“When I walk on a stage, I know the crowd has to come to have a good time and forget about their problems for a few hours. Our music makes them happy – they can stomp their feet, clap their hands, dance around and smile. I love to see that, because it makes me feel like I have a purpose – that’s why I play music.”

– Gregg Allman

…

Gregg Allman’s legacy blazes on. Today, the first preview of the Gregg Allman Band’s previously unreleased Philadelphia concert, played and recorded on January 11, 1986, has arrived. The initial single off the impending record, Great As Ever: Live In Philadelphia ’86, due on Friday, April 10 via the subject’s posthumous label, Sawrite Records, comes in the form of a 2:45 live cut centering on the bandleader’s iteration of the Allman Brothers Band covered, Spencer Davis Group instrumental, “Don’t Want You No More.” 

The full-length live album welcomes listeners to the spectacle that was the Gregg Allman Band’s January 11, 1986, concert in the City of Brotherly Love. The record captures the ensemble, Allman (lead vocals, Hammond B-3, and acoustic guitar), the Toler Brothers (Dan on lead guitar, Frankie on drums), Bruce Waibel (bass), Tim Heding (keyboards), and Chaz Trippy (percussion), demonstrating the capacity of a fine-tuned touring group, four years into their road-forged relationship.

Their capacity is captured across the 13-track setlist, running the gamut from Allman Brothers Band favorites to the best of Allman’s solo career, including the chart-topping “I’m No Angel,” and a sensational “It’s Not My Cross to Bear.” A well-received “Melissa,” played in dedication to Allman’s then-estranged bandmate, Dickie Betts. Also included is a piece from Allman’s 1973 solo debut, “Queen of Hearts,” laying the foundation for the time and place of the performance as a marker of Allman’s mid-’80s accomplishments. 

The new record is paired with anticipation for the new full-length documentary, dubbed Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul, directed by decorated filmmaker James Keach. Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul presents the musician’s trajectory, weighed down by personal tragedy, and earned redemption through blues-soaked punch that reshaped American music. 

Listen to the first single, “Don’t Want You No More,” below. 

Pre-order/save Great As Ever: Live In Philadelphia ’86.

Tracklist:

Don’t Want You No More

Ain’t My Cross The Bear

Sweet Feelin’

Hot ‘Lanta

Need Your Love So Bad

Trouble No More

Things You Used To Do

Queen of Hearts

Melissa

Midnight Rider

Just Ain’t Easy

I’m No Angel

+ Recorded January 11, 1986, at Chestnut Cabaret in Philadelphia