GREGG ALLMAN – Southern Blood (2017)

The loss of the legendary GREGG ALLMAN shook the music community to its core back in May. Now it was announced the release date for Allman’s final studio album, dubbed “Southern Blood”, due out on Friday, September 8th.
Allman’s upcoming “Southern Blood” was produced by manager and friend Michael Lehman and Grammy-winning producer Don Was.

After fighting liver cancer for five years following a liver transplant in 2010, Allman went into “Southern Blood” with a very clear intention to make use of what would be his final studio session.
The press release notes that the late rock star was excited to “capture the sound of the ultimate Gregg Allman Band in flight,” as Allman considered the group the tightest kit combo of lineup that he had worked with over his multi-decade solo career, with Lehman stating, the group was “like a family or a well oiled machine, always knowing what the other band members were thinking and doing.”

Recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Southern Blood simultaneous taps into the past while creating a statement for fans for generations to come.
Fame Studios is the local that Gregg and his late brother Duane Allman recorded their pre-Allman Brothers Band project, Hour Glass, and Gregg considered recording his final album there a means “to bring him full circle.”

In addition to recording at Fame, Allman’s other party line was that he needed to lay down the tracks with his live band. Allman was constantly tweaking his solo outfit, swapping members and honing in on an up-tempo, R&B and blues rock sound.
He eventually put together a multigenerational ensemble featuring longtime guitarist Scott Sharrard, bassist Brett Bass, New York jamband keyboardist Peter Levin, Booker T. & the M.G.’s drummer Steve Potts, Allman Brothers percussionist Marc Quiñones and the horn section of Jay Collins, Mark Franklin and Art Edmaiston.

They recorded “Southern Blood” during a breakneck 10-day period; Don Was estimates that 99 percent of the tracks, including Allman’s vocals, were cut “live on the floor with the band playing.”
Allman was ill at the time, but remained totally present and engaged. Besides his signature bluesy vocals and tasty Hammond B-3 work, he also showed off his acoustic guitar skills and even returned to his original instrument — the electric guitar.

The album itself is one of Allman’s most personal solo efforts, featuring a host of meticulously chosen and heartfelt covers as well the crowning jewel of the album, an original titled “My Only True Friend.”
Co-written by Scott Sharrard, the Gregg Allman Band’s guitarist and musical director, along with Allman, the song is a retrospective that allowed Allman to reflect and, as Was notes, “contextualize the course of his life.”

The LP’s rawest moment, unquestionably, is the album-closing cover of “Song for Adam,” a tender ballad written by Allman’s lifelong friend Jackson Browne. They cut it at the end of the sessions, and Allman got choked up while singing.
Was hoped to punch up the track by re-recording the vocals, but, sadly, those sessions never happened so it eerily feels like Allman stops singing in the middle of the song. Browne digitally sent over some harmony parts for the track too, and Lehman says Allman was listening to his contributions right before he passed way.

“Southern Blood” was intended as part of a personal postscript Gregg Allman was undertaking after the Allman Brothers Band played their last show in 2014.
As it stands, the legacy will end with “Southern Blood”. And proudly.

While Gregg ended up passing away at home, he remained a bluesman, surrounded by music, until the end of the line. “He was so proud of it and, even though he knew he wasn’t going to be able to promote it, he wanted to get it out to his fans. He was listening to music until his last breath.” Lehman says.
Highly Recommended

01 – My Only True Friend
02 – Once I Was
03 – Going Going Gone
04 – Black Muddy River
05 – I Love The Life I Live
06 – Willin’
07 – Blind Bats and Swamp Rats
08 – Out of Left Field
09 – Love Like Kerosene
10 – Song for Adam (feat. Jackson Browne)

Gregg Allman (1947-2017) – Vocals, Guitar, Hammond B-3
Scott Sharrard – Guitar
Brett Bass – Bass
Peter Levin – Keyboards
Steve Potts, Marc Quiñones – Drums and Percussion
Jay Collins, Art Edmaiston, Mark Franklin – Horns

Pre Order:
www.amazon.com/Southern-Blood-Gregg-Allman/dp/B073Y3QNB1
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