DEVON ALLMAN
''RAGGED & DIRTY''
OCTOBER 14 2014
48:08
1 Half the Truth
Richard Fleming / Tom Hambridge 3:07
2 Can't Lose 'Em All
Tom Hambridge / Lee Roy Parnell 3:45
3 Leavin'
Richard Fleming / Tom Hambridge 2:42
4 I'll Be Around
Thomas Randolph Bell / Phil Hurtt 3:56
5 Traveling
Devon Allman 4:16
6 Midnight Lake Michigan
Devon Allman 9:31
7 Ten Million Slaves
Otis Taylor 3:22
8 Blackjack Heartattack
Devon Allman 3:12
9 Back to You
Devon Allman 5:04
10 Times Have Changed
Richard Fleming / Tom Hambridge 3:28
11 Ragged & Dirty
Luther Allison / Ray Goodman / Bob Kreinar / Joseph Peraino / Andrew Smith 2:45
12 Leave the City
Devon Allman 3:00
Devon Allman/Guitar, Guitar (Resonator), Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Giles Cory/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic)
Felton Crews/Bass
Tom Hambridge/Drums, Percussion, Tambourine, Vocals (Background), Xylophone
Wendy Moten/Vocals (Background)
Marty Sammon/Hammond B3, Piano, Wurlitzer
Bobby Schneck Jr./Guitar, Vocal Harmony, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
After two albums with his jam band Honeytribe and co-founding the blues rock supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood, Devon Allman issued a fine solo album in 2013 with Turquoise. While that record focused on his skills as a songwriter as much as it did his considerable ability as a guitarist, Ragged & Dirty changes up the game again by heading north to the wellspring of electric blues: Chicago. Produced by noted drummer, songwriter, and arranger Tom Hambridge -- who has worked with everyone from Joe Louis Walker and Susan Tedeschi to George Thorogood and Johnny Winter -- this is not a set of hard boogie blooooooz numbers, but a skilled, nuanced, yet kinetic reflection on the murky terrain where Chicago's signature electric style meets vintage R&B and rock. Allman the guitar slinger is back in a big way here, fronting a small ensemble that includes the drummer, bassist Felton Crews, B-3 player Marty Sammon, and guitarist Giles Cory. Hambridge contributed four excellent tunes to the set, Allman five, and there are three choice covers. The latter include a burning read of the title track (a funky blues scorcher by Luther Allison off his 1972 Motown set, Bad News Is Coming), an emotionally resonant reading of the Spinners' hit, "I'll Be Around" -- which showcases Allman's considerable gifts as a singer -- and a poignant, thoroughly electrified take on Otis Taylor's "Ten Million Slaves." There's a hint of the Allman Brothers Band's blues attack on Hambridge's "Can't Lose 'Em All," with Cory twinning the lead guitar line. "Midnight Lake Michigan" is a long, slow instrumental where Allman gets to show off his chops, his phrasing purposely reflecting the influences of Buddy Guy and Jimi Hendrix. His own "Traveling" gives free play to his nasty, funky wah-wah pedal and melds Southern rock to Windy City soul blues, while "Blackjack Heart Attack" is a burning rocker whose gritty vamps and stinging leads are adorned by careening B-3 and bass fills. Ragged & Dirty is the first time in Allman's recording career that all of his strengths have been on full display. Hambridge's production is polished, yet never rounds off the edges; sounds and dynamics encounter one another spontaneously and naturally. Allman is inspired; he reveals the myriad aspects of his musical persona -- so full of contrasting yet complementary voices -- free expression, resulting in the finest thing he's ever put his name on.
BIOGRAPHY
by Thom Jurek
Guitarist and songwriter Devon Allman is the son of musician Gregg Allman and hails from Corpus Christi, Texas. He is the leader of Devon Allman's Honeytribe, whose first incarnation was born in 1999. Honeytribe's hard-edged and spacious blues-based rock, displayed in powerful live shows, quickly led to them becoming hometown favorites. They won the Riverfront Times Jam Band of the Year award. After recording demos and playing some festivals, Allman disbanded the group in order to spend time at home with his newborn son. He continued to play local and regional solo acoustic shows and write songs. In 2002, he appeared as a guest vocalist on Pinkeye d'Gekko's Rhythm & Westrn. In 2003 he, Randy Cash, Brian Breckle, and Mark Oyarzabal recorded the album Somewhere Between Day and Night as Ocean Six.
