Bits & Bobs

Here are a few things that have crossed the transom of late that y’all might find interesting.

New from me

Here’s a quick rundown of what I’ve been up to of late:

POST “Dreams”—the Allman Brothers Band song that grabbed me first.

VIDEO “Dreams” 7/3/97 Conyers, GA (Jack!!!!) and “Dreams” 7/10/70 SUNY Stony Brook¹

INTERVIEW “Conversations with Bob Beatty” I’m really proud of how this one came out.

ON THE ROAD Here’s yours truly last week in Lubbock paying my respects to the great Buddy Holly.²

Yes, I saw to it that his grave was kept clean, removing a bunch of dead flowers and other trash.

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BOOK REVIEW

This review of Play All Night! Duane Allman & the Journey to Fillmore East³ from the 5150 Show was an ABBsolutely wonderful surprise—particularly because it came from the other side of the world: New Zealand. Thanks Andrew!

WARREN HAYNES

Per usual, the Rev. Brother Haynes⁴ is everywhere.

Bert Kreischer’s podcast. Warren is very thoughtful, particularly if given the right questions. And though there are times I feel like Kreischer gets in the way, he generally keeps the conversation rolling and allows Warren to really dig in.

“Freebird” - Warren sitting in with Big Head Todd and the Monsters from Red Rocks. Both Haynes and Todd Park Mohr SLAY this song. This is a helluva jam.

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ABB Covers

“Ramblin’ Man” - Marcus King Band As y’all know, I’m a BIG fan of Marcus and his band who positively OWNS this tune. Here’s an acoustic take from Red Rocks, don’t miss my dude (and fellow Duane-iac) Drew Smithers ripping on a loaner guitar.

Two new-to-me covers y’all might enjoy:

• “Midnight Rider” - Deitch Teitel Fribush

• “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” - Bag of Nails⁵

This one might surprise you at first glance:

• “One Way Out” - Metallica. This is only a tease (and not the best video) and your mileage may vary, but I’m jazzed whenever I see any band paying homage to the Allman Brothers.⁶

Reads

“A Secret Trove of Rare Guitars Heads to the Met” I’m keeping an eye on this one. The Met’s Play It Loud exhibition was one of the finest music-related exhibits I’ve ever seen. That’s as it should be, given the resources they have at their disposal. But it exceeded my expectations in every way.

Sly & the Family Stone: An Oral History by Joel Selvin (2022) Selvin, an early ABB devotee,⁷ is also one of my favorite rock writers. This book is devastating. Stone was the real deal: a truly groundbreaking artist who had all the talent in the world. Dude was a terrific songwriter, arranger, & bandleader. He was also a world-class drug addict who pissed it all away. Another victim of success.

Apropos of nothing, but just as I finished reading this, Sly died. Here are some tributes:

“Rest in Funk, Sly Stone” by

Michael Elliott

“Sly in the Summer of Soul, and Love” by

Wayne Robins

Review of “Sly Lives! aka The Burden of Black Genius” by

Rock Talk Studio

“The amazing nexus of jazz and rock” by

Joel Harrison

Lots of ABB references throughout. And ICYMI, here’s “Dickie Betts’ Dream”⁸ a live version of Joel’s tribute from the Alternative Guitar Summit.

“Sing Your Song”

Holly Berkley Fletcher

I’d share this even if it didn’t mention her husband’s ABB obsession. Her main message: “Don’t sh*t on other people’s joy.” I can get behind that.

“The Long Ride of Charley Crockett” I mention Crockett in footnote #2. Turns out, he’s got a really fascinating backstory as Texas Monthly covered a while back. The guy is prolific AF and has a really great team around him making his music available and accessible. Case in point is this video “Lonesome Drifter.”

PLAYLIST

I’ve saved everything I mention in this post in a playlist on Youtube. The link for paid subscribers is behind the paywall.