Album Review: The Allman Betts Band - Bless Your Heart
Reviewed by Paul Hutchings
There are likely to be music fans who are completely unaware of The Allman Brothers Band. Many will be familiar with ‘Jessica’, the theme tune for BBC’s Top Gear show but perhaps not know who recorded it. It’s over 50 years since Duane Allman and brother Greg, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny ‘Jaimoe’ Johanson first got together, in Jacksonville, Florida back in 1969. The band’s 1971 ‘At Fillmore East’ is rightly considered one of the finest live recordings of all time. There is plenty of history to explore should you wish with the band’s legacy stretching from 1969 – 2014 in numerous different line-ups. Both Duane Allman and Berry Oakley were dead from motorcycle accidents by 1972 and of the original members, only Jaimoe remains alive today.
So, who are The Allman Betts Band? Well, the band was founded by Devon Allman (son of Gregg Allman) and Duane Betts (son of Dickey Betts), who first met back in 1989 at an Allman Brothers tribute. Both were fans of thrash metal and bonded instantly. Roll forward to 2018 and together with Berry Duane Oakley, (son of founding Allman Brothers bassist, Berry Oakley) who they had known since 1989, they formed The Allman Betts Band, honouring the legacy of their fathers. The band also includes seasoned musicians Johnny Stachela (guitar, vocals), John Ginty (keyboards), R Scott Bryan (percussion, vocals) and John Lum (drums). Their debut album ‘Down To The River’ was released in 2019.
Having toured relentlessly, the band now release their second full-length album, ‘Bless Your Heart’. A double album which clocks in at 71 minutes and which is full of musical intensity, crafted songs, and effortless musicianship. Sitting as the centre piece of the album is the 12-minute instrumental ‘Savannah’s Dream’. A gorgeous jam which eases gently along, it provides the opportunity for each member of the band to demonstrate their qualities. The shuffling drums of Lum, Ginty’s thick Hammond, the solid and dependable bass lines of Oakley and the fretwork of Allman, Betts and Stachela. It’s a magnificent musical workout, always controlled but with ample fire and passion to steer it far away from anything that could be classed as remotely dull.
Elsewhere, the legacy of The Allman Brothers Band is strong throughout but without any attempt to plagiarise. There is ample opportunity for the band to stretch their musical muscle, such as the opening ‘Pale Horse Rider’ and ‘Southern Rain’, both featuring outstanding guitar work. There’s the country feel of ‘Rivers Run’, the tongue in cheek ‘Airboats & Cocaine’ and the semi-autobiographical ‘Magnolia Road’, the one song on the album written solely by band collaborator Stoll Vaughan, namechecking parts of Betts and Allman’s life with more than a nod to The Band and The Grateful Dead. ‘The Doctor’s Daughter’ sees Oakley make a stunning vocal debut, sharing the spotlight with some spectacular slide and almost flamenco guitar work.
With the band able to interplay comfortably, ‘Bless Your Heart’ sounds more like a fabulous evening of jamming rather than a seriously taken result of formal recording. And that’s the essence of this band. Drawn from what Allman describes as The United States of Americana, this is an album that as Allman also states are, “a band that’s having a love affair with being a band’.
The traditional invitation extended to friends; ‘Bless Your Heart’ also features guest contributions from Jimmy Hall, Shannon McNally, Art Edmaiston, Susan Marshall, and Reba Russell. It’s a sparkling, lively and massively enjoyable record. It’s described as a ‘conflagration of influences and invention, confidence and ambition’. Panoramically vast, this is an album of high quality.
‘Bless Your Heart’ is out on August 28th via BMG
