Allman Brothers

Very rarely is a legendary band is able to come up with new, credible material. Jam band progenitors the Allman Brothers have done better than that, tapping into some of the spark that made them one of the most influential American bands of their time. The lineup has changed due to tragedy, discontent, and plain orneriness, but the band is still able to create freefalling slide riffs, jazzy interludes, and soulful blues that have been staples of the band since 1969. Granted, some of the guitar solos aren't an heroic as they were when Dickey Betts in the fold, but the ballad "Desdamona" is as inspired as "Melissa," and Gregg Allman's singing has never been better.

The Allman Brothers Band will issue Peach Picks: Cream Of The Crop 2003 on May 16 via the group’s Peach Records imprint. Warren Haynes served as supervising producer for the collection of 36 tracks recorded by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame band between July 25 – August 10, 2003.

3 X CD SET FEATURING CLASSIC LIVE RECORDINGS 1971 - 1994 This three x CD boxed set celebrates the extraordinary career of The Allman Brothers, and features live broadcast recordings from each era of the band s history. On Disc One, from the group s first wave when brother Duane was still on board, comes the very rare Warehouse broadcast, recorded in New Orleans in September 1971. Next up is the classic broadcast from the Cow Palace in San Francisco on New Year s Eve 1973, by which time, tragically, both Duane Allman and bass player Berry Oakley had been killed in separate motorcycle accidents. The set is concluded with an extraordinary late period show recorded at the Woodstock Festival in 1994 (on the 25th Anniversary of the original 1969 event) when the band performed a dynamic set in front of some 500,000 attendees.

The final evening of their 2003 summer tour found the Allman Brothers planning a special night on the friendly turf of Raleigh, NC, wrapping up yet another road trip with invitations to Susan Tedeschi, Karl Denson, and truly serious jazzbo Branford Marsalis to join the group on-stage. It was all captured by the state-of-the-digital-arts folks at Instant Live, who burn CDs of the shows and make them available to concertgoers who still have a few extra green ones in their pockets by evening's end.