AVIDIGI

Gregg Allman's "One More Try: An Anthology" is a most unusual retrospective, for the 34 songs on the two CDs include only eight performances that have ever been released before. Perhaps this is an admission by Allman himself that his solo albums have been over-produced in a way that distracted from his primary asset, his blues-drenched baritone. That voice dominates the stripped-down demos, pre-orchestration alternate takes and live performances that make up the 26 previously unreleased tracks. Many of these rarities suffer from a lack of rhythmic push, but to hear Allman growling and purring his way through his favorite Muddy Waters, Jackson Browne and Bobby Bland tunes, as well as his own originals, is a genuine treat. Highlights include a jam with Johnny Winter, Buddy Miles, and Berry Oakley on "Wasted Words," an acoustic-guitar-and-vocal version of "Come and Go Blues" and a soulful reading of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman."