ALBUM: That Other Mile (1974)
MVC Rating: 4.5/$$$$
I started counting the musicians credited on this album and got to about 15 before giving up.
But listen to this bluesy, jazzy minor masterpiece and everything fits. Sax, bass, drums, wah- wah guitar, steel guitar, steel drums, keyboards, congas – you can tell there’s a lot of music going here, but it plays to a whole; every note counts. The players give each other space and let the music breathe.
I was once decades ago offered $40 for this album. I think it is not so easy to find this one, his first. As you can see, I still have it. I didn’t sell.
Bramblett for a long time lived (and may still) in my hometown of Athens, Ga. Of course, this preceded the Athens explosion of talent in the 1980s led by B-52s, REM and Widespread Panic.
Bramblett was touring with the Allman Brothers and doing session work in Georgia. A multi-instrumentalist (saxophone, guitar, keyboards), he was a consummate musician, never showy. His songs get down and jam in a relaxed way, there’s an underburn to a lot of his work.
It’s go-down-by-the-river music, with a blanket and picnic basket filled with sandwiches, wine and mosquito repellent (I know something about Georgia rivers). 
At this river concert, depending on the song, you may hug your friend or you may get up and boogie.
In a review of this, Allmusic’ Dave Lynch says Bramblett’s songs were ‘literate and thoughtful.’
He once went to seminary with the intention of becoming a pastor.
‘The music surrounding his often heartfelt vocals was as powerful as the words being sung,’ Lynch wrote. ’Somehow both shimmering and swampy.’
The whole album is strong. If I had to choose standouts, I’d say That Other Mile, No Stone Unturned, I Caint and Everybody Got it on the Inside. This is timeless.
Counting down my 678 vinyl records before I die of brain disease.