Breakfast Blues

Greg Allman - Low Country Blues

Listening to Allman's latest as I eat my poached egg on black pudding [posh for egg on blood] and perhaps it should be grits with biscuits and gravy but this is Devon rather than the southern states of America.

Of course there's pedigree here. And if you like the blues you can't really go wrong. This could be titled 'simple country blues' because that's exactly what it is: straightforward, well played, expertly produced by T-Bone Burnett, and honest.

I like 'Devil Got My Woman' - starting just with guitar and vocals and then building up a driving rhythm - and I did then listen to the Skip James original and you realise how such roots are the platform for any subsequent success. There's no comparison, but the Allman version slots neatly into the album's 12 tracks.

One of my all-time favourite songs is 'Move Me' by Greg Allman and the then Cher Allman. This is from the album 'Two the Hard Way' with the other heading 'Allman and Woman' - a wonderfully crass macho title. As a young man [it came out in 1977] I will have bought this initially for the cover I'm sure.