BOOKS
One Way Out The Inside History of The Allman Brothers Band Alan Paul (St. Martin’s)
Alan Paul has been
writing about The All- man brothers Band for over 35 years, and has become a trusted jour-
nalist in their collective book, so he was the perfect man to take on the massive undertak- ing of telling the true, detailed story of one of the finest rock groups of the 20th century (and beyond.) Written in an "oral history" style, the book is made up primarily of quotes from band members, music industry folk, family and friends and others, interspersed with Paul's narrative - and it works to great effect. The book digs deep, and goes all the way
back to Duane and Gregg Allman's earliest bands. We read along as Duane forms the original ABB and they get signed by Phil Walden at Capricorn Records, become the flagship band for the Southern rock label, and morph into a red-hot touring machine. The 45-year story unfolds wkith story after story told by the people who were actually there when it happened, through the 80’s and 90’s line ups all the way up to present day, and the Warren Haynes/Derek Trucks lineup. Of course it is bittersweet in many ways,
given the band's announcement that they will retire from touring at the end of 2014, but man oh man, did they ever create a musical legacy that will live forever. One truly ad- mirable thing about Alan Paul's book is that,
when a particular story is remembered differ- ently by a couple of the Brothers, he chooses to present both of their quotes and let the reader decide which version is closest to the truth. Usually, it's usually a little of both - so this really helps. By the way, there are some very cool photos
in the book as well, which only act as the proverbial icing on the cake. Not only is this much, muchmore detailed and overall better than previous books on the band, it also sports the most beautiful embossed cover you have ever seen!
- Michael Buffalo Smith
Please Be With Me A Love Song for My Father Galadrielle Allman (Spiegel & Grau)
There have been several ti-
tles published regarding the history of The Allman Brothers Band, but the two that rise head and shoulders above all others were both published in 2014 - the aforementioned One Way Out, and a book that is nothing short of beautiful, Please Be With Me. Gal- adrielle Allman has fulfilled her life long quest to learn more about her father, the leg- endary guitarist Duane Allman, who died when she was a mere two years old. Through her meticulous research and
countless hours of interviews, Allman assem- bled all of the material for not one, but two, outstanding tributes to her Dad. The first one came last year, in the form of a seven-disc ret- rospective of Duane’s recordings titled Sky- dog, which came with a thick liner note book, written by Galadrielle. I remember thinking,
44
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62