Eat A Peach: Album Review
The sweetest things come at the darkest times
Although sweetly named, Eat A Peach, was produced at a much more bitter time for the Allman Brothers Band. The death of Duane Allman, guitarist and brother to lead singer Gregg, part way through recording, along with the bands substance abuse, saw a shining light of musical mastery beam out of the darkest time.
My initial thoughts before listing to the record is how much I loved the art work. A simple truck carrying a giant peach, much like a Roald Dahl novel, gives off a country warmth to ready you for the immense and beautiful southern rock that is about to grace you ears.
Kicking off the 1972 record, with Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More, written by Gregg about his brothers death and with Dickey Betts stepping in on slide to fill the a massive Duane sized hole, the beautifully melancholic lead melody he creates supported by the strong, driving drum beat allows Gregg to glide vocally across the track. Immediately leaving you wanting more, this great opener sets a strong presidence for what is yet to come.
The bands impressive cohesion is thoroughly displayed through their instrumental tracks. Mountain Jam is a 33:41 minute long jam track that fully encompass the Allman Brothers Band sound while sneaking in jazzier phrases that really catch your ear. Everyone shines on this track, making room for an organ, bass and drum solo, showcasing the innate understanding they all had of each other. The highlight though, has to be the tangled beauty of Duane and Dickey’s guitar playing, like two intertwined electric serpents. Although this track perfectly displays the bands organismic quality, I did find my self loosing concentration, and I think the same goal could have been achieved in half the time, making it the track I find myself coming back to the least.
Les Bres In A Minor is Mountain Jam’s shorter counterpart, that is immensely cinematic, throwing you head first into soaring guitar swirls that would perfectly accompany a falcon flying across a rocky, desert terrain before diving into a groovy bass riff, soon followed by Dickey’s incredible lead guitar, making you want to move. The song quickly climbs to a steep finale, then begins its slow decent before reaching a pit of silence, to give you time to take it all in.
The album is also littered with thumping tracks such as Stand Back which is driven by a gloriously catchy and jumping riff that accompanies the story of a regretful relationship. Blue Sky, is however, the stand out track for me and arguably one of the best songs ever written. Penned by Dickey about his girlfriend and later wife, you are encapsulated by the bright, melodic and transcendent guitar work from himself and Duane that make up the majority of the song, telling the sorry better than words ever could.
As the Allman Brothers Band often pay tribute to their influences through titillating renditions, it is no surprise we are graced with two brilliant covers. One Way Out is a fresh take on Elmore James’ (one of Duane’s biggest influences), original tune. The combination of the contagious bluesy slide riff, accompanied by Gregg’s vocal delivery allows the track to stand on it’s own. Duane’s solo really allows us to seem him at his best one last time. Packed with inimitable feel and groove, we haven’t seen the likes since.
The Muddy Waters hard hitter Trouble No More is also a brilliant track in its own right, displaying a perfect display of call and response between Gregg and Duane, that always winds back up with the powerful bass riff that kicks the song off.
The band isn’t just all fiery electric guitar solos and popping bass lines, which they showcase clearly in their two acoustic tracks, that really add a great dimension to the album. Mellissa is a classic love story we have all heard before but it’s the composition that creates a thoughtful and familiar atmosphere, making it one the best songs on the record. It was “My brothers favourite song I ever wrote” Gregg says in his memoir My Cross To Bear, and I’m not surprised as it combines that classic acoustic feel intertwined with angelic lead electric lines that perfectly fit.
Little Martha rounds up the album bringing us home. An acoustic instrumental and the only song Duane ever got sole credit for, it is a sweet, summery finger-style that is heartfelt and up-lifting. It somehow makes you forget everything for 2 minutes.
This album felt like a brain massage, a feeling of euphoria and uniqueness that has kept me coming back for more ever since. I think we should all Eat A Peach everyday.
Score: 9/10