Duane & Gregg Allman - Duane & Gregg Allman 1972

Duane & Greg Allman is an album credited to brothers Duane and Gregg Allman, released by Bold Records in May 1972. The release is essentially an album-length demo recording of the 31st of February, a Tallahassee-based folk rock band featuring drummer Butch Trucks, bassist David Brown, and guitarist Scott Boyer. The 31st of February formed in 1965 and released their first, self-titled album in 1968. This second recording, according to Trucks, was intended to be their second album. It features Duane Allman on guitar and Gregg Allman on vocals. The two had been performing with the 31st of February for several months.

It was recorded at TK Studios in the Miami suburb of Hialeah, Florida in September 1968. Steve Alaimo engineered the sessions and later claimed producer's credit. The album is notable for the first recording of "Melissa", which was later re-recorded with the Allman Brothers Band.

Bold Records released the opening track "Morning Dew" as a single in 1972, backed with "I'll Change for You". The single didn't make it into the record charts, but the album peaked at No. 129 on the Billboard Top LPs during an eight-week run on the chart. The album was re-released several times after 1972 on various record companies and with varying cover art in various countries, including Germany and Japan, and is currently available digitally and on streaming services under the corrected title Duane and Gregg Allman.

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Ben Sidran - I Lead A Life 1972

Pianist, singer/songwriter, producer, author, and host Ben Sidran is a literate performer known for his engaging, jazz-influenced sound and laid-back, conversational style. Essentially a pianist/vocalist with a storytelling approach in the tradition of Mose Allison, Sidran grew from a supporting player with rocker Steve Miller to a solo performer, and to an award-winning radio and TV host. Along the way, he has produced albums for such luminaries as Allison, Van Morrison, Michael Franks, Rickie Lee Jones, and others. He has also hosted shows for National Public Radio and VH1. Born in Chicago in 1943, Sidran grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. In the early '60s, he played with Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs in a band called the Ardells at the University of Wisconsin. After Miller moved to San Francisco and secured a recording contract, he called on old friend Sidran to join him in the Steve Miller Band following the departure of original keyboardist Jim Peterman. Sidran contributed on the keys and as songwriter on several Miller albums beginning with Brave New World in 1969, co-writing the classic "Space Cowboy" and three other tunes on that LP. He also authored "Steve Miller's Midnight Tango" on Number 5 and collaborated with Miller on several other tunes through the years. He also produced his friend's underappreciated Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden in 1972. Sidran received a Ph.D. in philosophy/musicology, writing his doctoral thesis on African-American culture and music in the United States. The thesis was published to positive critical response in 1971 as Black Talk. Since 1972, he has released a number of solo albums in a cool, easy swinging style similar to Allison, including 1976's Free in America, 1977's The Doctor Is In, and 1978's A Little Kiss in the Night. While his early albums relied on acoustic instruments and lyrical references to his musical heroes, his later releases used electronic instruments and tasty synthesizers for an interesting sound best presented on albums like 1985's On the Cool Side and 1988's Too Hot to Touch. Through the years, Sidran and Miller have remained close friends, popping up from time to time on one another's recordings or live performances. In 1988, Sidran co-produced one of Miller's most interesting latter-day recordings, Born 2B Blue, a collection of jazz standards dressed up in the same cool, low-key arrangements Sidran employs on his own albums. Also during the '80s, Sidran began expanding his profile by hosting shows for National Public Radio, including the Jazz Alive series, for which he earned a Peabody Award. During the '90s, Sidran released a number of albums on his own Go Jazz label, including 1994's Life's a Lesson, 1996's Mr. P's Shuffle, and 1999's The Concert for García Lorca. He also appeared on television, hosting the Ace Award-winning New Visions program on VH1. Also during this period, he collaborated with Van Morrison and Georgie Fame on the tribute album Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison. He then formed the Nardis label with his son, and delivered such efforts as 2004's Nick's Bump, 2006's Live à Fip, 2009's Dylan Different, and 2013's Don't Cry for No Hipster. In 2017 Sidran returned with Picture Him Happy, a philosophical production centered on the myth of Sisyphus and featuring backing from guitarist Will Bernard, bassist Will Lee, saxophonist John Ellis, and others. AMG.

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Eric Burdon & The Animals - Eric Is Here 1967

During the months after Eric Burdon and the remaining members of the original Animals split, the singer cut this album backed by an orchestra and doing songs by Randy Newman, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and other pop-music fixtures -- quite a turnaround for the blues purist Burdon, and also very effective as mainstream pop music, including the U.S. hit "Help Me Girl." To add to the general confusion surrounding this material, some of it seems to have been recorded with the original Animals, or at sessions conducted while they were still together. Several songs, including "Help Me Girl," show up on Sequel Records' Inside Looking Out. AMG.

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