Top 10 Allman Brothers Band Songs
In their heyday, the Allman Brothers Band were pioneers of incredible blues, jazz, and rock fusion. They created a genre of their own. Numerous bands and a number of sound-seeking individuals owe a lot to this posse. While the days of the original lineup are over the group lives on. They are as much of an idea as they are a band. Some of their best tunes lean heavily on the blues, others on jazz, and a few have their roots in country. For this reason, and also the sheer quality of some of their albums, no top 10 list will satisfy all fans. Nevertheless, Blues Rock Review accepts the challenge—let the debate begin.
10. “Little Martha”
“Little Martha” weaves a gentle closure to Eat A Peach—arguably the best Allman Brothers effort, and among the greatest albums of all time. One of Duane Allman’s last contributions, his simple acoustic guitar phrases meld perfectly with Dickey Betts’s sparse accompaniment to create an unforgettable wordless ballad. The tune sounds ancient but remains relevant.
9. “Black Hearted Woman”
From the choppy opening riff to the triumphant, instrumental mini-coda, this gruff rocker displays an early example of the band’s ability to create a lot of carefully constructed sound. The multi-part composition contains a bit of everything: crunching rhythm, throaty vocals, a brief but fiery guitar solo, and even a drum break. For a song that lasts five minutes, its taut delivery makes it feel like a three-minute sprint.
8. “Jessica”
Another instrumental, the immediately-recognizable, electric guitar theme still sounds fresh today. Betts writes and plays with his young daughter in mind; his buoyant licks and carefree groove capture the exuberance of youth as well as any song in memory. The abridged version remains a staple on classic rock radio stations to this day, but listeners may have to dig out Brothers And Sisters to get the full treatment in all its glory.
7. “Come And Go Blues”
“Come And Go Blues” builds around Gregg Allman’s piano and voice, but as is customary with most of the band’s songs, all the members play their parts to the fullest, resulting in a lush sonic treat. The genre veers into country rock territory, as did much of the output in the Betts-driven era. Rollicking and soulful at the same time, the romantic lament tells of a man who “wouldn’t cut you lose, baby if I could.”
6. “Midnight Rider”
An unforgettable acoustic guitar line and hand-beaten percussion serve as the backdrop for this age-old tale of the archetypical rock n’ roll wanderer—the titular “Midnight Rider.” Throw in an ambitious, but concise guitar solo and some visually evocative lyrics and listeners will be sure to remember that, “I’m not gonna let ‘em catch me, no. Not gonna let ‘em catch The Midnight Rider.”
5. “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed”
A song whose origins rival it’s complicated jazz forms, it quickly became a staple of the Allman Brothers’ live repertoire due to its improvisational nature, and the band’s ability to reinvent it each time it was played. Penned by Betts, the live versions helped to establish the tandem of he and Allman as one of the greatest, and most adventurous, guitar duos of all time. While the studio version runs for a comparatively brief seven minutes, live versions exist that extend the instrumental to nearly a half an hour.
4. “Blue Sky”
An oblique love song disguised as an ode to a walk in the country, “Blue Sky” contains some of the group’s best guitar work. Allman begins the instrumental section with his solo, only to be joined by Betts for an incredible unison passage, before allowing Betts to finish the section. The refrain of, “You’re my blue sky, you’re my sunny day. Lord you know it makes me high, when you turn your love my way,” is as pure as any musical declaration of love ever written.
3. “Dreams”
The song stays true to its title with an eerily spacey feel, created by a languid tempo and haunting guitars. Gregg Allman steals the show with one of his best vocal performances, singing at full strength, and evoking melancholic dreamlike images. The tune pulls the listener in with this trance-inducing combination and never lets go. It is one of the band’s most enduring and underrated numbers.
2. “Les Brers In A Minor”
“The Brothers” rip through this jazz rock tour of the key of A minor with an intensity only matched by certain versions of the following entry on this list. Starting slowly with only hints of percussion, the change into menacing bongos and bass signal the upcoming intensity. When the song hits its apex, it becomes an angular jazzy scream, courtesy of some of the groups most freely written music. The final return to the main guitar theme nicely bookends their greatest instrumental of a very impressive catalog.
1. “Whipping Post”
“Whipping Post” serves not only as the finale of their debut album, but also as the 23-minute highlight of their legendary Live At The Fillmore East set. Beginning with an iconic rhythm line composed in an odd time signature, it tells a story of hardship and existential sorrow through the twin guises of an unfaithful woman and the ever-looming whipping post to which the singer is bound. The instrumental section lends itself to an infinite amount of improvisation and has contributed to the legacy of Duane Allman as much as any other piece in their catalog. It is the song that best encapsulated the ethos of the Allman Brothers Band, and is also the best place for those unfamiliar with them to jump into their unique interpretation of music.
