Allman Brothers Band
Idlewild South

"Idlewild South", released in 1970, is the second album by the Allman Brothers Band (ABB) and one of the high points in their studio discography.

On the other hand, the concept that the band expressed their maximum potential in live performances is well-known and agreed upon: credit goes to the perfect alchemy between the guitars of the majestic Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, the refined power of the drums from Jaimoe and Butch Trucks, Barry Oakley's virtuosic bass, and Gregg Allman’s vocals and keyboards. To this combo, the talented harmonica player Thom Doucette was often added. Few bands, perhaps none, have been able to reach the heights of these young men, who were in their early twenties at the time, in their ability to infuse rock-blues with a jazz aesthetic.

The album in question was recorded with the band in the classic lineup: the death of Duane, a true turning point in the group's style, would occur the following year, and the band would still record the unparalleled "At Fillmore East" and some tracks of the splendid follow-up "Eat A Peach" with Duane.

"Idlewild South" is named after the farmhouse near Macon in the state of Georgia, where guitarist Dickey Betts was living at the time. The rest of the band had created a sort of hippie commune (known as the Big House) right in Macon, but Dickey, being of a solitary and moody nature, preferred this solution.

The album was recorded amidst exhausting tours with which the band tried to expand their following: indeed, their self-titled debut "The Allman Brothers Band" - now considered a classic - had sold only a few thousand copies.

Compared to this first album, which contained all the Allman Brothers' blues inventiveness, "Idlewild South" broadens the stylistic offering. The great blues numbers remain, which will become classics in their repertoire, such as the powerful "Don't Keep Me Wonderin" (which also features Doucette’s harmonica) or the reinterpretation of Willie Dixon's classic "Hoochie Coochie Man" (the only ABB track sung by Oakley), but the sound has matured, it is more varied, more delicate.

The opening, entrusted to "Revival" exemplifies this evolution: it is the first recording of a song by Dickey Betts, as until then, all the band’s originals had been written by Gregg Allman. The song opens with a sweet acoustic melody, the atmosphere is relaxed and serene, and the harmony is also highlighted by the first verses sung by Gregg: "People, can you feel it? Love is everywhere".

The album also contains Betts' most famous composition: the splendid instrumental "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed", which reflects the band’s love for the music of Miles Davis and John Coltrane. This piece, in its live version, will also become a great classic, allowing ample space for each group member’s talent.

Aside from the two songs by Dickey Betts and the Willie Dixon cover, all other songs are by Gregg Allman. Among these are "Please Call Home" and especially "Midnight Rider". A testament to their beauty, both will also appear on Gregg's solo debut, the nocturnal "Laid Back", which reveals the singer-songwriter spirit of Duane's younger brother.

In "Please Call Home", Gregg’s voice shines through, suffering and weary. The band follows him gently, and Duane’s guitar suffers at least as much as Gregg’s voice. Splendid.

"Midnight Rider" is, alongside "Whipping Post" - found on the previous album - Gregg's most well-known piece. It is also a ballad suitable for Gregg’s colored bluesman voice (who was actually a clean-shaven, white, and even blonde twenty-year-old at the time). The volume with which the band performs the piece is lowered, acoustic instruments return, highlighting Gregg's vocal skills in the Allmans’ melancholic side and what would become the most intimate southern rock.

The conclusion is entrusted to "Leave My Blues At Home", where the blues returns played fully by all the instruments with great interplay of guitars and drums and lots of energy.

What more can be added? All the Allman Brothers Band albums from the Duane era deserve five stars, being the testimony of one of the best and most innovative formations in rock history that were igniting the spark of what was at the time the next big thing in USA rock.

TRACKLIST

1 REVIVAL

2 DON'T KEEP ME WONDERIN'

3 MIDNIGHT RIDER

4 IN MEMORY OF ELIZABETH REDD

5 HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN

6 PLEASE CALL HOME

7 LEAVE MY BLUES AT HOME