Duane Allmann

An Anthology

By Marty Kafafian

His voice came out of the six strings of a Les Paul, slung low ‘round his hips. Duane Allman’s An Anthology chronicles the tragically short career of one the world’s finest slide musicians. The album follows from the beginning of the guitarist’s studio career, where he took “a sad song and made it better” in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to his last days with The Allman Brothers Band in NYC.

            Originally released in 1972, the album encompasses the artist’s tragically brief career. The first three songs illustrate Allman’s beginnings as a backing musician playing for the likes of Wilson Pickett and B. B. King at Fame Studios. While guitar is not always in the forefront of these recordings, the “Sky-man” persistently shines through, particularly with the uniquely southern arrangement that he provided for the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”

            The album features several tracks that show a slightly softer side of Brother Duane like King Curtis’s Grammy winning “Games People Play.” On this track, Allman establishes the melodious central riff on the sitar, and answers King Curtis’ smooth, rich saxophone with his clean southern slide.

            The album continues to track Allman’s career from Aretha Franklin’s gospel inspired performance of “The Weight” through the rock classic “Layla.” The anthology culminates with five tracks from the Allman Brothers Band, ending, as do all Allman Brothers performances, with the sublime acoustic instrumental, “Little Martha.” The multi-faceted artist’s performance on the Dobro hints at the paths that he might have taken had life provided him a bit more time.

            The album includes an eighteen page insert consisting of seventeen pictures and a history of Allman’s professional career written by Tony Glover, an intimate and moving account that personalizes the artist and provides a sort of a road map to the disparate collection of songs on the album.

            While this collection of music hardly falls into one genre or style, Allman’s talent provides the necessary cohesion. The guitarist’s singular ability to elevate an inherently gritty, earthy music brings the listener high into the stratosphere (using a Les Paul, no less) and provides reason enough for the fan of Americana to buy this album today.