Just before the bullets fly
This album was recorded just prior to the great Allman Brothers Band reunion that started in 1989, which has produced 5 suprisingly wonderful ABB albums. Gregg's solo albums have always been hit or miss, most of them weighed down by slick studio production (1973's Laid Back & 1997's Searchin for Simplicity being the exceptions).
Although this album has some great songs on it, the majority of the music is overproduced - including synthesizers taking the place of real backup horns. Some of these songs he still plays with his current solo band (Slip Away, Before the Bullets Fly) and they have an honest, roots-type R&B sound to them when performed in concert nearly 10 years later. Too bad he didn't record these songs that way.
Although this album has some great songs on it, the majority of the music is overproduced - including synthesizers taking the place of real backup horns. Some of these songs he still plays with his current solo band (Slip Away, Before the Bullets Fly) and they have an honest, roots-type R&B sound to them when performed in concert nearly 10 years later. Too bad he didn't record these songs that way.
For a truely great Gregg Allman solo album, I would jump foward to his recent Searchin for Simplicity. It is a much more Old School type Muscle Shoals album, with a refreshing back-to-basics R&B flavor throughout.
If you are just venturing beyond the 70s Allman Brothers Band albums, I would also try Mycology, An Anthology, which is a best-of the Allman Brothers recordings from the 90s. Mycology contains some of the ABB's most classic tunes ever including Seven Turns, End of the Line and No One To Run With, although none are huge radio hits.
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