Hittin The Note (Gate)

Vinyl LP pressing housed in a gatefold sleeve. 2003's Hittin' The Note stand as The Allman Brothers Band's final studio effort to date although it was their first new studio release in nine years at the time. Gregg Allman described it as "the best album we've made since Eat a Peach." Reinvigorated by the return of Warren Haynes to share the band's famous harmonized lead guitar lines with Derek Trucks, the band built Hittin' the Note around their established sound, with stinging hooks, soulful melodies, dollops of deep blues, and the rolling, layered grooves that have become their rhythmic signature. It begins with the greasy lick that kicks off with the first cut "Firing Line," and grows through the heartache intensity of "Desdemona," the reflective delicacy of "Old Before My Time," the alternating blues feel and funky strut of the Freddy King cover "Woman Across the River," the sizzling roadhouse shuffle of "Maydell," and the breathtaking virtuosity on tracks that range from the intimate acoustic slide dialog of "Old Friend" to the trademark extended jam "Instrumental Illness," a burnin' twelve-minute marathon. There's also an inspired blues version of the Rolling Stones' "Heart of Stone," which ABB definitely put their stamp on.