Rockin' Horse in 1994. Recorded but not released.

Rockin' Horse in 1994. Recorded but not released.

It was on Hittin' The Note.

The Brothers did a song called "Dusk Till Dawn" during the March 2013 Beacon run, along with "Spots of Time" and another newish song called "Bag End". I'm not sure if these other songs were written by Warren, but I think they were being considered for a final studio album that was never recorded. Gregg was supposed to show up with new tunes during the rehearsals for the 2013 run, but these songs never materialized, so the new studio album was eventually scrapped. "Egypt" is another newer song that might have gone on the final album. I sure wish they had recorded a final studio album with Chuck Leavell, Jimmy Herring and Jack Pearson as guests!

Bag End was written by Derek

I like your idea for a final studio album

"It was on Hittin' The Note."

True, but a whole different version of Rockin' Horse was recorded back in 1994 that never saw the light of day. That's what tori is talking about.

I believe Mule was brought to the ABB by Warren around the same time, and its rejection was one of the motivating factors in Warren and Allen founding Govt Mule.

I actually heard a rough cut of Hittin' the Note that had Worried Down With The Blues on it, and I believe it didn't have Heart Of Stone. Butch played it for me in 2002 when I was writing for Jambands.com, about 6 months or so before the final version of HTN came out.

I still prefer that tracklist for HTN, it would have bumped that album up a notch in my book. That version of Heart Of Stone never did a thing for me. I don't know this for a fact, but I suspect Worried Down was replaced with Heart Of Stone to give the album a more favorable Gregg/Warren ratio. At least, favorable in Gregg's mind.

That is correct. Rocking Horse was recorded in 1994 for Where It All Begins but just afterwards Dickey came up with Mean Woman Blues, then refused to allow Rocking Horse on the album according to Butch Trucks. So Dickey wrote a new song then he bumped Rocking Horse to make room for it on the album but got Warren to sing it. Maybe that was to ease Warren's disappointment. I'm not sure if Dickey's action prompted Warren and Allen to put together Gov't Mule but it is true Gregg Allman was so PO'd about Queen of Hearts being rejected for Brothers and Sisters that he thought about leaving but didn't when he decided to do Laid Back and have a solo band. Just a couple of weeks ago Gregg again talked about how he likes having his own band and has had his own band since 1974 because he can relax and do things his way without putting up with having other cooks in the kitchen. Sometimes I wonder if Gregg never left the ABB because of respect to his brother and for the money. Because you get the impression he was never completely happy being in the ABB since Duane died.

I thought Soulshine is what bumped Rockin Horse from Where It All Begins. They recorded Soulshine without Dickey. Warren left room for him to record his solos later, including in the call & response (I believe that is correct).

I believe the original Where It All Begins had Gregg on lead vocals...I'd love to hear it.

I always thought Fallen Down and Banks of the Deep End sounded more like ABB tunes than mule tunes and would have worked really well in the ABB.

No it's not likely you are correct. Butch Trucks said in an interview just recently when taking about Rocking Horse that it was recorded for Where It All Begins but Dickey then came up with Mean Woman Blues and just made it clear that song was going to be on the album instead of Rocking Horse. Then Butch said he didn't agree because to him (Butch) Rocking Horse was a much better song... but at the time he had no way to block it

Apparently Butch couldn't get anybody to vote with him against Dickey's decisions as Gregg and Jaimoe apparently just didn't want to go though a fight like that.

Gregg seems to have just turned to his solo band when he couldn't get his songs done by the
ABB rather than have a big fight about it. He did Laid Back because Queen of Hearts was rejected for Brothers and Sisters and Gregg mentioned that in just the last year again and claimed Butch Trucks cast the deciding vote to keep Queen of Hearts off Brothers and Sisters. Apparently he is still a little pissed about it.

Then in 1997 when Gregg put out Searching for Simplicity, he mentioned in an interview he did that album because Dickey wouldn't even rehearse any of his new songs for the ABB. They worked up some of Dickey's new songs which Gregg didn't like this time and Dickey refused to do any of Gregg's new songs and packed up and left the rehearsal. Apparently this must have been in 1996.

I don't remember Gregg ever singing Back Where It All Begins in concert but he did sing Change My Way of Living. But when Gregg decided he would no longer sing Nobody Knows because he never cared for the song and felt it was too much like his Whipping Post, Dickey took Change My Way of Living away from Gregg and began singing it. Then in 1996 Dickey wanted Gregg to sing Tombstone Eyes but Gregg refused apparently hoping it would keep it out but Dickey just sang it himself and kept it in the set list. It was at this time Warren and Alan left in the wake of the big fight (see Alan Paul's book) and Gregg said he began thinking about leaving saying in one interview, "it began to bubble up and down". Three years later Gregg finally decide to leave but Butch was ready to quit too. Butch's wife found out from Gregg's then wife that Gregg was leaving so Butch called Gregg and said rather than us leaving and the band breaking up, let's get rid of Dickey. Dickey has been holding us hostage for decades. Either he gets his way or he is going to quit or beat up someone. Let's try it without him. Gregg said "let me sleep on it". The next day Gregg told Butch he agreed. They got Jaimoe on the phone but Jaimoe wouldn't go for a permanent split so they agreed to lay Dickey off for the summer and that led to the fax and Dickey hiring a lawyer which made Jaimoe decide Dickey just quit. Jaimoe told Gregg and Butch they were wrong to vote Dickey out completely because the only way you can leave the ABB is to quit or die. When Dickey hired a lawyer and sued, then to Jaimoe, Dickey quit. Gregg has said fired on occasion and quit on occasion. So has Butch. Either way the situation became permanent.

It indeed was a gusty move to continue without the long time leader and principal song writer and surviving original guitar player in a band where guitar playing and jamming took most of the spotlight in the band's sound.

I think it worked out because Warren and Derek were there and both had been in the band with Dickey which made it somewhat legit. But for many older fans having three of the four players on the front line now gone gave the band a bit of a tribute band feel especially on the old songs and Dickey's songs. I think that would have eventually faded if they had done more albums and not so many of Dickey's songs. When they did Blue Sky or Jessica or Southbound, it just make it stick out that Dickey was gone and that he was a huge part of the band's sound and song writing. The tribute band feel would have faded with older fans if they had just done two or three more albums. But the last version of the band was only able to do one which I never really understood. They talked about another album several times, especially Gregg, but it never happened. Now it's over and that is that. I think Warren and Derek had been looking for an out for several years. Derek finally did it and Warren went though that door right behind him.