Gregg Allman
Jan 10, 2011
For over four decades, Gregg Allman has been a fixture in American popular music - both as a member of the legendary Allman Brothers Band as well as a solo recording and touring artist. But it has been quite a spell since we've heard anything new from Allman - almost 14 years to be exact!
"Low Country Blues" marks the legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Famer's seventh solo project. Produced by T Bone Burnett, the album finds Allman putting his own stamp on songs by some of the blues giants whose work has long influenced his own, from Muddy Waters and BB King to Buddy Guy and Magic Sam. Named for the coastal Georgia region Allman calls home, "Low Country Blues" stands as a high water mark in an already remarkable body of work for the artist.
In January of last year, Allman was joined by some stellar players, such as Dr. John (piano), Doyle Bramhall II (guitar), Dennis Crouch (bass) and Jay Bellerose (percussion). He plays acoustic guitar and his trademark Hammond B-3 organ - and of course, there's that distinctive voice!
The only original on the album, "Just Another Rider," was co-written with Warren Haynes, but many of the covers chosen for this album were totally transformed for the 21st century, including "Floating Bridge," "I Can't Be Satisfied," "I Believe I'll Go Back Home," "Blind Man" and "Rolling Stone."
"If it works right, it all turns real magic," Allman said. "And that's what happened this time, more so, I think, than anything I've ever recorded. We got 15 masters in 11 days; let me tell ya, they just went Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!"
"Low Country Blues" was initially slated for a mid-2010 release, but that plan changed when Allman, who had long battled chronic Hepatitis C, was notified that he was a candidate for a liver transplant. In June 2010, he entered the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville where he successfully underwent the difficult surgery. With that liver transplant now past him, Allman has a new lease on life and he is making sure he appreciates the second chance he's been given.
"This record's one of the things that's held me together," he says. "Because when I woke up in the hospital from this incredibly big surgery, I held on to the idea that, hey man, you've got a record in the can!"
Allman has a series of solo dates planned for the Northeast in January and will be out with the Allman Brothers Band beginning in March -- including a two-week stint at the Beacon Theater in New York! He will be recording a "World Café" session soon, and will perform on "Letterman" on January 13th.
For more visit greggallman.com.