Now, while he was a great player Jack Pearson had a problem with tinnitus that wasn’t helped by the volume the Allmans were pumping out, which was largely the result of guitarist Dickey Betts’ unwillingness to turn his amp down. Eventually it got to the point where Pearson couldn’t take it any more, so out he went.
The replacement? Young Mr Trucks.
All was not, however, well in the core membership of the Allman Brothers Band. While Gregg Allman, after a lengthy problem with drugs and alcohol, had cleaned up his act there were continuing issues with Betts, and, from what I can make out, the issues went quite a way beyond an unwillingness to turn down his amp.
Having taken on the leader’s role much earlier on, Betts was largely responsible for the set-list, and, to be quite honest, seemed to be prone to including a track called, in various incarnations Those Eyes, Tombstone Eyes and Good Times in the mix almost every night. It’s not the greatest track you’ve ever heard and it’s a long way from the best that Mr Betts has produced. More importantly, there were items from the band’s repertoire that were, apparently, ruled out because the playing required a level of skill that Betts. it seemed, no longer possessed.
In any case, following a couple of less than stellar performances in May 2000, Betts was informed that his services were surplus to requirements and a classy player named Jimmy Herring took his place alongside young Mr Trucks. Given the grumblings over recent set-lists the first show with the new line-up kicked off with a lengthy full-blown Mountain Jam. Herring’s role in the band was always going to be temporary, presumably meant to leave the door open for Betts should he wish to return to the fold under a different set of rules, but that didn’t happen, so Warren Haynes filled the role instead.
As time went on, as things loosened up, it was increasingly obvious that Mr Trucks was a major talent, and I went out of my way to pick up Derek Trucks Band recordings, which duly found their way into regular spots in Hughesy’s on-air playlists. The version of Afro Blue on the Soul Serenade album was definitely my favourite track from 2003.