The Essential Allman Brothers Band: The Epic Years

Editors’ Notes After laying dormant for most of the '80s, The Allman Brothers Band staged a comeback in the '90s They added two new members, guitarist Warren Haynes and bassist Allen Woody, who'd eventually find fame in blues-rock band Gov't Mule. This collection covers that period of revivification, encompassing studio releases and live recordings and containing new compositions, as well as '90s live performances of the band's classic '70s tunes. When Haynes locks in with founding guitarist Dickey Betts on cuts like "Seven Turns," it's clear that the band were staking out a new identity even while nodding to the Betts/Duane Allman twin-guitar glories of their past. Haynes's own luminous tune "Soulshine" shows that the '90s version of the group could forge a path forward. But when the band dig into some of the best-known songs from the ABB heyday, like the ebullient "Blue Sky" and Betts's sun-flecked instrumental "Jessica," the remaining founding members (Betts, Gregg Allman, and drummers Butch Trucks and Jaimoe) display a core connection to that classic period.