Ironically, the band's first post-Duane record was also its most commercially successful: it topped the album charts, went gold, and featured a major hit - Betts' feel-good, up-tempo "Ramblin' Man," which not only finally put the Allman Brothers in the Top 40, but soared all the way to #2. It's no surprise; the band was a well-oiled machine by now, crafting energetic, tuneful, and economical material. Gregg was still doing his fair share of the songwriting, but Betts was peaking here. He took the lead vocals on "Ramblin' Man" and his joyful hillbilly blues "Pony Boy," and he also wrote the record's true high point - the dramatic, riff-ridden seven-minute instrumental "Jessica" - and the up-tempo "Southbound" (not the same as Gregg's more gut-wrenching tune of the same title from his aborted pre-Allman Brothers solo record). Chuck Leavell's appearance helps; since he plays piano, he beefs up the sound without having to "replace" Duane. The end result is probably the band's most accessible, but not most inspired record - it's weighed down by several by-the-book Southern/Chicago blues numbers ("Jelly Jelly"). Berry Oakley died in the middle of the recording sessions, and the album is dedicated to him; Oakley appears on two tracks, and Lamar Williams on the others. The band had dumped Dowd, and instead worked with co-producer Johnny Sandlin.
(Wilson & Allroy)