Independent (label)
25 April 2018 (released)
25 April 2018
My personal musical tastes range from Blues through Country/Roots into Jazz, Prog and even punk – Allman Goldflies Band seem to have elements of every one of those except punk and they make a fine noise to boot.
Gary Allman is a cousin to Duane and Greg and has a warm and edgy vocal – touches of Willie Nelson – and he is paired up with bassist, David "Rook" Goldflies, formerly of the Allman Brothers Band and very definitely a bass player with more chops than the standard ‘thumpa-thumpa’ bassists that are commonly heard in bands on the circuit.
After being discovered by Dickey Betts his time with the Allman Brothers Band saw them deliver some of their best later work and the relationship between Butch Trucks and Goldflies allowed the jamming and experimental side of the band to develop. He also plays a mean violin which gives and extra timbre to the band’s music.
Add to those two the guitar talents of Matt Siegel & Joe Weiss plus some stellar percussion from Shawn "Shack" Shackleford and you have the basis of a band very much in the jamming tradition but who can make music that stirs the soul as well as the intellect.
Allman’s organ playing is eerily reminiscent of Greg Allman and on a track such as ‘Southern’s All I Ever Wanna Be’ you get a close feeling for the Southern Rock tradition that was spawned by the ABB/Great White/Ram Jam/Dickey Betts melee of bands.
On ‘Standing In The Georgia Rain’ Allman’s vocal is on the edge of strained but perfectly fits the mood of the song.
One of the best tracks is ‘When Jesus Calls’. Written in honour of Gary Allman's mother, it celebrates the joy of her life and features a full choir performance and a wonderful gospel/Blues feel to it.
‘Can’t Turn Back Now’ has a stunning feeling of funk about it, really showing off Goldflies bass skills while examining the Great American Dream of the open highway and the promise of renewal found somewhere over the horizon.
For a debut this is remarkable and if they were a dozen albums in to their career it would still be excellent. A brilliant new band.
