Southern Blood

No FCC's
I am a lifelong ABB fan. I feel his voice like it was an extension of my own, and consider the loss of Duane Allman as one of the greatest tragedies of my lifetime, along with Lennon, Hendrix and Joplin. Thus, it has been personally difficult to review this his final release. Not including any and all posthumous obligations to come. (I Hope). I have had it in mind that I should like to see this on the A-File Shelf at Thanksgiving. As it turns out now we'll have it for most of the Holiday Season. Play it because I said so. The 'Don Was' production leaves nothing to be desired. Choice of material perhaps less perfect. I just can't seem to find the jam of the album... ...But, you get the Fame Studio, (or was it Criteria) sound on every track. well balanced live room perfection. Rough voiced singer, Gregg Allman almost croons a few lines, but mostly continues to utilize his whisky soaked, breathy command of the melody, also plays Keys and Acoustic guitar, in a nice setting, adding some rock with gospel, and blues and rock blues and a ballad or two--it's crossover music--for those of you more attuned to societal than musical study, 'crossover' did not mean 'gay' when it was coined, although it might now--It means finding a musical space comfortable to both black and white listeners, which by definition can became blatantly commercial, in that it as a sound was meant to be embraced by buyers from among C&W, R&B and POP fans. Two genres awash in nostalgia and modern efforts to find this audience do not abound. This fact and the scarcity it describes usually leaves out discerning listeners who feel it has no place in the current market, but not here at KZSU - we love it all! Track by track description to be included on hard copy.