Devon Allman’s Honeytribe
Space Age Blues
Provogue Records
By blending ’70s
soul, Memphis R&B,
and slinky minor-key
grooves, Devon
Allman has found a
way to extend his
family’s amazing
musical lineage on
his own terms. His gravelly voice may be reminiscent
of his father, Gregg Allman, but the
similarity ends there. (Musically, that is—the
physical resemblance is unmistakable.) This
Allman plays guitar with a high-gain edge
and slashing tone that suggests Gary Moore
rather than uncle Duane. With his wailing
harp, Huey Lewis lends a bluesy touch to
the album’s opening track, but despite the
title,
Space Age Blues is more about vintage
funk and psychedelic rock than blues.
Elements of Free (especially Paul Kossoff’s
fast, intense vibrato), Mountain, mid-’70s
Stevie Wonder (Allman covers “Sir Duke”),
and even Quicksilver Messenger Service swirl
and coalesce in Allman’s music, yet he delivers
these retro influences with a 21st-century
flair. To paraphrase Billie Holiday, this child
has got his own.