Tedeschi Trucks Band: Revelator

About a year and a half ago, Brenda and I were invited to an Allman Brothers concert here in Nashville. I am a huge fan of the old Allman Brothers as well as the more recent guitarists in the band: Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks. I have followed Haynes with Govt. Mule (even met him at the NAMM show in Anaheim a few years ago) and already had a CD of Truck's solo band. So needless to say, I was excited to see them play together that night. I was especially taken with Derek Truck's fluidity on the slide guitar. He barely moved and remained expressionless as he played, but the fire coming off of his fingers was blinding. Trucks was the "stand-out" at the concert.

I wasn't as familiar with Susan Tedeschi. Other than articles in guitar magazines and ads for her recordings, I only knew that she was an great blues player and singer.

I recently downloaded the Tedeschi Trucks Band "Revelator" CD. Learning that Tedeschi and Trucks were a married couple, I was curious just how their music would meld. Tedeschi's vocals are superb, reminding me of Bonnie Raitt. She's capable of going head to head with any R&B artist out there--white or black. Along with a stellar band and her husband's masterful guitar playing, Tedeschi has a great platform from which to shine. The record is filled with wonderfully written songs, and there's not a dud in the bunch (with a couple of hidden surprises, too!). The warm yet punchy mix is so smooth--like I'm listening to a great 70s record--only hiss-free, super tight and in high definition. There is a good blend of electric and acoustic music here, too.

The couple are assisted by a gathering of various musicians from each of their solo bands, specially assembled for this new venture. I read that they both were tired of traveling in separate bands, sometimes spending weeks apart from their two children and each other. So they disbanded their solo efforts and joined forces in 2010 to form the Tedeschi Trucks Band. "Revelator" came out in January, 2011.

This is a CD that stands out, head and shoulders, above most projects in the crowded release schedule this year. The effort is not a "look at me," self-indulgent guitar fest, but balanced--filled with great tones, tunes, grooves and singing. In short, it's a gumbo-meets-delta-meets-Stax-meets-southern rocking delight!