On Low Country Blues, his 2011 solo album, Allman Brothers Band founding member Gregg Allman offers just one original tune, Just Another Rider, co-written with Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes. And the instrumentation here is not a full-on blues assault, but rather restrained, which isn't surprising considering T-Bone Burnett produced the album.
But this darned record just got hold of me and won't let me alone. It's one of those song collections that grows and grows on you. Allman's covers of various blues songs including Please Accept My Love and Rolling Stone are terrific, but what really makes this album special is Gregg's voice. In all his years with the Allman Bros., he's mostly been a blues shouter—his voice has had plenty of gravel in it, which only made his delivery of emotional pain all the more convincing.
Here, though, he almost sounds like a different singer—relaxed, smoother around the edges. I don't think I'd ever describe Gregg Allman's voice as "mellow," but his almost casual approach here is perfectly suited to the songs, which he clearly loves but refuses to treat as museum pieces.
Allman has made perhaps the finest solo album of his career, and one that also stands up quite well to his amazing work with his band. I'll be listening to this one for a long, long time.