on and on...

Gregg Allman | "Playin' Up A Storm"

(imho) a "modern day" and underated blues masterpiece, this album was a commercial disappointment, hell, i think it was virtually ignored at a time that gregg's career was a bit lost in it's own right.

the allman bros were the first band that i really got into during my teens and high school and they were really the soundtrack for my high school years. i saw them live (luckily w/duane) many, many times. after duane's & barry's death, and being one of, if not "the" biggest band in the country, the band and especially gregg and dickey betts, got a bit lost... both musically and personally. leading to one of many break-up and reformations of the band for a decade or so. this record was recorded during what was the first of many and appeared to be a "permanent" break up of the ABB. this was gregg's first real "post allman" solo effort, his life and career were a mess, he was in the middle of his "on again, off again" marriage to cher, his brother had recently died, if there was an illegal substance available, he was addicted to it, he was drinking heavily, he had just escaped serious jail time costing him most of his friends and business associate and his band had just broken up. good time to move to LA i guess.

ever heard the saying "you gotta live the blues to sing the blues?" the mess that was his life resulted into a modern day blues classic. sadly, few bought it and/or ever heard it. gregg at this point in his career was arguably one of the greatest blues singers ever to record. and he was livin' what he was singin'. the pain, loss and sadness in his voice tells the story as much as the words. he had just moved from georgia to LA and replaced his circle of musicians w/LA session players for a very different backing sound that works well for this music. he covers everyone from his own band ("come and go blues") to ray charles ("brightest smile in town") and closes out the record with the soulful, pleading "one more try."

for some reason, this record always stuck with me, not sure why. i was in a very happy long term relationship at the time, life was good. so it wasn't the message or the "blues" theme, maybe it was just because this guy was singin' his heart out, singing what he felt, what he was living. maybe because i had just been a fan of gregg and the ABB for so long, i don't know, again...don't really care.

"you brought me love, ahhhh tender love, that made my whole world glow
then you took it all away, ummm just why i'll never know
i'll soon forget, in time, i'll smile again
but, i can never, never smile as i did then

i had the brightest smile it town, oh yeah...
you took it it baby and you turned it upside down

ohhhh yeah, you took baby and you turned it upside down"

released: 1977