Great list..hard to refute the iconic stature of any listed.
One Way Out is obviously on any ABB fan’s ‘must hear’ list.
One of the great vocal performances..of any genre/era/styling..Please Call Home..now more than ever, it ‘moves’ more than ever.
Ain’t Waistin Time No More..so sneaky..and Trouble No More..whoosh!
Thanks for the look back…they’re always on my playlist..
Although it’s a cover, no list of the top ABB songs can exclude one written by home town hero (that’s Thomson in Mcduffie County Georgia for the uninitiated) Blind Willie McTell, Statesboro Blues.
A correction, Jaimoe is from original lineup, let’s not forget him. As far as a top 10, we all have our favorites and luckily alot to choose from
QUEEN OF HEARTS…to this day still amazes me as my favorite song.EVER
I can’t think of one ABB from above list I’d want to remove, but I gotta have “Melissa” in there! Between Gregg’s voice and Dickey’s guitar, this is one beautiful musical moment.
The only thing wrong with Laid Back LP (I know it’s Gregg and not ABB) is that it’s too short!
Great list. Not sure Les Brers should be above Dreams. In your own words, it’s the most underrated and I believe you underrate it! Also agree with others that Melissa and One Way out belong on the list. Unfortunately, I only see one song to remove. Come and Go is top 25, but not too ten. ABB became my favorite band the moment I heard Blue Sky.
Honorable mentions to “Stand Back”, “Don’t Keep Me Wondering'” and “Southbound.”
Some of their very best, IMHO, were most, if not all of the songs from their first album (Side 1); “Don’t Want You No More”; “It’s Not My Cross to Bear”; “Black Hearted Woman”; “Trouble No More”; (Side 2) “Every Hungry Woman”; “Dreams”; “Trouble No More”; and Whipping Post”. Every one of the songs from that album had uniquely-mixed styles, from Blues, to Rock, to Jazz, and Country and were exceptional performances. From the 2nd album, there’s, “Midnight Rider”;” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”. The next album, being distilled from the live performances on “Live at the Fillmore East” includes “Statesboro Blues”; and their stated cover of a T-Bone Walker song, “Stormy Monday”; and still one of the longest performances by any Rock, or Blues/Rock bands, the 22:40 minutes song “Whipping Post”, which is on the original “Top Ten” list, but is their epitome of, as Dicky Betts, said of the band,…”we’re not a jam band, we’re a band who likes to jam.” Lastly, in order of the albums released “Brothers and Sisters” includes 2 more of my favorites: “Southbound” and “Jessica.”
Queen of Hearts is a Gregg Allman solo song
Love the ABB.So many favorites they did covers and made them their own like Statesboro Blues and Trouble no more. My short list of Favorites Blue Sky Dreams Ain’t wasting tine no more High Falls Jessica Wasted words. From the 90’s Back Where it all begins and Seven Turns. They always played Little Martha over the PA as you walked out of a show as an ode to Brother Duane.
‘Mountain Jam’? c’mon,man..
No revival, Statesboro Blues or One Way Out? At lease tow of those should be on the list.
did everybody forget “one way out”?
You can’t please everyone on a list like this, but I’m no angel, and I must have did somebody wrong.
“Mountain Jam”! Berry Oakley’s bass solo is serious!God bless the Allman Bros. Band 🎶
Mountain Jam is missing from your list…
Hallo
Was ist mit dem Lied
You don’t Love me sollte man
Nicht vergessen.
My favorite “Somebody Loan Me a Dime
May not include all the Allman Bros.I know Duane n Dickey Betts tear it up.
Nice List. I much prefer the original six to any other incarnation of the band , as awesome as many were. The chemistry was once in a lifetime I would have included You Dont Love Me, don’t keep me Wondering, one way out, trouble no more, Mountain JaM, statesboro blues, done somebody wrong, stormy monday just off the top of my head.
The Allman Brothers were too good to have a list of only 10. Their music has more than stood the test of time. In my opinion, no blues/rock band has even come close to their level of musical excellence. They are right up there with the great Miles Davis Quintet in terms of improvisation and originality. I only wish they were still around so they could add to their list of “best songs”. May they rest in peace. Thanks for all the great music.
Any song they wrote is good lisening,ive been 3 of there concerts and never got high, there music took me there, The best bunch of boys put together to create Southern Rock.God love um , RIP Dwayne and Greg