In somewhat belated recognition and celebration of the fifty year anniversary of the formation of the Allman Brothers Band in March of 1969, something of a beehive of activity arose during the first quarter of 2020. Not coincidentally, most of it circles around what used to be one of, if not the most, significant junctures of any given year for the latter-day ABB, that is, the perennial runs of concerts at New York City's Beacon Theater. In lieu of such a string (which ended in 2014 as the band called it quits later that year at the same venue), a Madison Square Garden concert in early March featured former members of the group. Nearly coincidental with that occasion, a new anthology of previously-released and never-before-available recordings, Trouble No More (UMG, 2020), spanned the Southern blues-rock icons' career. Now, in the wake of those events, the group has seen fit to issue early work of the namesakes of the group on CD and vinyl. In keeping with the later years of the Allman Brothers, it's a mixed bag, with flashes of brilliance embedded within the (overly-?) familiar and/or tangentially compelling content. It might be fair to say ABB deserve better than this, except that the group suffered from a concerted lack of pragmatic, forward-thinking business leadership virtually throughout its existence, so these titles, such as they are, simply maintain a longstanding tradition (like the ill-conceived and executed Fillmore West '71 package (ABB Recording Co., 2019)

The Allman Joys
Early Allman
The Allman Brothers Band Recording Company
2020

Except for some flashes of promise, The Allman Joys sound virtually indiscernible from the hastily-conceived and promoted bands (sic) of its mid-to-late Sixties era. Furthermore, Early Allmans belies its somewhat esteemed recording location (at Bradley's Barn in Nashville) and its co-producer of some comparable renown (John D. Loudermilk author of "Tobacco Road"). Given the running time of these CD's—thirty-seven minutes in this case—combining the four titles on two discs might better clarify the distinction between the formative work and the Brothers' later efforts (as did the four-CD box Dreams (Polydor, 1989). In marked contrast to the surrounding folk-rock leanings in this collection, the blues roots are readily apparent here on "Spoonful," yet its two and a half minute duration hardly allows for much exploration. Likewise, the consciously commercial bent of the production only allows hints of Gregg's burgeoning vocal skills: it's a tribute to his soulful side he stands out as much as he does.

Hourglass
Eponymous
The Allman Brothers Band Recording Company
2020

With this packaging mere replication of original vinyl releases, the resulting microscopic fonts on these compact discs might've carried over to the inner sleeves to allow for at least contextual information (as on the early Nineties issues which also contain photos and graphics). But there's precious little additional content here, much less practical details, for instance, about the nature and extent of the remastering credited to Tom Lewis (did he work from the original masters ?). The studio supervision here courtesy of Dallas Smith conjures up an overly-sweet confection that's almost wholly anonymous even with session players gone in favor of a bonafide band (including future Capricorn Studios stalwarts, drummer Johnny Sandlin and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Paul Hornsby). The continued emphasis on the younger Allman's voice—much more so than on his older sibling's guitars—offsets the absence of his own compositions in favor of material from outside the group: even sources are as estimable as