Almost Brothers - A Band of Roadies (2014) Lossless

Back in "The Day", when the Allman Brothers Band had recorded the "Brothers and Sisters" album and we were riding high with the LP reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Album Charts and the song "Rambling Man" reaching No. 2 on the Singles chart, our road crew were riding high with us. They were all very talented in their respective positions, and all very dedicated to us, and to the fans that came to see us. They were recognized by our peers and theirs as being the best road crew in the world, and in my opinion that was certainly the case. As we began to tour behind the release of the record in 1973, there were times when for various reasons the band wouldn't or couldn't make sound checks. Our crew would sometimes do them for us, which was a great help and ensured that we would be comfortable when we hit the stage. As time went on, they began to play more on their own, adding in some other players that were in the Macon, Ga. area at the time. The result of this was The Almost Brothers. I can remember them rehearsing quite a lot, working up some cover tunes and writing some of their own. They were all having a great time, and were honing in their musical skills. They became very popular around town, and created a reputation for themselves, playing in some clubs and various other settings. Fortunately, they also recorded some of their material, and after all these years, our then house sound engineer, Buddy Thornton, has uncovered those two track tapes, cleaned them up as much as possible with his expert skills, and herein is the result. Listening to these recordings bring back some great memories for me, and all the musicians involved put their hearts and souls into the Almost Brothers. They were all great folks to work with and I am so glad that we have this recording to document this piece of history. You can hear the fun they were having and the passion they put into their own band…so, listen and enjoy! (Chuck Leavell)