Customer Reviews

Highway Call

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4 star:		(6)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

If the Allman Brothers Band's seminal 1973 album "Brothers and Sisters" marked their commercial breakthrough, Richard Betts' 1974 solo outing "Highway Call" might very well have signaled his own liberation from the tight (albeit rocking) constraints of "Les Brers'" unique blend of blues-rock.

Coming at a time when both the Allmans and Betts were experiencing complex intertwined watershed events both professionally and personally (Remember Gregg and Cher, and the divisive, band-breaking Scooter Herring cocaine trial?), "Highway Call" seems to have been a rather fresh breath of countrified air for this "brother of the road"; the call of the highway may have been Betts' salvation.

Not that he hadn't already begun to increasingly spread his wings with his original band of brothers, serving as muse in helping to redefine the Allman's sound, this following the tragic deaths of founding brothers Duane Allman and Berry Oakley; both of whom had played important roles in shaping Betts' own guitar style.

After all, it was Forrest Richard (don't call me Dickey) Betts who penned the words and music to the Allmans' first radio hit -- "Ramblin' Man", telling us how the song's namesake was "born in the backseat of a Greyhound bus, rollin' down Highway Forty One".

Highway Call again keeps Betts "rollin on", the Ramblin Man apparently having turned up "out on the lonesome highway... ...just outside of Oklahoma City... ...with a case and an old guitar"; asking us "I'm on my way back to Georgia, won't you give me a ride?" in the album's opener "Long Time Gone". This melodic toe-tapper serving to showcase not only the fluid signature lead guitar lines of Betts but steel guitarist John Hughey as well.

And this *is* a guitar album after all, the expansive, soaring leads for which Betts became known are highlighted throughout the album, but not necessarily with the renowned bite and ferocity for which they served the Allmans so well. No less sophisticated or complex than his efforts with the Brothers, here the leads have assumed a rounder sweeter tonality, both augmented and complemented by the other players and singers on this masterpiece; due in no small part to the fact that this is also a *country* album!

Betts has assembled, along with co-producer Johnny Sandlin (who also plays Bass here) a roster of musicians and vocalists without peer. Along with the aforementioned John Hughey on Steel Guitar,
David Walshaw and Stray Straton fortify the percussion and rhythm section. Tommy Talton and Jeff Hanna contribute acoustic Guitar work. The Poindexters (brothers Frank, Leon and Walter, and Oscar Underwood) are instrumental in the bluegrass component of "Let Nature Sing". The Rambos (Reba, Dottie, and Buck) contribute on all backing vocals; as do The Poindexters and Stray Straton on other selected songs.

But it is two other vital contributors to this album who no doubt provided the inspiration and challenge to Betts to make this the masterwork that it is. Chuck Leavell, the session man and backing keyboardist, and at that time recently adopted Allman Brother, is a standout on this album. Leavell, who in later years would also back the Rolling Stones both in the studio and on the road, here provides some of the greatest country and honky-tonk keyboard stylings ever recorded. This would seem like a complete recording if judged solely on the vocal-based recordings alone, but as mentioned, this is both a country and guitar/string-instrument album as well.

Rounding out this latter element is the inimitable Fiddle playing of the legendary Vassar Clements. Joining Betts, Hughey, Leavell and the album's rhythm players on the recording's two instrumental tracks, Clements provides that down-home texture that only a master fiddler of his caliber could. On "Hand Picked", all the featured players take expansive turns at contributing their best licks and chops to this tune, which requires no further explanation as to its orientation. And in one of the most self-effacing of all musical gestures, Betts yields the album's final piece, a tribute if you will, to Clements' own signature tune "Kissimmee Kid", a knod to the fiddler's hometown.

I had been searching for this recording on CD for some time now, I was excited to see its recent remastered re-release on Polydor; this from the original Capricorn recordings. At one time, Macon Georgia's Capricorn Records was home not only to the Allman Brothers, but also to some of the greatest "southern rock" musicians of the latter part of the 20th century. Prior to their going further south than their Macon roots vis a vis insolvency, you could pretty much bank on any of the workhorses coming from the Capricorn stable.

