The Allman Brothers Band - Trouble No More: 50th Anniversary Collection (2020) [24bit MQA]

When Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, Dickey Betts, Duane Allman, Jaimoe, and Gregg Allman finally coalesced in 1969 as The Allman Brothers Band, after stints in other bands and musical endeavors – some alone, some with each other – the group’s very first informal jam together was the stomping Muddy Waters song, “Trouble No More.” Almost immediately the six musicians knew they were on to something special. Shortly after, it also became the very first song they officially demoed together for their eponymous debut record, an album that would begin their legendary, unparalleled, and often times, turbulent journey as one of the best American rock bands to ever exist.

The band’s original 1969 demo of Trouble No More, which has remained unreleased for more than half a century, fittingly opens the new, aptly-titled Allman Brothers Band career retrospective, Trouble No More: 50th Anniversary Collection, releasing February 28 via Island Mercury/UMe to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the pioneering Southern rock legends and their incredible body of work. Available as a 10LP or 5CD box set or digitally, Trouble No More—produced by Allman Brothers Band historians and aficionados Bill Levenson, John Lynskey and Kirk West —offers a massive selection of 61 Allman Brothers Band classics, live performances and rarities from across their 45-year career, and includes seven previously unreleased tracks that take you from the very beginning until the very end. The collection is bookended with a live performance of “Trouble No More” from the Allman Brothers Band’s final show at New York’s Beacon Theatre that brought the band’s legend to a close and which brings this retrospective full circle.

The deluxe vinyl box set of Trouble No More: 50th Anniversary Collection beautifully presents the Allman Brothers Band’s legacy across 10 LPs packaged in five gatefold jackets housed in a wood veneer wrapped slipcase with gold graphics, accompanied by a 56-page book. The 5CD edition will be packaged in a 12-panel softpack with a visually distinctive slipcase and includes an 88-page booklet. Both physical editions feature an insightful nearly 9000 word essay on the 50-year history of the band by John Lynskey, unreleased band photos along with newly shot photos of memorabilia from the Big House Museum in the band’s adopted hometown Macon, GA and a recap of the 13 incarnations of the band lineup. All recordings have been newly mastered by Jason NeSmith at Chase Park Transduction in Athens, Ga. and sound better than ever.