Allman re-formed Honeytribe in 2005 with its original cast. They recorded Torch in 2006 and hit the road, playing up to 300 shows a year in 42 states and ten countries, becoming festival favorites all over the world. In 2007 he guested on Paris Luna's City Lights album. He appeared on Love, Union, Peace with bluesman Javier Vargas' Vargas Blues Band (along with Jack Bruce, Reese Wynans, and others) in 2008 as well as the Flamenco Blues Experience album recording by the same outfit. He also made appearances at various festivals and on MTV Europe.
Allman eventually grew restless with the original Honeytribe sound and pared the band down to a power trio in 2008 with bassist George Potsos and new drummer Gabriel Strange. This incarnation of Devon Allman's Honeytribe issued Space Age Blues in the fall of 2010. His next project was a blues rock/jam band supergroup called the Royal Southern Brotherhood, comprised of himself and Mike Zito on guitars, bassist Charlie Wooton from Zydefunk, and ex-Derek Trucks drummer Yonrico Scott. The quintet issued a self-titled set in 2012. Allman, proving ever restless, issued his first proper "solo" songwriter's record in early 2013, entitled Turquoise, backed by Scott and bassist Myles Weeks.
Throughout that year he was kept busy by touring with the Royal Southern Brotherhood, who followed up their debut with the concert audio/video package Songs from the Road: Live in Germany in 2013. They recorded their sophomore studio offering, HeartSoulBlood, in early 2014; Ruf issued it in June.
Allman took whatever time he had off from the Royal Southern Brotherhood to play solo shows. He finally got the time to record a project he'd wanted to undertake for some time. In early 2014, he entered a Chicago studio with a cast of seasoned blues veterans from the bands of Luther Allison, Buddy Guy, Charlie Musselwhite, and others. The end result was Ragged & Dirty, which was released in October and showcased an almost entirely different side of the artist.
''RAGGED & DIRTY''
OCTOBER 14 2014
48:08
1 Half the Truth
Richard Fleming / Tom Hambridge 3:07
2 Can't Lose 'Em All
Tom Hambridge / Lee Roy Parnell 3:45
3 Leavin'
Richard Fleming / Tom Hambridge 2:42
4 I'll Be Around
Thomas Randolph Bell / Phil Hurtt 3:56
5 Traveling
Devon Allman 4:16
6 Midnight Lake Michigan
Devon Allman 9:31
7 Ten Million Slaves
Otis Taylor 3:22
8 Blackjack Heartattack
Devon Allman 3:12
9 Back to You
Devon Allman 5:04
10 Times Have Changed
Richard Fleming / Tom Hambridge 3:28
11 Ragged & Dirty
Luther Allison / Ray Goodman / Bob Kreinar / Joseph Peraino / Andrew Smith 2:45
12 Leave the City
Devon Allman 3:00
Devon Allman/Guitar, Guitar (Resonator), Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Giles Cory/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic)
Felton Crews/Bass
Tom Hambridge/Drums, Percussion, Tambourine, Vocals (Background), Xylophone
Wendy Moten/Vocals (Background)
Marty Sammon/Hammond B3, Piano, Wurlitzer
Bobby Schneck Jr./Guitar, Vocal Harmony, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
After two albums with his jam band Honeytribe and co-founding the blues rock supergroup Royal Southern Brotherhood, Devon Allman issued a fine solo album in 2013 with Turquoise. While that record focused on his skills as a songwriter as much as it did his considerable ability as a guitarist, Ragged & Dirty changes up the game again by heading north to the wellspring of electric blues: Chicago. Produced by noted drummer, songwriter, and arranger Tom Hambridge -- who has worked with everyone from Joe Louis Walker and Susan Tedeschi to George Thorogood and Johnny Winter -- this is not a set of hard boogie blooooooz numbers, but a skilled, nuanced, yet kinetic reflection on the murky terrain where Chicago's signature electric style meets vintage R&B and rock. Allman the guitar slinger is back in a big way here, fronting a small ensemble that includes the drummer, bassist Felton Crews, B-3 player Marty Sammon, and guitarist Giles Cory. Hambridge contributed four excellent tunes to the set, Allman five, and there are three choice covers. The latter include a burning read of the title track (a funky blues scorcher