Skydog: The Duane Allman Story
RANDY POE
(Backbeat Books)
Scott Freeman's Midnight Riders: The Story of the Allman Brothers Band (1996) focused so much on the musicians' notorious drug use and infighting that you never got a sense of the greatness of slide guitar virtuoso/band leader Duane Allman, who died at age 24 in a motorcycle crash. Randy Poe's Skydog, on the other hand, does a first-rate job of detailing Duane's genius, drive and charisma. Yes, there's mention of the drug intake, but the emphasis remains on how Duane, whose father was murdered when he was a child, looked after his baby brother Gregg and created a brilliant combination of blues, jazz and rock. 4 stars
This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2008.