Gregg Allman's final album, Southern Blood, will come out on September 8th. Produced by Don Was, it contains 10 songs, including the lead single "My Only True Friend."
Don says the song is "Gregg’s attempt to contextualize the course of his life. The man that his fans saw performing onstage was the essential Gregg Allman -- he was whole and truly satisfied when he was up there playing music. The trials and troubles he faced in life were mostly the result of not knowing what to do with himself in between shows. In this song, he’s addressing a woman and explaining that, although he loves her and doesn’t want to face living his life alone, being away on the road and performing every night is his lifeblood. If you understand this about Gregg Allman, every other aspect of his life makes complete sense.”
Though the other nine songs are all covers, Gregg carefully chose the ones that his manager, Michael Lehman, says "reflected his mood, where he was presently in life both on a personal level and professional level, as well as what would be on his fans’ minds later on.”
Among the songs he put his stamp on are Bob Dylan's "Going Going Gone," The Grateful Dead's "Black Muddy River," Willie Dixon's "I Love the Life I Live," Little Feat's "Willin'" and Jackson Browne's "Song for Adam," with a contribution from Browne, Gregg's long-ago roommate.
Southern Blood was recorded at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where his brother Duane did a lot of session work in the late '60s. Lehman says, “A constant discussion during all of my nearly 15 years working with Gregg was his desire to return to Muscle Shoals. He always would talk about how he needed to get back to FAME Studios to bring him full circle.”
The album is now available for pre-order in numerous configurations. A limited-edition numbered double-sided picture disc will be available on August 4th.