Allman's Latest Blues Were a Source of Hope

Here along the Georgia colonial coast, Gregg Allman has a comfortable house on a verdant, sweet-scented stretch of land, with classic cars and motorcycles in the garage and a tree-lined open road not far from his front door. He enjoys the comforts of family, too: When we met last month, his late brother Duane's daughter, Galadrielle, was there for a visit. And now his health has returned: Mr. Allman, 63 years old, underwent liver-transplant surgery in June. As we spoke, with his tattooed arm resting on a piano in his living room and two tiny dogs flitting about, he was preparing for a solo tour to perform his standards as well as songs from his new album "Low Country Blues" (Rounder), out Tuesday.

Produced by T-Bone Burnett, "Low Country Blues" was completed before Mr. Allman's operation but was not meant as a last will and testament. "There's nothing like the feeling of having something in front of you, something to look forward to, knowing it might be your best," Mr. Allman said. "It helped me heal."

On "Low Country Blues," Mr. Allman pays homage to the blues giants who influenced his music as a solo artist and as a member of the Allman Brothers Band. For the project, Mr. Burnett brought in extraordinary musicians, including Jay Bellerose on drums, Dennis Crouch on upright bass, Doyle Bramhall II on guitar and Mr. Allman's longtime friend Mac Rebennack on piano. A horn section gives heft to most cuts. Mr. Allman's smoky, honey-thick voice is the centerpiece, of course, and on his covers of Bobby Blue Bland's boisterous "Blind Man" and Otis Rush's "Checking on My Baby" he reveals it's still a powerfully evocative instrument, if not quite what it was when the Allman Brothers became an international phenomenon in the early 1970s.

Mr. Allman has earned his stripes as a blues man. He lost his only brother, Duane, in 1971, and their friend and bassist Berry Oakley a year later. Behind the dual guitars of Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, the Allmans today are as strong a band as they've been since Duane died, but they've suffered down years, as has Mr. Allman during his solo career. He's been married at least six times—a journalist recently asked if Cher still drops by (they've been divorced for more than 30 years)—and is three times a grandfather. Drugs and alcohol no doubt caused him damage, and he was diagnosed with hepatitis C three years before his transplant.

Mr. Allman said Mr. Burnett kicked off the project by turning over a collection of blues chestnuts for his review, including early folk-blues by Sleepy John Estes and Skip James. As he studied the original versions to see how he could arrange and sing them, Mr. Allman said he found that they affected him deeply.

"I can find myself in a lot of those songs. I wondered, 'Why are these tunes laying down so easy?'" Of Mr. Burnett, he added, "I started thinking he was a witch. God, this guy's not supposed to know me this way. He must've studied my voice.

"I found 'Floating Bridge' to be unnerving," he said of the Estes song. The extended reading of James's "Devil Got My Woman," a tricky minor-key blues, haunted him too. Colin Linden on Dobro provides the groundwork for the stark intro as Mr. Allman moans, "Well, I'd rather be the devil than be that woman's man." "I was glad when we finished. I said, 'Whew. Mission accomplished.'"

Mr. Burnett pushed the singer, refusing his requests to recut his vocals. "Slam and move on," Mr. Allman called it. At times, Mr. Allman thought he was only providing what he called a pilot vocal—one that helps guide the band through a live performance—but Mr. Burnett recorded it as if it were the final version. "When I was ready, I'd say, 'Turn the red button on,' and he'd say, 'I just turned it off.' When I'd tell him I can sing better than that, he'd say, 'You're welcomed to try, but. . . '"

Mr. Allman said he felt fine during the sessions, but when he went for his annual check-up, spots on his liver had grown and a tumor was butting up against his lung. A decision was made to find a suitable organ for transplant. When Mr. Allman's liver was removed, his doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., found a golf-ball-size tumor they hadn't previously discovered.

Mr. Allman is on the road now with his whip-snap six-piece band featuring Jerry Jemmott on bass and Scott Sharrard on guitar. In March, he'll reunite with the Allman Brothers Band for its annual residency at New York's Beacon Theater, with 13 shows on tap beginning March 10. If it sounds like what he's done for decades, it's not. With the surgery behind him and "Low Country Blues" under his belt, he's at a new phase in his career, one that he welcomes.

"I love change," he said, then added quickly, "I mean, I'm just as scared of change as anybody else. But it is essential."