people are and everybody should be, join the party): http://spoti.fi/TuPClg


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