The long-out-of-print, career retrospective, 1972 double LP is being reissued on vinyl
In just four years, legendary guitarist Duane Allman laid down session tracks for some of music’s most important stars, founded the Allman Brothers Band – one of classic rock’s most influential collectives – and redefined the lead guitar, inspiring generations who continue to rediscover his genius 45 years after his death at age 24.
Allman’s long-out-of-print 1972 double LP, An Anthology, is being reissued by Mercury/UMe. The career-defining retrospective – featuring songs recorded with Aretha Franklin, Boz Scaggs, Derek & the Dominos, and many others – was released in two installments shortly after Allman’s death in a 1971 motorcycle accident in Macon, GA.
The new release, coming October 28, coincides with the October 29 anniversary of his death and comes about a month before Allman would have turned 70, on November 20. The album, pressed on standard 120-gram vinyl, is available for pre-order here.
The record will also be available as a limited edition run on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl complete with a reproduction of the 20-page booklet that accompanied the album’s original release. A special audiophile bundle will pair the LP together with a vintage feel t-shirt of the album cover, available here.
From the announcement: “An Anthology captures Allman in the many guises he somehow developed in just four years – from his time as a session musician at the iconic FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to his fraternization with fellow legend Eric Clapton and his fiery, virtuoso work with The Allman Brothers Band.”
Related: 9 essential Allman Brothers Band albums were remastered and reissued in 2016
Meanwhile, Rounder Records will release a limited-edition vinyl version of its popular 2013 boxed set, Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective. Each of the 1,000 individually numbered copies, also set for release on October 28, will include all of the music from the CD editions—129 tracks in total—on 14 180-gram vinyl LPs. Full details here.
More from the announcement: “An Anthology opens with a 20-year old Allman showcasing his blues player skills on ‘B.B. King Medley’ recorded with his bandmates Hour Glass in 1968. Allman caught the attention of Rick Hall, visionary producer at Muscle Shoals, who put him on Wilson Pickett’s version of the Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ which led to another huge opportunity for Allman when Atlantic Records’ Jerry Wexler heard his work and bought out his contract. That led to sessions with Aretha Franklin, Boz Scaggs, John Hammond, King Curtis, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends and Clarence Carter, featured here.”
The closing side of the second LP includes such Allman Brothers Band recordings as “Statesboro Blues,” “Stand Back” and “Dreams.”
An Anthology also features Allman’s work with Derek & the Dominos on the Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs sessions. The songs were recorded in Miami where Clapton met and befriended the guitarist in 1970, and include the iconic “Layla” and the Clapton recording “Mean Old World,” an acoustic back and forth between the two.
An Anthology track listing:
LP One
Side A
1. B.B. King Medley – Hour Glass
(a) Sweet Little Angel
(b) It’s My Own Fault
(c) How Blue Can You Get?
2. Hey Jude – Wilson Pickett
3. The Road Of Love – Clarence Carter
4. Goin’ Down Slow – Duane Allman
Side B
5. The Weight – Aretha Franklin
6. Games People Play – King Curtis
7. Shake For Me – John Hammond
8. Loan Me A Dime – Boz Skaggs
9. Rollin’ Stone – Johnny Jenkins
LP Two
Side C
1. Livin’ On The Open Road – Delaney & Bonnie & Friends
2. Down Along The Cove – Johnny Jenkins
3. Please Be With Me – Cowboy
4. Mean Old World – Eric Clapton and Duane Allman
5. Layla – Derek & The Dominos
Side D
6. Statesboro Blues – The Allman Brothers Band
7. Don’t Keep Me Wondering – The Allman Brothers Band
8. Stand Back – The Allman Brothers Band
9. Dreams – The Allman Brothers Band
10. Little Martha – The Allman Brothers Band
1 Comment so far
Jump into a conversationThanks for the heads up! Great news!!