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Devon Allman – Miami Moon (2024)
Review:
Devon Allman returns with his first solo album in eight years, Miami Moon. The project brought together an A-list backing band, and Allman shifted his focus from blues-based rock to the almighty groove with these funky and smooth offerings. By recording in the same Miami studio where both Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs and his father’s Eat a Peach were captured, Allman was going for an old-school vibe. However, it is not The Allman Brothers heyday or “Layla” that feels the most influential on Miami Moon, it is more Clapton’s solo records like 461 Ocean Boulevard and his 80’s output that have seeped into Devon’s sound this go around. The light funk gets altered in various ways and that mainly has to do with the killer backing outfit. Bringing together talents such as George Porter Jr. (The Meters) on bass, Ivan Neville (Dumpstaphunk) on keyboards, Adam Deitch (Lettuce) on drums, Karl Denson (The Rolling Stones) on saxophone, and Jackson Stokes on guitar gives you quite a formidable advantage right from the start. The album opens with the ’80s retro funk of “White Horse,” which is club-ready as it bumps and glows with a bad party vibe while backup singers and a tasty guitar solo deliver the illicit goods. “You, an effort written for his wife, uses excellent organ work, wah-wah guitar, and a silky-smooth groove, as does the top-notch mellowed-out title track, which is a showcase for Denson’s dynamite sax. The sparse funky blues of closer “You Gotta Make It Through the World” is interesting, while the full-on, string-laden “Body Electric” ’70s disco jam has mixed results. Allman’s vocals are stout throughout, but some lyrics can come across as bland or cliché, such as the good-hearted but cheesy “Incredible” and the bass-bumping one-note ride of “Climb Aboard. However, when the players get loose on two standout instrumentals, the magic really shines. “Take Time to Taste It” is driven by Deitch’s drumming as the funk pops and shimmies, while “Sahara” is the album’s shining centerpiece. The extended track uses an easy groove and excellent guitar solo from Allman before shifting gears 3/4ths of the way through and kicking up the Latin-tinged percussive power and gorgeous key work as the finale finds the full band powerfully soaring. The neon-based funk of Miami Moon broadens Devon Allman’s blues rock base with strong grooves and mellowed textures, all mixing in the southern setting sun. — glidemagazine.com
Track List:
01 - White Horse
02 - Incredible
03 - You
04 - Miami Moon
05 - Sahara
06 - Climb Aboard
07 - Body Electric
08 - Take Time to Taste It
09 - You Gotta Make it Through the World
Media Report:
Genre: blues, funk, rock
Origin: USA 
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
Compression mode: Lossless
Writing library: libFLAC 1.2.1 (UTC 2007-09-17)
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