180-gram, numbered edition. 1/2 Speed Mastering.
Idlewild South, the sophomore release from America's sovereign Southern rock band the Allman Brothers, is easily their greatest studio album. Unlike the band's labyrinthine live shows, which are distinguished by their immense, walloping swamp rock, this album focuses on the considerable songwriting capabilities of Gregg Allman and Dicky Betts. Plus, it showcases the band’s original lineup, before multiple tragedies began taking their toll: The lightning slide guitar of Duane Allman, the vocals and Hammond B-3 of his brother Greg Allman, lead guitarist Dickey Betts, bassist Berry Oakley, and the thunderous drum tandem of Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson. This album lays bare their talent for weaving disparate but distinctly Southern elements of rock, gospel, soul, jazz, and R&B into a cohesive and original whole. The legendary Engineer/Producer Tom Dowd oversaw these sessions, which resulted in the Bible-thumping "Revival," the smash hit "Midnight Rider," the dirty blues of "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'," the soul-soothing "Please Call Home," and the legendary "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," which would go on to become the penultimate Allman Brothers' concert war-horse.
"Not having listened to Idlewild South in years, I was shocked by just how well recorded this LP was given its rock'n roll roots. Idlewild South is an unqualified sonic success. Those qualities included great soundstaging and being largely free of the solid-state hardness typifying many recordings of this generation. Upper octaves are a little softened but cymbals sound like cymbals, not mangled pieces of metal... Overall, Idlewild South is fairly transparent with a great feeling of liveness." - Myles B. Astor, Positive-Feedback.com, Issue 49 |