The seven-disc collection, titled Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective, will include 129 songs, including Allman’s most recognized work with the Allman Brothers Band. However, the songs date back to Allman’s state with the Allman Joys and Hour Glass. Rare sessions with Derek and the Dominos, Aretha Franklin, Laura Lee, Wilson Pickett, Clarence Carter and others will also be included in the set — not to mention his special performance of "Sugar Magnolia" with the Grateful Dead.

 

Allman was killed at age 24 in a motorcycle accident on October 29th, 1971. He died when his daughter, also Skydog producer, Galadrielle Allman, was young. 

 

"Working on this retrospective, I have gotten closer than I ever have been to understanding my father's development as a musician and a man. When a musician of my father's caliber dies, every note he ever recorded becomes even more precious. Each song is pressed into the service of telling his story. The longer Duane is gone, the clearer it becomes that there will never be another like him," she wrote in a press release for “Skydog.”

 

Galadrielle Allman and Rolling Stone's Alt-Rock-A-Rama author Scott Schinder have included their own personal notes to the collection of songs, photos, letters and more. The personal yet recognizable compilation of Allman’s best work is sure to click with fans who have been with him since the beginning. 

 

 

By Candice Wheeler