Newly unearthed from the vaults: 2nd Coming's debut album
A few weeks ago, I got notice of a new release on Bandcamp, Evaluations, the unreleased debut album by the 2nd Coming, the band’s second iteration.1
The Second Coming2 began as Dickey and Berry’s band. The group migrated from Sarasota to Jacksonville in 1968 and founded a musical movement for the Southern counterculture. It was southern musicians playing southern music in the South. The sound/movement evolves into what’s known as Southern rock.
The original Second Coming lineup recorded one single, “She Has Funny Cars” / “I Feel Free.” It gained some success regionally on the “Ape”—WAPE—and appears on the Dreams box set.
Things changed before the band recorded again.
Y’all know the rest of the story. In 1968, Duane and Berry meet in Jacksonville while Duane is touring with Hour Glass. Once Duane quits that band for good, he recruits Berry for his new band. Duane joins jams in and around Jacksonville and on March 26, 1969, assembles the Allman Brothers Band, when Gregg arrives at a rehearsal with Duane, Dickey, Berry, Butch, and Jaimoe.
In the wake of Dickey and Berry’s departures, Second Coming members Reese Wynans and John Meeks join forces with the Load, whose bass player is Richard “Hombre” Price. Guitarist Larry Reinhardt joins the lineup and in April 19693, the band recorded their debut album in a Jacksonville studio. It remained unreleased until now.
The packaging is gorgeous. Just look at the cover. (The back cover is mirrored silver.)
Price’s liner notes are extensive and thorough. He’s been a passionate advocate for the history of the Jacksonville (and Florida) music scene for decades and I’m stoked he’ll be joining me for a Conversation from the Crossroads.
Here’s Price recently on Facebook. He’s been following Dickey Betts a long time.
(Paid members, see email for questions for Richard.)
From Bandcamp
The story of the 2nd Coming begins in the late 1960s, when psychedelic music was sweeping across America. While California became the epicenter, a parallel scene was quietly exploding in Florida—fueled by young musicians inspired by the British Invasion and artists like Hendrix and Cream, yet searching for a heavier, more original sound.
In Sarasota and Bradenton, a tight-knit group of players gathered around a small venue called Club Toro. Among them were Larry Reinhardt, Reese Wynans, Richard “Hombre” Price, Berry Oakley, and Dickey Betts—musicians who would soon help shape what the world would later call Southern rock. What started as cover bands quickly evolved into something louder and more experimental.
Out of this scene came two interconnected bands: the Load (a power trio comprised of Larry Reinhardt, Richard Price and Monty Young) and the Second Coming (featuring Dickey Betts & Berry Oakley). By 1968, both groups had relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, sharing houses, stages, and an emerging musical vision. Their live shows—especially at legendary local spots like the Forrest Inn—became marathon jam sessions, drawing crowds of up to 2,000 people and attracting players like Duane Allman, Butch Trucks, and Jaimoe.
These collaborations would ultimately lead to the formation of the Allman Brothers Band, while the remaining members continued forging their own path—raw, heavy, and deeply rooted in blues, psychedelia, and improvisation.
In April 1969, a new, revamped line-up of the Second Coming—rechristened as the 2nd Coming—and featuring Larry Reinhardt (guitar), Reese Wynans (organ), Richard “Hombre” Price (bass) plus two drummers (Monty Young and John Meeks), entered Sound Laboratory in Jacksonville to record what would become the Evaluations album.
But when the band couldn’t pay the $6,000 studio bill, the album was shelved. A failed trip to New York to secure a deal sealed its fate, and the band soon dissolved. The master tapes were left behind—lost and forgotten for decades.
Meanwhile, the musicians went on to remarkable careers:
Larry Reinhardt would join Iron Butterfly and co-found Captain Beyond.
Reese Wynans would play with Stevie Ray Vaughan and later Joe Bonamassa.
Richard “Hombre” Price would work with artists like Lucinda Williams, Vassar Clements, North Mississippi Allstars and many more.
The legend might have ended there—until the late 1990s, when the original master tape was rediscovered in a storage archive. Purchased by the former band members, the recordings were finally back in their rightful hands.
After years of remaining unheard, the project has now been fully restored and released in collaboration with Guerssen Records, bringing this powerful, long-lost recording to light for the very first time. The 2nd Coming captures a pivotal moment—the exact crossroads where psychedelic rock evolved into the Southern jam sound that would soon change American music.4
Lagniappe
Bandcamp includes two bonus tracks that aren’t on vinyl.
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The nomenclature is important here as several bands have called themselves the Second Coming. Using “2nd” both differentiates this band, and also pays homage to the fact that they were the 2nd iteration of the Second Coming.
Note the change from “2nd” to “Second.”
Five months before the Allman Brothers record their debut.
I hadn’t heard about this being released! Thanks, Bob! Can’t wait to hear it.