by John D. Bess
Daily Lobo
Imagine a band comprised of seasoned veterans with nothing to lose and young guns too green to care.
That sums up the latest incarnation of The Allman Brothers Band, and they are once again playing music that reaches far beyond the confines of commercial radio - music that is timeless, inspiring and downright necessary in this age of worthless pop-schlock.
Musicians who spend their lives making records tend to follow an arc. When they're young, they push themselves in an effort to make a lasting statement. As their career wanes, the pressure to maintain album sales leads many to take the safe route, writing music that is sterile and exhibits only a shadow of their once formidable talent.
Those who survive being scathed by their own mediocrity search for the passion and conviction that once made them legendary.
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On their newest album, Hittin' The Note, the Allman Brothers stalwarts Gregg Allman (keyboards and vocals) and drummers Butch Trucks and Jaimoe are joined by guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, percussionist Marc Quinones and six string bass phenom Oteil Burbridge.
All of the new additions are much younger than the surviving members of The Allman Brothers Band, but equally gifted and possessed by the southern blues muse.
The second track "High Cost of Low Living" demonstrates the band's return to adventurous extended jamming. After three-and-a-half minutes of Allman's whiskey soaked vocals recounting the trials of life on the road, the song seems to be fading out with a guitar solo.
At four minutes, it's the perfect length for a radio single. But instead of leaving quietly, the band launches into an additional three-and-a-half minutes of guitar solos.
They even quote their mid-70s instrumental hit "Jessica" along the way to solidify the point - the Allman Brothers have indeed returned.
Songs like "Desdemona," "Instrumental Illness" and "Rockin' Horse" show the band moving fluidly from ballads to rock to funk, all tempered with the tasty southern blues that made the Allman Brothers famous.
The band frequently steps unapologetically into wide-open jams. Still, the focus here is on great songwriting, not merely pasting riffs together to justify the solos. The most surprising element remains Derek Trucks, the youngest member of the band and Butch's nephew, who solos with taste and skill that belie his age.
With playing that is fluid, reckless, refined, brash and soulful, the highlights are many on Hittin' The Note. Everything a music lover could want is here in spades: top notch song writing, beautiful harmonies, a dense and sophisticated rhythmic section and incredible playing - great-God-almighty-I-may-never-play-another-note-so-I'm-going-for-it playing.
