Allman Brothers and Outlaws - Best of the Rest

The Allman Brothers occupy a full shelf in my library tons of CD's Studio, Hits compilation, Mycology is a good one, Box sets, Decade of Hits is also good and live releases including last years show in Raleigh.  There are several albums which had great songs on them but did not make it onto official collections so I am closing the loop so to speak.  There are also a string of albums I would rather forget during the Arista years when Clive Davis tried to milk some more money out of them and turn them into the Dobbie Brothers.  Clearly needing a break creatively the bands sound got homogenized with horns, fiddles and back up signers and lots of synth for the mass market and lost its bearing.  The well was a bit dry but the albums that came before and later Win Lose or Draw, Enlightened Rogues and Seven Turns have some outstanding tracks.

Mycology grabs the strongest tracks off Seven Turns but as an album that came next Shades of Two Worlds is a monster tour de force overlooked powerhouse that sits nicely next to Filmore East.  If you are an Allman Brothers Fan you need to own this entire disc!

The Outlaws are another story they split up before they could get rolling.  Their first two albums Outlaws, and Lady in Waiting have a great variety of strong tracks, vocals, harmonies and fierce playing.  Their third album Hurry Sundown seems to predict their demise or unconscious desire to get away from each other.  Whether they were too busy counting their money or in a power struggle with Henry Paul I do not know.  Even though they derailed themselves those first two albums were a lot of fun when they came out and still stand up very well.  Henry Paul released a nice solo album around this time that is also worth owning.  There is an outstanding Best of the Outlaws: Green Grass and High Tides collection that captures most everything and is a must have but for me it left a few sweet cuts off from the first three albums.  Hughie Thomasson, and Billy Jones sounded great together and the original 1970's line up is worth hearing.

What I did with this Best of the Rest collection was mix in one Outlaw number in between two Allman Brother numbers.  I kicked the whole thing off with Keep Prayin' Everythings Gonna Be Alright by the Outlaws.  This disc is a proud, strong, spirited addition to my collection and closes with Dickie Betts saying, "lets do this one for the two brothers".  Here's the track list.  If you go for it you will find some unearthed nuggets that will put a big old smile on your face.  It all fits on an 80 minute disc and mixes real well.  Without further adieu here's the Allman Brothers and the Outlaws - The Best of the Rest!


Keep Prayin - (Outlaws)
Pegasus - (Enlightened Rogues)
Need Your Love So Bad - (Enlightened Rogues)
Just For You - (Lady In Waiting)
Nevertheless - (Win Lose or Draw)
Can't Lose What You Never Had - (Win Lose or Draw)
Hearin' My Heart Talkin - (Hurry Sundown)
Win, Lose or Draw - (Win Lose or Draw)
Gamblers Roll - (Seven Turns)
Song in the Breeze - (Outlaws)
High Falls - (Win Lose or Draw)
True Gravity - (Seven Turns)
Aint So Bad - (Lady in Waiting)
Sail Away - (Enlightened Rogues)