I can think of no greater compliment for The Allman Brothers Band after almost 35 years in the scene than this: The group still sounds like The Allman Brothers Band.
With its newest release, Hittin' the Note, the Brothers have rejected most of the fake-sounding country music that filled its albums in the late 70s and early 80s and replaced it with serious, back-to-basics jazzy blues tunes.
Perhaps we could blame this change on the replacement of founding member -- and always the group's biggest country influence -- Dickey Betts with 23-year-old guitar prodigy Derek Trucks. But in 11 songs clocking in at more than 75 minutes, it would be too easy for Gregg Allman and company to throw in a lot of phony filler. And most of the music on this album feels real.
The technical seriousness of Hittin' The Note is not much of a surprise, considering the talented personnel making up The Allman Brothers Band nowadays. As immediately evident on tracks such as the complex jazz composition "Instrumental Illness," this may not be the most mentally connected configuration of the group, but it is quite possibly the most technically proficient.
New members Oteil Burbridge (bass) and Derek Trucks (guitar) rank among the most prominent modern names on their respective instruments. Early 90s veterans Marc Quiñones (percussion) and Warren Haynes (guitar) have established a fine place for themselves within the group. And founding members Butch Trucks (drums), Jaimoe (drums) and of course Gregg Allman himself manage to bring all the new sounds together, and yet still have the same feel as they did three decades ago -- quite a feat.
The one major difference is that Gregg's voice isn't as instantly recognizable as it once was. Time may have withered his vocals, but when he sings, "I make my living/ pouring out my pain" on "Desdemona," there's very little question he's still feeling the truth of his words.
And even though intense blues moments have always been the group's strongest, some of the diverse jams on Hittin' The Note steal the spotlight. "High Cost of Low Living" features a spaced-out, mellow section reminiscent of "Dreams" from the group's first album. Even "Desdemona" constantly jumps into a groovy jazz-waltz that builds into severely passionate solos from both Trucks and Haynes.
This skillful lineup also digs into some unique territory with the gospel-heavy "Heart of Stone" and the soulful acoustic closer "Old Friend." Some of the longer songs wear out their welcome after a few minutes, but this variety keeps it decently interesting.
The only other major problem with the music here comes in songs such as "Firing Line," which are so structured that the jams and little harmonic nuances feel contrived, not off the cuff as they did years ago. But these Brothers are still hittin' many very good notes.
