Laid Back
Webster's dictionary defines a masterpiece as "An artistic work done with consummate skill". Gregg's "Laid Back" certainly qualifies that definition. Almost as spectacular is the fact that this was his first solo effort. Blues imply melancholy and this album is loaded with it. What sets this music apart from others, is the cleansed feeling it gives you after it ends. It's as if you have been baptized in cool southern waters. "These Days", "Queen of Hearts", "Please Call Home", and "Multicolored Lady" are four of the best but don't miss the rest as this album has more "hits" than some artists collect in their entire career! After I first heard the lyric, "Please don't confront me with my failures, I'm aware of them" from "These Days", I have felt it typifies the mood Gregg was in and what blues was all about. This was released in 1973 but sounds as fresh today as it did then. This is the Gregg Allman I'll remember. Laid Back, Gregg Allman's first solo disc, seems in part an effort to gain a little more recognition. It worked, particularly given the strong radio response to its opening track, a loping remake of "Midnight Rider." Likewise, much of the album's remainder finds Allman tweaking the band's blues ("Queen of Hearts") and country sides (a cover of Jackson Browne's "These Days"); horns and gospelish backing vocals add to the personal, often mournful feel. Much more coherent than its dated cover art (an either childlike or blasted-out-of-his-gourd Gregg ignoring a blazing volcano) indicates, Laid Back is an often convincing version of the man's music. For Allman, it would get much, much worse before it would be this good again.
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