The Dickey Betts Band Ramblin’ Man—Live at the St. George Theatre

The Allman Brothers camp has taken some major blows in the past few years, particularly with the deaths of Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks, leaving only Dickey Betts and drummer Jaimoe as survivors of the classic ‘70s lineup. Meanwhile, Betts has experienced his own recent troubles, including what was described as a “mild stroke” in 2018, followed soon after by an accident that caused a brain bleed, forcing the guitarist/singer to cancel his pending tour dates. Just before all of that, Betts and his band did manage to settle in long enough at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, N.Y., to record a set of mostly ABB classics with his band (among whose members are his son, Duane Betts, sharing guitar duties). The program is now available on a single CD and Blu-ray, the latter featuring an additional 23 minutes of material (including “Statesboro Blues”). As if to drive home his continued viability, Betts and band come out roaring with a steamy take on “Hot ‘Lanta,” which debuted nearly 50 years ago on the fabled At Fillmore East album. The vocal numbers, including “Blue Sky” and the title track, suffer somewhat from Betts’ less-than-stellar delivery (not helped by a muddy recording of said vocals), and the only reason “Midnight Rider” doesn’t is because Devon Allman, Gregg’s son and Duane Betts’ bandmate, takes the lead on that one. Still, even with its flaws, as a tribute, the live set works just fine—it’s good to know that Dickey Betts is still out there, carrying the torch.