The Allman Brothers Band: Gregg Allman (vocals, piano, organ); Dickey Betts, Duane Allman, Warren Haynes (guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar); Derek Trucks (guitar, slide guitar, acoustic slide guitar); Dan Toler, Les Dudek (guitar); Chuck Leavell (piano); Allen Woody (bass instrument, background vocals); David Goldflies, Lamar Williams, Oteil Burbridge, Berry Oakley (bass instrument); Jai Johanny Johanson, Butch Trucks (drums, percussion); Marc Quinones (congas, percussion).
Liner Note Author: Scott Schinder.
Recording information: 1969 - 2003.
A beautifully packaged and sequenced two-disc set, STAND BACK is the definitive overview of one of the most successful and influential blues-rock acts ever. The Allman Brothers Band were superior musicians who incorporated elements of country, jazz, and R&B into their playing, and displayed a remarkable penchant for group improvisation. The synthesis of these factors, delivered with a distinctive country-fried edge, is laid out on this excellent 32-song career retrospective.
Arranged chronologically, STAND BACK traces the evolution of the Allmans, from edge-pushing rockers (the first cut from the band's 1969 debut, "Don't Want You No More," with its shifting time signatures and jazz inflections, is almost progressive rock), to their country-rock of the '90s and 2000s. In between are fiery interpretations of blues classics by Blind Willie McTell and Muddy Waters, and songs by vocalist/keyboardist Gregg Allman and guitarist Dickey Betts, many of which ("Whipping Post," "Midnight Rider") are now blues-rock classics in their own right. With its driving, twin-drummer rhythm section, and complex organ/dual-guitar interplay, the band never misses a step on this superb collection.
