Gregg Allman's tour in support of his debut solo LP, Laid Back, led to the recording of this album (originally two LPs) at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. It's a match for Laid Back in musical value and then some, with a good, wide range of repertory and great performances throughout by all concerned, plunging head-first and deep into blues, R&B, honky tonk, and gospel. Strangely enough, the album contains only three of Laid Back's songs -- "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" opens the show in a properly spirited, earthy manner, but it's the second song, "Queen of Hearts," in a soaring rendition, with gorgeous backing by Annie Sutton, Erin Dickins, and Lynn Rubin, and superb sax work by Randall Bramblett and David Brown, that shows Allman in his glory as a singer and bandleader. Allman gives a lively, raucous, honky tonk-style rendition of the Elvis Presley hit "I Feel So Bad," complete with a killer guitar solo by Tommy Talton, and "Turn on Your Lovelight" gets an extended treatment worthy of the Allman Brothers Band. One would expect that, with Chuck Leavell and Jaimoe present in the band, there were be more similarity to the Allmans' sound, and that they'd be prominently featured, but Tommy Talton and bassist Kenny Tibbetts get more of a spotlight. Several Allman Brothers songs are present here, in more laid-back and lyrical versions, and the Capricorn Records band Cowboy -- essentially serving as the core of Allman's touring band -- gets a featured spot with two songs, "Time Will Take Us" and "Where Can You Go," that leave one wanting to hear a lot more concert material from them, and from Talton as a singer. The Gregg Allman Tour was reissued on CD in late 2001 by Polydor in a clearer, sharper remastered edition that contains Martin Mull's complete introduction of the band. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
Gregg Allman (Keyboards), Annie Sutton (Vocals), Johnny Lee "Jaimoe" Johnson (Percussion), Peter Ecklund (Trumpet), David Brown (Bass), Buddy Thornton (Technical Assistance), Randall Bramblett (Soloist), Johnny Lee "Jaimoe" Johnson (Drum Arrangements), Gregg Allman (Organ), Richard Mantel (Design), Randall Bramblett (Horn Arrangements), Tommy Talton (Slide Guitar), Randall Bramblett (Horn), Peter Eklund (Trumpet), Kenny Tibbetts (Bass), Chihiro Nozaki (Art Research), Johnny Sandlin (Producer), Johnnie Johnson (Drums), Gyro (Technical Assistance), Lynn Rubin (Vocals (Background)), Gregg Allman (Producer), Scott Boyer (Vocal Harmony), Ovie Sparks (Technical Assistance), Chuck Leavell (Piano (Electric)), Lynn Rubin (Vocals), Randall Bramblett (Organ), Gregg Allman (Arranger), Kenny Tibbetts (Bass (Electric)), Todd Logan (Trumpet), Randall Bramblett (Saxophone), Annie Sutton (Vocals (Background)), Gregg Allman (Piano), Chuck Leavell (Piano), Dave Brown (Saxophone), Sam Whiteside (Remixing), Ed Freeman (String Arrangements), Al Clayton (Photography), Scott Boyer (Guitar (Rhythm)), Johnny Sandlin (Arranger), Gregg Allman (Vocals), Kalifornia Kurt Kinzel (Assistant Engineer), Scott Boyer (Guitar), Tommy Talton (Vocals), Suha Gur (Remastering), Ed Freeman (Horn Arrangements), Tommy Talton (Guitar), Johnny Sandlin (Remixing), Tom Scott (Engineer), Erin Dickins (Vocals), Randall Bramblett (Sax (C-Melody)), Randall Bramblett (Sax (Alto)), Randall Bramblett (Sax (Soprano)), Harold Williams (Saxophone), Suha Gur (Digital Remastering), Bill Stewart (Drums), Johnny Sandlin (Bass), George Marino (Mastering), Minoru Harada (Product Manager), Erin Dickins (Vocals (Background)), Max Cahn (String Director), Tom Flye (Engineer), Johnny Lee "Jaimoe" Johnson (Conga)