I'm only hopeful that, not only will those original devotees rediscover this wonderful recording, but that a new legion of fans of this genre will discover it as well. I also hope that Richard Betts, who arguably experienced his critical peak with this work, will still receive an equitable return for the superb work that he contributed to the beautiful music on Highway Call.

Here's my disclaimer: I'm a Dickey Betts fan and especially an Allman Brothers fan. That being said, this is one of my all-time favorite albums. Every tune on this disc is nearly perfect. Dickey's playing is fanastic, as all are the wonderful musicians that sit in. Chuck Leavell's piano playing is magnificent -- the background singers are stupendous and Vassar Clements is the man. John Hughey's steel guitar licks are almost otherwordly sweet.
I think like all great artists, Dickey Betts lives just this side of normalcy. His recent run-ins with the law are proof of that. But he has a spot in his heart that is pure joy. This album is proof of that.
These songs are the kind of tunes you want to listen to while sitting on the porch of a house deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains drinking your favorite beverage from a mason jar.
Highly recommended for fans of music that comes from the heart.

I bought this album in the lp days when it came with a poster of a swamp which effectively transmitted the over-all sense of this album- peaceful, warm, rich with life, laid back and intense, all at the same time! I never did much care for the Allman Brothers, oh, they were ok and all for a city band, but this album slipped into my heart with those harmonies and the sweet picking. It seemed a good bit less forced and forcible, like being able to visit the musician in his cabin home and stay long enough to find out what the pulses of a rural life are made of.
There is a relaxed communication in this album which haunted me for all of the fifteen years since I lost that album until now. I wanted it back. It didn't fade. It just played out patiently in the back of my mind, haunting me with echoes of harmonies until I broke down and came looking for it.
Don't buy this album unless you are open to falling in love! This is not an album to appeal to the cynical or the road weary.

Highway Call is not warmed-over Allman Bros. The music is unique and should be part of the collection of every fan of southern music. The musicianship is terrific. If you like Betts' guitar work on "Blue Sky" and "Ramblin' Man", then this CD is for you. If you are a fan of southern rock piano (such as Billy Powell on "Free Bird"), then Chuck Leavell's inspired solos on "Highway Call" are a must. My only warning about this CD is it will make ask for more. Unfortunately, Betts did not follow-up Highway Call with a similar effort.

almost 30long years ago i bought this record,wow!!!i'vebeen looking for it ever since, one of my"GOOD FRIENDS"lifted it from a party i had years ago.the sweetsoulful sounds on this one really moved me .just the thought of the title track and every other track, brings me back to a simpler easier time in my life.times when one did'nt need a co-signer for tickets to a show.I, in fact, will be ordering this one soon .

If you're not up and dancing around after listening to this record for 30 seconds, something is wrong with you.

This is just an absolute beauty of an album, and I'm thrilled to see it's been remastered and released on CD. This is the kind of music Dickey Betts does best. Get this and Gregg Allman's "Laid Back", and you'll have two of the finest solo albums ever to come out of the south.

It's 1973. The Allman Brothers Band are the biggest band in the US. The principal writers are both having growing pains and the band can't contain the creative divergence. thus Richard (Dickey) Betts releases Highway Call and Gregg Allman records Laid Back. Both feature musicians hanging around Macon. Both are outstanding records, both hits. But ultimately, Highway Call is far more satisfying.

On highway call, Betts finds his voice as a purveyor and synthesizer of American music forms, particularly bluegrass and western swing. The 14 minute plus Hand Picked is some of the best playing you will ever hear. Long Time Gone was the perfect country rock hit and could have been a great followup to Ramblin' Man and Blue Sky. But IMHO the highlight is Rain. Great vocals, a solo you can hum all in a 4 minute package.

This record is a blinder. Get it now

I've loved this album for 30 years --had the LP in high school and bought the CD a few years back ---although hadn't heard it in 20 years it was still as good as I remembered ---Chuck Leavell's contributions are brilliant and what can you say about Vassar Clements ---the only shame is that Dickey hasn't put out a lot more material like this ----

I spent several years scouring used and out of print cd shops and web sites for this cd. Last year I finally found it... Now it has been re-released!! In 1974 when this album was released I was in high school and went to see this tour, it was fantastic, just like this cd. If you enjoy any of these artists you will thoroughly enjoy this wonderful, timeless cd.