The Play All Night Playlist Project: Chapter 1 “Duane’s Musical Ethos”
“You gotta strive to play a kind of music that’s honest to yourself.” Duane Allman
Hey y’all, back again with another entry in the Play All Night Playlist Project. My idea is to give some musical context to what you’re reading in the book. It comes out of my own needs when I read music books. It can be somewhat overwhelming to have so much *new* music at my fingertips and I thought I’d close that gap some by posting playlists.
This one accompanies Chapter 1 of Play All Night!: “Duane’s Musical Ethos.”
Duane’s legacy isn’t the ‘what if’ of his tragically rock ’n’ roll death at twenty-four; it is what he accomplished in music. It is larger than just At Fillmore East; it is how he conceived of and built a band that fulfilled the sound he heard in his head. This chapter is my understanding of the origins and manifestations of Duane’s musical philosophy and artistic vision.
Duane’s career prior to forming the Allman Brothers Band was that of a talented musician and bandleader whose abilities were a poor fit for a music business focused on hit-making. Duane was not a traditional front man; he neither wrote songs nor sang. He valued live improvisation, not rote recitation, and he sought other musicians who shared that value. By March 1969 he found them: the Allman Brothers Band.
I compiled a 28-song playlist for this chapter.1 It’s presented here in the (relative) order the references appear in the book.
There’s a lot here, including several long cuts, if you don’t dig them, FAST-FORWARD. There will be something to strike your fancy 🍄
Duane’s Musical Ethos
Here are some thoughts on the tracks I’ve pulled together.
John Coltrane “My Favorite Things” Duane cites this album (this track in particular) and Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue, which featured ‘Trane, as two of his greatest jazz influences.
Miles Davis “All Blues” This is the track that inspired the band’s arrangement of Gregg’s original, “Dreams.” Jaimoe borrowed his drum part direct from Jimmy Cobb’s on this record.
Muddy Waters “Mannish Boy” Muddy’s electric blues spawned generations of imitators, as did his searing slide guitar.
B.B. King “Sweet Little Angel” “It’s My Own Fault” “How Blue Can You Get?” There are nearly as many B.B. King songs for me to choose from as there are songs. I chose these three because they were on Live at the Regal, which Gregg, in particular, cites as his and Duane’s huge influence. Hour Glass cut these three songs as a medley on their 1968 Muscle Shoals demo.
Johnny Winter “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” and “It’s My Own Fault” Two cuts from Winter’s debut album, one a Muddy Waters cover, the other a cover of B.B. King.
Elmore James “Done Somebody Wrong” “Dust My Broom” James’s slide technique and tone is as, if not more, influential than Muddy Waters’s. He was a huge influence on Duane. The ABB covered “DSW” on At Fillmore East.
Jeff Beck “Beck’s Bolero” Gregg cites this as one of the first times Duane really noticed slide.
Taj Mahal “Statesboro Blues” Whether it was a live gig (as Paul Hornsby says) or the album cut (as Gregg Allman remembered), it was Jesse Ed Davis’s bottleneck playing on this song that got Duane started on slide.
Delaney and Bonnie & Friends “Living on the Open Road” “Long Road Ahead” “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” “Come on in My Kitchen” On any given day I could choose a dozen D&B songs. These are just tracks he did with Duane. The entire show the “COMIK” comes from has circulated for years, even been released officially once or twice. Check it here.
Do yourself a favor and listen to Motel Shot in its entirety. Seriously.
(You’re welcome.)
Derek & the Dominos “Anyday” “Little Wing” “Layla” These are in no way definitive, I could pick a lot of songs on this album. “Anyday” has great interplay between Duane and Eric Clapton and great slide playing from Duane. “Little Wing” shows Duane’s arranging abilities of the Hendrix original — it’s also the only song recorded by each of the Mount Rushmore of blues guitarists: Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton/Duane Allman, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Like Motel Shot, you really should hear the whole album.
Albert King “As the Years Go Passing By” Had to include this, as Duane copped (and sped up) King’s opening line—“There is nothing I can do”—for the riff to Layla. (I also never miss a chance to post a photo of Albert King — who played the guitar tuned down to C# and upside down.)
Allman Brothers Band. All of these tracks speak to the band’s prowess in light of Duane’s musical ethos. They are not necessarily definitive takes, though some may find them so.
“Statesboro Blues” alternate take from the At Fillmore East sessions March 1971
“Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’” features a scorching outro solo from Duane August 1971
“Trouble No More” is from the band’s first set at the Atlanta Pop Festival July 1970
“In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” performed about 9 weeks before Duane’s death August 1971
“Dreams” they played this twice at Fillmore West in January 1971
“Statesboro Blues” from the ABB’s set opening for the Grateful Dead and Love February 1970
“Blue Sky” notice how Duane introduces this as “Dickey’s song”
Join the Long Live the ABB community:
Here are the previous two playlists from the Play All Night Playlist project:
I always thought that Elizabeth Reed was influenced by listening to All Blues???
And I remember reading that Jaimoe said that Dreams was My Favourite Things with words!!!!