CoronaVinyl Day 302 (A): An Anthology by Duane Allman

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We're back to the start of the alphabet with "A," and while I've featured an Allman Brothers album and a Gregg Allman album, the only "A" artist I have left that I haven't already featured is Duane Allman.  I have his 1972 compilation album, An Anthology.

Allman, of course, is one of the most beloved guitarists in rock history, who was taken from us far too early, in a motorcycle crash in October 1971, just weeks before his 25th birthday and six years to the day before this here blogger was born.  But the mark he left on rock and roll is indelible, and what he accomplished by such a young age is remarkable.

We all know that Allman was the lead guitarist in The Allman Brothers Band and he dabbled with Eric Clapton, playing on most of the tracks on my favorite album of all-time, Derek and The Dominos' Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs -- including that iconic soaring slide guitar coda to "Layla."  But depending on how big of a Skydog fan you are -- well, I guess if you're not that big of a Duane Allman fan, you don't know his nickname is Skydog -- what you may not know is that he was also a session musician in the late '60s at the famed (pun intended, motherfuckers!) FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he played guitar for various soul legends like Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Clarence Carter, Percy Sledge, and King Curtis, among others.

Admittedly, I haven't listened to this album before today, as I assumed it was just a compilation of Allman Brothers songs.  Now I'm kicking myself -- literally and figuratively -- because this is just a fantastic double album spanning Allman's entire career, from The Hour Glass (his and Gregg's pre-Allman Brothers Band) to session musician to Allman Brothers Band, with some previously unreleased tracks in between.  There's even a Duane solo song -- a cover of the blues classic "Goin' Down Slow."  I don't think I had ever heard Duane Allman's voice before today.

Needless to say, I'm a little bit unexpectedly geeked as a result of this album.  Here is the track listing

Side 1
1.  "B.B. King Medley" by The Hour Glass
2.  "Hey Jude" by Wilson Pickett
3.  "The Road of Love" by Clarence Carter
4.  "Goin' Down Slow" by Duane Allman

Side 2
1.  "The Weight" by Aretha Franklin
2.  "Games People Play" by King Curtis
3.  "Shake for Me" by John Hammond
4.  "Loan Me a Dime" by Boz Scaggs
5.  "Rollin' Stone" by Johnny Jenkins

Side 3
1.  "Livin' on the Open Road" by Delaney & Bonnie & Friends
2.  "Down Along the Cove" by Johnny Jenkins
3.  "Please Be with Me" by Cowboy
4.  "Mean Old World" by Eric Clapton and Duane Allman
5.  "Layla" (alternate mix) by Derek and The Dominos

Side 4
1.  "Statesboro Blues" by The Allman Brothers Band
2.  "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" by The Allman Brothers Band
3.  "Standback" by The Allman Brothers Band
4.  "Dreams" by The Allman Brothers Band
5.  "Little Martha" by The Allman Brothers Band

Favorite song from Side 1:  "B.B. King Medley" by The Hour Glass
The first track on the album is a previously unreleased song from The Hour Glass -- a medley of three B.B. King songs, "Sweet Little Angel," "It's My Own Fault," and "How Blue Can You Get."  With Gregg's bluesy voice and Duane's fantastic blues guitar, if you would have told me this was an Allman Brothers Band song, I would have believed you.

Favorite song from Side 2:  "The Weight" by Aretha Franklin
Aretha's cover of The Band's classic is expectedly soulful, but did you know that Duane Allman plays guitar on the song?

Favorite song from Side 3:  "Layla" by Derek and The Dominos
Like I could choose another song from this side.  It's an all-time classic.

Favorite song from Side 4:  "Statesboro Blues" by The Allman Brothers Band
Side 4 is all Allmans, starting off with the live version of this Blind Willie McTell blues classic from the band's legendary At Fillmore East live album from 1971 (and it's also the first song on that album).