Gregg Allman

One Night in DC, May 15^th, 1984

Sawright Records

Gregg Allman never lost his way in any crowd, whether it comprised 6,000, 60,000, or even 600,000 rapt fans. The Bayou was a 900-capacity club in D.C, but Allman gave ‘em everything he had in his tank. Allman’s way with a song exemplified the term one-of-a-kind, right up until cancer took him in 2017. He lived the blues, and all his blues—light and dark—came pouring out of him in roiling torrents of smoky, emotional singing, and velvety but driving waves of Hammond B3 organ. Quite something, especially for a white guy. Listen here as he captivates his audience instantly at this intimate show with “Dreams,” one of Allman’s finest compositions, delivered in Allman Brothers Band style. One has no choice but to get wrapped up in his anguish.

The triumvirate of Allman Brothers tour manager Kirk West, band historian John Lynskey, and renowned producer Bill Levenson, have again taken the tape of a well-recorded Gregg Allman solo band show and supervised its transition into a superb album. Allman’s manager Michael Lehman, and his son, Devon Allman, joined as executive producers of this second chapter in a planned series of archival releases.

Gregg Allman’s shows during this timeframe were in ways a natural extension of what an Allman Brothers Band performance had become prior to disbanding early in 1982, but fiercer. The songs Allman played from his solo albums were decidedly more rhythm and blues flavored; the Allman Brothers songs in some cases altered somewhat to fit the flow. The results provided for an exciting concert experience. The Clarence Carter staple “Sweet Feelin’ follows “Dreams,” the R&B spirit high, the band kicking together in tight formation. “Dangerous” Dan Toler on lead guitar, Toler’s brother Frankie on drums (both holdovers from the Allman Brothers), guitarist Bruce Waibel, bassist Gregg Voorhees, percussionist Chaz Trippy, and pianist Tim Heding had gelled wonderfully following three years of touring together (Heding had joined the fold just months prior to this date, and his contributions greatly enhance the proceedings).

“Hot ‘Lanta” appears in a jazzier form of the thundering take The Allman Brothers Band gave it on their iconic At Fillmore East album. But Toler and Waibel do exchange sizzling solos in it. One can make a case that “Yours for the Asking,” a then-new composition by Allman and the Toler brothers which would appear three years later, on Allman’s comeback I’m No Angel album, followed in the vein of the material featured on the two Allman Brothers albums released at the dawn of the 1980s that doomed them. That is not at all a dig at this song. Rather, that style of music was just too far out of the Allman Brothers wheelhouse during a strange time. “Yours for the Asking” in fact fits Gregg Allman quite well here, like a soul man’s sleek glove. Another new Allman/Dan Toler R&B composition, “Faces Without Names” (also to appear on I’m No Angel) slides into this program similarly. Both songs display the fine symbiosis developed between Allman and Toler.

“Matthew’s Arrival,” an instrumental penned by earlier Gregg Allman associate, Neil Larsen for the Gregg Allman Band’s 1977 album, Playin’ Up a Storm, becomes an 18-minute showcase for each member of this extraordinary septet. Dan Toler justifies his “Dangerous” moniker with a beautiful, jazz-inspired guitar solo near the song’s finale.

Several more Allman staples such as “Melissa” and “Midnight Rider” (both in acoustic renditions) round out the set. But perhaps the performance of Little Willie John’s “Need Your Love So Bad,” which appeared on The Allman Brothers Band’s 1979 album, Enlightened Rogues, best exemplifies Gregg Allman growling out a blues, and the band seizing the moment and following suit.

One Night in DC, May 15^th, 1984, presents one more reason why Gregg Allman’s legacy, both inside and outside of The Allman Brothers Band, should be carried into the future. Timeless performers and music deserve nothing less.

Tom Clarke for MAS

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