The Allman Brothers Band recently announced a new release, Peach Picks: Cream Of The Crop 2003, a collection of the best performances culled from six shows in July and August 2003–dedicated to Gregg Allman, who passed away in 2017. Set for release June 15 via the band’s Peach Records (Orchard distribution), the collection includes 36 tracks recorded between July 25 and August 10, 2003, in Indianapolis; Pittsburgh; Darien Center, NY; Hartford; Charlotte; and Raleigh, with no song repeated. Peach Picks: Cream Of The Crop 2003 also features special guest collaborations on four songs with Susan Tedeschi, Karl Denson, and Branford Marsalis.
The 2003 iteration of the Allman Brothers Band included founding members Gregg Allman, Jaimoe, and Butch Trucks, as well as guitarist/vocalist Warren Haynes, percussionist Marc Quiñones, bassist Oteil Burbridge, and guitarist Derek Trucks—the same lineup that lasted through the band’s final run in 2014, marking the band’s longest-running lineup and most consistent in its live performances. According to a press release, “The band had just released their first album in 10 years, the Grammy-nominated Hittin’ The Note and were in top shape.”
So far, the band has shared six songs from the 2003 compilation. Dig in.
Continuing the tradition of providing quality content for fans, Peach Picks: Cream Of The Crop 2003 will be available in an array of configurations. The full curated four-CD set will be offered, both physically and digitally. Each of the full six concerts will also be available for completists, and this marks the first time any of this music has been made available digitally. Recorded for the then-nascent “Instant Live” CD series (fans picked up copies of the concert immediately after the show as they were being burned on CD), these shows capture the group at full throttle.
For this collection, Warren Haynes serves as Supervising Producer and longtime manager Bert Holman as Executive Producer, with Bill Levenson and John Lynskey as Associate Producers.
Haynes said in a press statement, “That was an important time in the growth of that incarnation of the ABB. We had just released Hittin’ The Note and everybody was psyched to be playing a lot of new material from an album we all were very proud of and there was new life being breathed into a lot of the older songs.”
“Warren was asked to oversee this release because he has a keen ear, a great memory for individual show performances and is a master at song sequencing,” continued Holman. “The entire process went very well; we were all on the same page about what song should be included and in what order, and everybody in the band agreed with the final choices.” For more information on Peach Picks: Cream Of The Crop 2003, head to the band’s official website.
Cream Of The Crop 2003 tracklist: