The Gregg Allman Band - I'm No Angel (1986)

Tracklist

01. I'm No Angel
02. Anything Goes
03. Evidence of Love
04. Yours for the Asking
05. Things That Might Have Been
06. Can't Keep Running
07. Faces Without Names
08. Lead Me On
09. Don't Want You No More
10. It's Not My Cross to Bear

Nearly ten years separate Gregg Allman's third and fourth solo albums (not counting Allman & Woman), which is quite a long stretch by anyone's standards. Of course, there were a number of reasons why Allman didn't release an album between 1977's Playin' Up a Storm and 1986's I'm No Angel - various substance addictions, bad marriage, disappearing bands. By 1986, he had pulled it all together and crafted I'm No Angel, an album designed to be a comeback. After all, the title track alone was a statement of purpose, a declaration of his bad-boy ways. Since this album was released in the midst of the Reagan era, it's not only a little musically tame - slick surfaces and keyboards dominate - but the attitude is a little lax, too. On the title track, a song that justifiably became one of his signature tunes, the lyrics say darn instead of damn, which is a little tame for someone like Allman. Still, what matters is the tune, and it's a corker - so much so that it overshadows many of the other cuts on the record. However, I'm No Angel is, by and large, a solid and thoroughly enjoyable set of songs. The main problem is the production, which is a bit too much of its time. However, that's an easy flaw to overlook, especially for hardcore fans, because Allman rarely delivered a solo album as solid as this.