All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs & Voice Of Gregg Allman

We are so very lucky to have this show. The fact that Gregg Allman himself is alive, and makes an appearance makes it extra special. I was at the show, and was lucky enough to obtain an early copy of it. While there, the audience was so loud, so enthusiastic that you could barely hear the artists. Thankfully, this sympathetically done combo set changes that.

The show opened with Warran Haynes talking about Gregg before he launched into "Come and Go Blues". That bit of talking is lost. The CD version has almost none of the chatter that the artists made during the show. Fotunately, they put it it for the DVD. You get to see Gregg embrace the other artists, the very interesting comments Trace Adkins makes before and after his set, Robert Randolph and Taj Mahal exhort the audience to cheer. It's exciting to watch. While watching the DVD, you can't help but notice the smiles and winks and nods the artists give to each other. They are all so DAMN happy to be there, bringing Gregg's wonderful music to life in a new way. Even the normally stoic members of the Allman Brothers show some enthusiasm between songs, and especially during Whipping Post.

Now - onto the music. There is so much good music here, you'll almost be crying. The backing band is superb, with Chuck Leavell and Jack Pearson in particular offering jaw dropping solos during many of the songs. The set confirms my recollections of what were the best songs of the evening:" Can't lose what you never Had "and "Win Lose or Draw". Eric Church is literally jumping out of his skin, as he reinvents a forgotten ABB song. Watching the DVD you can see his energy as he brings the song to an aching close. On the DVD you can see him making eyes with the Gramercy sisters as they chant "Win Lose or Draw" over and over. He's almost out of breath when he's done. "Can't Lose What you Never Had" features Jimmy Hall, Devon Allman, and Robert Randolph. It's funky, bluesy, and loose. A superb version of the song. There are many great performances, I'm sure your's may differ, but I highlighted those two.

What will be noticed, is that the jam oriented side of the Allmans is missing from the individual performances. Even Widespread Panic playing "Wasted Words", with Derek Trucks guesting, doesn't really get off into space. We have to wait until the Allman Brothers themselves present themselves. They perform two songs that are 45 years old now, and still sounding fresh. Gregg delivers his deep salty growl driven vocals on both "Dreams" and "Whipping Post". They are not long versions o, but Warrens solo in particular on "Whipping Post" reaches higher and wider than I thought possible. It's the closing solo before the encore, and a statement of the power of Gregg's musical legacy.

This is a tremendously enjoyable concert and CD package. But do note, in true Gregg Allman fashion, it's spare. There are no extras on the DVD, just concert the footage, and chapters. The CD has a booklet with a picture of pretty much every performer, and that is it. There are no lengthy interviews, no behind the scenes footage, no outtakes, and no pretentious essays on Gregg. Both the CD and the DVD are documents of the amazing show, and thats all.

I've been listening to this for several days on my hour ride to and from work and I am just blown away.
I haven't felt like this about an "album" since I was young. It used to be that each year some of your favorite bands would drop an album in your lap, usually in the spring and you'd eagerly run out and grab it and listen to it nonstop for several days. It would change your entire outlook and each year the summer would have a new soundtrack. I mark the years of my youth this way.

There is nothing here that we haven't heard before but the occasion is filled with such a heartfelt appreciation for the songs that everything is elevated. If "Whipping Post" and "Sweet Melissa" are the metrics that Allman Brother's show are measured by then this is the best Allman Brothers show I've heard (and I've been to many). The Allman's have always been masters of epic guitar solos that evolve to magnificent crescendo's and their mastery has never been more in evidence than on this amazing double CD. The solos on Whipping Post literally make all the little hairs on my arms stand up and when each winds down and drops in your lap you can hear the crowd reaction. I find my self cheering likewise alone in my car. I mean it.

The guest performances do run the range from OK to transformative but there are no stinkers. It rare that even on a single CD there isn't something that I hit the next button on. Not here. I'm not typically a fan of mainstream country music but Vince Gil and Martina McBride do a great job here. Dr John is fabulous as always. The list goes on and on. Heck I don't even mind the Trace Atkins tracks.

The thing about the guest spots is that so many of the performances are delivered with the utmost passion for the material.
And when Jackson Brown duets with Gregg on "These Days" (a Jackson Brown song that Gregg covered years ago) the results are better than either of the individual versions. "Sweet Melissa" is great with both but it's always great and here (as on "Midnight Rider") the backup band shines elevating both beyond even a great all "Allman Brothers" performance.

The backing band is superb. Don Was bassist, drummer Kenny Aronoff, Chuck Leavell’s piano, Rami Jaffee’s B-3 organ, Jimmy Hall’s blues harp. The McCrary Sisters (Regina, Ann and Alfreda) backing vocals. Hornmen Jim Hoke (sax), Vinnie Ciecielski (trumpet), and trombonist John Hinchey. And former Allman Brothers guitarists Jack Pearson and Audley Freed.
These guys are the gold standard these days and many can be seen on the equally great "Love of Levon" performance.

If you're an Allman Brothers fan this is a must have. And if you've never "gotten" the Allman Brothers "thing" I defy you to walk away without being converted.

Buy this NOW!

I am a Gregg Allman fan first and an Allman Brothers fan second so, consider the source, but this collection of songs and the guests singing them are like a playlist from my life. It has been very moving listening to the songs, particularly the selections from the Laid Back album, which I believe is one of the best country blues albums ever recorded. Listening to this, having just finished the Galadrielle Allman memoir Please Be With Me: Song For My Father, was a religious experience. God bless the brothers that carried on the music in the face of death and it's sorrowful longing so beautifully lifted from the ashes.

This is an outstanding DVD with some great and not so good performances by "friends". I can tell you that the sound on this is absolutely amazing! I've never heard another live recording that sounds this good...even a non-musician commented on how great the drums sound. Everything sounds great on this....I only wish Gregg had sang on every song.
To me, the Jackson Browne / Gregg duet on "These Days" is worth the price of this alone...and then the two Allman Brothers songs "Dreams" and "Whipping Post" are the true highlights. I bet you've never heard them quite this way and they never sounded that good.
On "Dreams" I swear Greggs voice sounds better than it ever has...he has more growl and tone than ever...may be age...but it sounds incredible. The jam on Dreams and Whipping post are awesome too.