THE PRESS RELEASE: “When Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, Dickey Betts, Duane Allman, Jaimoe, and Gregg Allman finally coalesced in 1969 as The Allman Brothers Band, after stints in other bands and musical endeavours – some alone, some with each other – the group’s very first informal jam together was the stomping Muddy Waters song, Trouble No More. Almost immediately the six musicians knew they were on to something special. Shortly after, it also became the very first song they officially demoed together for their eponymous debut record, an album that would begin their legendary, unparalleled, and often times, turbulent journey as one of the best American rock bands to ever exist. The band’s original 1969 demo of Trouble No More, which has remained unreleased for more than half a century, fittingly opens the new, aptly-titled Allman Brothers Band career retrospective, Trouble No More: 50th Anniversary Collection, which pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the pioneering Southern rock legends and their incredible body of work. Available as a 10LP or 5CD box set or digitally, Trouble No More — produced by Allman Brothers Band historians and aficionados Bill Levenson, John Lynskey and Kirk West — offers a massive selection of 61 Allman Brothers Band classics, live performances and rarities from across their 45-year career, and includes seven previously unreleased tracks that take you from the very beginning until the very end. The collection is bookended with a live performance of Trouble No More from the Allman Brothers Band’s final show at New York’s Beacon Theatre that brought the band’s legend to a close and which brings this retrospective full circle.”
MY TWO CENTS: It’s a little light on rarities — aside from that opening demo, there are just six live numbers, three of which come from that final Beacon show. But it’s definitely a handsome set that includes virtually every hit and highlight of the ABB’s vast career and multiple lineups, and smartly presents them in chronological order. If you only want to have one Allmans title in your collection, this would do nicely.
