Dickey Betts Band
Let's Get Together

(Free Falls/Back Alley)

First Appeared in The Music Box, November 2001, Volume 8, #11

Written by John Metzger

It doesn’t matter with which side of the Allman Brothers Band debate a person happens to side. The fact remains: After more than thirty years with the group, Dickey Betts was fired by fax. Sad to say, but familial feuds are often the worst kind imaginable. Nevertheless, Betts has returned — albeit it with a new band in tow — and his latest release Let’s Get Together is a solid, if not magnificent, effort that salvages what could have been a rather precipitous downfall.

Not surprisingly, Let’s Get Together never strays far from the familiar Allman Brothers sound, running the gamut of what one might expect as it mixes powerhouse instrumental jams (Rave On) with gritty blues numbers (Here Come the Blues Again). This makes the endeavor all the easier to digest for Betts as well as his fans, but it’s also part of the problem. It often mimics and emulates that which has come before it, making it nearly impossible not to compare it to the many classic releases by the Allman Brothers Band — albums which are far better.

Despite this, the Dickey Betts Band does do a respectable job in offering plenty for fans to enjoy by turning in a solid effort that occasionally strikes a few impressive chords. The jazzy instrumental One Stop Be-Bop is unquestionably the finest track on Let’s Get Together, and Dona María, while a bit unwieldy, finds the ensemble embarking on a Santana-like workout. Likewise, the autobiographical Tombstone Eyes absolutely sparkles and soars, while on Here Come the Blues Again, Betts channels his anger and sadness over his dismissal from his former band. In the end, however, there is simply something missing. Like Gregg Allman’s own solo projects, Let’s Get Together proves that the Allman Brothers Band as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Let's Get Together is available from Barnes & Noble.
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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2001 The Music Box