The Play All Night Playlist Project: Introduction to 'Play All Night!'

One of the best things about reading music books is the discovery of new music. It can be daunting, though. So I've put together a series of playlists to accompany the book.

This one’s an easy pick, Capricorn Records’s 1972 Duane Allman: An Anthology. The record remains a fantastic primer on Duane’s career beyond just the Allman Brothers Band and is a perfect companion to my introduction.

Here it is on:

1. Spotify

2. YouTube

Improvisation, virtuosity, and live, organic, communal, experience are what Duane Allman valued most in music. It took him time to sift out these values, put them into action with the Allman Brothers Band, and capture the dynamic on record. And despite critical acclaim, the group remained firmly a part of the American rock underground for most of Duane’s lifetime. Success eluded them until the July 1971 release of At Fillmore East.

Some key tracks include:

Hour Glass “B.B. King Medley: Sweet Little Angel, It’s My Own Fault, How Blue Can You Get?”
Starts with Duane quietly counting off, then you can really hear the birth of the Allman Brothers Band sound.

Wilson Pickett “Hey Jude”
This is the track that started it all off for Duane.

Clarence Carter “The Road of Love”
This was Duane’s first real session at FAME. Rick Hall overdubbed his slide solo over Carter’s existing track, recorded and released the previous year.

Aretha Franklin “The Weight”
Duane’s slide is all over this song which reached #19 in March 1969, the month the ABB formed.

Eric Clapton, Duane Allman “Mean Old World”
Acoustic outtake from the Layla sessions.

Cowboy “Please Be With Me”
From one of Duane’s last studio sessions. Recorded with Capricorn Records labelmates Cowboy at Muscle Shoals Sound.

Allman Brothers Band “Dreams”
To me, this is the cut that most represents the earliest incarnation of the Allman Brothers Band in 1969. Among the first of Gregg’s originals the band worked up in Jacksonville.