In Skydog: the Duane Allman Story—recently released in paperback—author Randy Poe has written the definitive biography of the late Allman Brother and session guitarist. Since his death, Duane and the Allman Brothers Band have gained mythic status, and Poe not only explains the legends, but also explores how that status came about. He analyzes Allman’s session work and band playing in depth, but in ways that any layman can understand. This analysis never takes away from Allman’s mystique; in fact, it adds to it when he is explaining such recordings as Derek and the Domino’s “Layla,” Wilson Pickett’s “Hey Jude,” or the Allman Brothers’ Live at the Fillmore East. While doing this, he also delves into histories of Muscle Shoals R&B and southern rock and includes detailed sketches of some great characters including producer Jerry Wexler, Capricorn Records head Phil Walden, engineer Tom Dowd, and all of the Allman Brothers themselves.

Poe also doesn’t shy away from parts of legend that show the Brothers in a less than stellar light including Duane’s drug use and Gregg Allman’s court testimony that broke up the band in the mid-1970s. If there is a criticism, it’s that Poe is almost too comprehensive in writing about Allman’s early career, so the different musicians and bands that Allman was associated with are difficult to keep straight. Poe also includes as appendixes a discography, short bios about many of the subjects, and a history of Duane’s guitars. All these touches add up to confirm the giant that Duane Allman was and the legend that he has become.