Devon Allman’s Honeytribe – Space Age Blues (Provogue)
When you see the name Allman then you know that you are in for some top guitar playing and Devon carries the family name with panache. Space Age Blues is the follow up to the highly acclaimed 2006 debut, Torch, and is a step in the right direction for Gregg’s son and his band. Could Get Dangerous shows that his voice has matured and, when added to fuzzed guitars, harmonica (from Huey Lewis) and a good dose of funk, makes for an excellent opener. The eponymous title track follows with a sultry saxophone introduction. It turns heavy quite quickly and shows both the rough and smooth sides of Honeytribe. Salvation is marked by Allman’s deep, dulcet tones and the soulful, heartfelt vibes are counterbalanced by the screeching saxophone of Ron Holloway. Stevie Wonder songs are often covered but I don’t think that I’ve ever heard anyone doing Sir Duke. So, was the decision to include this brave or foolhardy? Unfortunately, I think that it’s the latter with his voice not up to the mark and the lack of horns and minimum input from keyboards detracting from the overall feel. Endless Diamond is a grinding blues influenced rocker but although this is his forte, the guitar is too far in the background for my liking. It’s not all electric on the album as the acoustic instrumental Blue Est Le Vide shows. This showcases his intricate acoustic guitar work and they stay in the acoustic area for the follow up, Warm In Wintertime which is a bit of a strange one. It’s a rock ballad in parts but the funky lead guitar is a bit in competition with the strings in the background. New Pet Monkey is a standard rock offering but they are back on form with I’m Ready. The funky guitar and snappy drums make this a highlight. Honeytribe is ramping it up towards the finish and Take Me To The Bridge is an excellent example of funk rock. They close with Insh’Allah, Eastern influenced as you would expect from the title. This is held together by the drums of Gabriel Strange as Allman enjoys himself on this instrumental finish. There are a number of different phases to the song as he varies the tempo before the whole thing finishes on synth and goes all space-agey.
http://www.provoguerecords.com/
David Blue.
When you see the name Allman then you know that you are in for some top guitar playing and Devon carries the family name with panache. Space Age Blues is the follow up to the highly acclaimed 2006 debut, Torch, and is a step in the right direction for Gregg’s son and his band. Could Get Dangerous shows that his voice has matured and, when added to fuzzed guitars, harmonica (from Huey Lewis) and a good dose of funk, makes for an excellent opener. The eponymous title track follows with a sultry saxophone introduction. It turns heavy quite quickly and shows both the rough and smooth sides of Honeytribe. Salvation is marked by Allman’s deep, dulcet tones and the soulful, heartfelt vibes are counterbalanced by the screeching saxophone of Ron Holloway. Stevie Wonder songs are often covered but I don’t think that I’ve ever heard anyone doing Sir Duke. So, was the decision to include this brave or foolhardy? Unfortunately, I think that it’s the latter with his voice not up to the mark and the lack of horns and minimum input from keyboards detracting from the overall feel. Endless Diamond is a grinding blues influenced rocker but although this is his forte, the guitar is too far in the background for my liking. It’s not all electric on the album as the acoustic instrumental Blue Est Le Vide shows. This showcases his intricate acoustic guitar work and they stay in the acoustic area for the follow up, Warm In Wintertime which is a bit of a strange one. It’s a rock ballad in parts but the funky lead guitar is a bit in competition with the strings in the background. New Pet Monkey is a standard rock offering but they are back on form with I’m Ready. The funky guitar and snappy drums make this a highlight. Honeytribe is ramping it up towards the finish and Take Me To The Bridge is an excellent example of funk rock. They close with Insh’Allah, Eastern influenced as you would expect from the title. This is held together by the drums of Gabriel Strange as Allman enjoys himself on this instrumental finish. There are a number of different phases to the song as he varies the tempo before the whole thing finishes on synth and goes all space-agey.
http://www.provoguerecords.com/
David Blue.
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