"Skydog" - A new appreciation for Duane Allman

I like the Allman Brothers Band. They aren't my favorite group, and they probably wouldn't even crack the top 20 if I was making my desert island list, but I do dig their stuff and will queue up Eat A Peach from time to time. And I've always been aware of Duane Allman's legacy; that along with the Allmans Brothers, he played on a lot of classic R&B records (e.g., Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin), and contributed the soaring guitar solo to the end of Derek and the Dominos "Layla." But I've never sat down and put all the pieces together to fully appreciate the magnitude of his musical contribution in his short life...until now, with the release of the Skydog retrospective.

 

Most of the Allman Brothers stuff I'd heard before; what's special about this retrospective are all of the tracks by other artists that Duane Allman plays on. A few of my favorites:

• Lulu - "Marley Purt Drive" (I've since learned this was a Bee Gees song. Here's another version by the Les Humphries Singers)
• Clarence Carter - "Light My Fire"
• The Duck & Bear - "Hand Jive"
• King Curtis - "The Weight"
• Delaney & Bonnie & Friends - "Sing My Way Home"

And if this stuff is important to you, you'll be impressed by the packaging of the box set; the interior of the box is lined with gold velvet (or some such material), much like the inside of a guitar case, and the discs themselves come in paper envelopes that are similar to how guitar strings are packaged.