The son of the legendary Greg Allman, it took a year or so before Devon felt comfortable to move forward with making music once more, his first act being to pay tribute to his father at the historic San Francisco Fillmore with his new band, The Devon Allman Project. The performance, which saw guest spots from G. Love and Robert Randolph, also featured Duane Betts, son of Allman Brothers guitarist and singer Dickey Betts. The pair instantly hit it off, which led to Betts opening for Devon over the course of some 100 shows around the world. As the two grew closer, collaboration was inevitable and the pair recruited Berry Duane Oakley (son of Allman Brothers bassist Berry Oakley), alongside slide guitarist Johnny Stachela, drummer John Lum and percussionist R Scott Bryan, to form The Allman Betts Band. Down To The River, the first fruit of their endeavour, was produced by Matt Ross-Spang at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio and bears all the hallmarks one might expect from a collaboration so rich in musical heritage.
Kicking off with the hot-wired riff of all night, a soulful blues with a taut rhythm, it’s clear that The Allman Betts Band are keen to forge their own identity whilst remaining true to their roots. It’s a bristling start to an album that feels strangely timeless, the band drawing on a considerable wealth of knowledge to deliver a track that combines weighty blues riffing, a touch of funk in the percussion and a richly psychedelic mid-section, the result sitting somewhere between The Allman Brothers, The Black Crowes, Eric Clapton and Pink Floyd. Following such a wonderful start, the band keep things tight with shinin’ a track that recalls the fiery riff of motherless children, adding a swaggering, Southern charm into the mix that is aided no end by Johnny’s liquid slide work. It’s time for some vintage blues, and this the band deliver with Try, a track that is sweetened considerably by the keyboard work that swirls around the guitars. An album highlight, the title track recalls the smooth blues of Robert Cray, the shuffling rhythm and warm bass wrapping themselves around the listener like a protective cocoon. It’s a gorgeous song, perfectly recorded, and it paves the way perfectly for the psychedelic jam of Autumn Breeze, a track that weaves its way through the consciousness over the course of eight scintillating minutes. With guitar work reminiscent of Meddle-era Floyd and a languid pace, it showcases a band unafraid to expand the sonic palette when the mood takes them.
With the sun-kissed psychedelia of Autumn Breeze having showcased the band at their most gloriously out there, the acoustic-led Good ol’ days is a sweetly nostalgic reminder that you have to seize life whilst the opportunity is there, the trememlo-washed guitar and slide work all adding to the gentle melancholy of the piece. In contrast melodies are memories is a Southern boogie that trips lightly along on the back of Berry’s roaming bassline before a storming slide riff sends Derek and the Dominos-sized shock-waves through the piece. A lone piano leads the way into Southern Accents, a track that suggests a touch of homesickness set in as the band toured their way around the world. Sweetly sad, it combines a sense of Southern Pride with a touch of longing that is only emphasised by the slide guitar that appears, following the vocals, in the second half of the song. It only leaves the lengthy Long gone to bring the album to a suitably elegiac close.
An immensely satisfying record, down to the river sees The Allman Betts band successfully pay tribute to their illustrious roots whilst simultaneously forging their own identity. From the touching Southern Accent to the lengthy, Doors-infused wig-out of Autumn Breeze, the band manage to synthesise their influences into a coherent and emotionally-rich album that bears repeated listens with ease. A sparkling introduction to a band that is full of promise, Down To The River suggests that The Allman Betts Band are just getting started. 8.5