by Luther Allison off his 1972 Motown set, Bad News Is Coming), an emotionally resonant reading of the Spinners' hit, "I'll Be Around" -- which showcases Allman's considerable gifts as a singer -- and a poignant, thoroughly electrified take on Otis Taylor's "Ten Million Slaves." There's a hint of the Allman Brothers Band's blues attack on Hambridge's "Can't Lose 'Em All," with Cory twinning the lead guitar line. "Midnight Lake Michigan" is a long, slow instrumental where Allman gets to show off his chops, his phrasing purposely reflecting the influences of Buddy Guy and Jimi Hendrix. His own "Traveling" gives free play to his nasty, funky wah-wah pedal and melds Southern rock to Windy City soul blues, while "Blackjack Heart Attack" is a burning rocker whose gritty vamps and stinging leads are adorned by careening B-3 and bass fills. Ragged & Dirty is the first time in Allman's recording career that all of his strengths have been on full display. Hambridge's production is polished, yet never rounds off the edges; sounds and dynamics encounter one another spontaneously and naturally. Allman is inspired; he reveals the myriad aspects of his musical persona -- so full of contrasting yet complementary voices -- free expression, resulting in the finest thing he's ever put his name on.
BIOGRAPHY
by Thom Jurek
Guitarist and songwriter Devon Allman is the son of musician Gregg Allman and hails from Corpus Christi, Texas. He is the leader of Devon Allman's Honeytribe, whose first incarnation was born in 1999. Honeytribe's hard-edged and spacious blues-based rock, displayed in powerful live shows, quickly led to them becoming hometown favorites. They won the Riverfront Times Jam Band of the Year award. After recording demos and playing some festivals, Allman disbanded the group in order to spend time at home with his newborn son. He continued to play local and regional solo acoustic shows and write songs. In 2002, he appeared as a guest vocalist on Pinkeye d'Gekko's Rhythm & Westrn. In 2003 he, Randy Cash, Brian Breckle, and Mark Oyarzabal recorded the album Somewhere Between Day and Night as Ocean Six.
Allman re-formed Honeytribe in 2005 with its original cast. They recorded Torch in 2006 and hit the road, playing up to 300 shows a year in 42 states and ten countries, becoming festival favorites all over the world. In 2007 he guested on Paris Luna's City Lights album. He appeared on Love, Union, Peace with bluesman Javier Vargas' Vargas Blues Band (along with Jack Bruce, Reese Wynans, and others) in 2008 as well as the Flamenco Blues Experience album recording by the same outfit. He also made appearances at various festivals and on MTV Europe.
Allman eventually grew restless with the original Honeytribe sound and pared the band down to a power trio in 2008 with bassist George Potsos and new drummer Gabriel Strange. This incarnation of Devon Allman's Honeytribe issued Space Age Blues in the fall of 2010. His next project was a blues rock/jam band supergroup called the Royal Southern Brotherhood, comprised of himself and Mike Zito on guitars, bassist Charlie Wooton from Zydefunk, and ex-Derek Trucks drummer Yonrico Scott. The quintet issued a self-titled set in 2012. Allman, proving ever restless, issued his first proper "solo" songwriter's record in early 2013, entitled Turquoise, backed by Scott and bassist Myles Weeks.
Throughout that year he was kept busy by touring with the Royal Southern Brotherhood, who followed up their debut with the concert audio/video package Songs from the Road: Live in Germany in 2013. They recorded their sophomore studio offering, HeartSoulBlood, in early 2014; Ruf issued it in June.
Allman took whatever time he had off from the Royal Southern Brotherhood to play solo shows. He finally got the time to record a project he'd wanted to undertake for some time. In early 2014, he entered a Chicago studio with a cast of seasoned blues veterans from the bands of Luther Allison, Buddy Guy, Charlie Musselwhite, and others. The end result was Ragged & Dirty, which was released in October and showcased an almost entirely different side of the artist.
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