I Am the Moon: IV. Farewell

by Tedeschi Trucks Band

Overview

I Am the Moon: IV. Farewell is the fourth and final installment in Tedeschi Trucks Band's 2022 bimonthly summer releases inspired by the epic 12th century Persian love poem The Story of Layla and Majnun by Nizami Ganjavi. Each volume is accompanied by its own film from director Alix Lambert. (The poem also provided inspiration for Derek and the Dominos' 1970 double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.) Five of TTB's 12 members collaborated in the songwriting. Farewell's six songs are the most intimate in the series. It underscores the existential question at the heart of the poem's tragic narrative: Are we really just in love with the dream of love rather than what love demands? Opener "Last Night in the Rain" weds punchy guitars, sweeping soulful horns, and a soaring backing chorus; Susan Tedeschi delivers a brokenhearted vocal: "Got a letter from nowhere/Got a letter from you/It was already opened/Addressed to somebody new." "Soul Sweet Song" starts with rumbling congas, Gabe Dixon's piano, and Derek Trucks' slide guitar. Tedeschi and Mike Mattison sing in resonant harmony about how the spirits of the dead leave indelible marks on those who remain, as lithe horns frame them. "D'Gary" is titled after the stage name of acoustic guitarist Ernest Randrianasolo (aka D'Gary) from Madagascar. Trucks employs a version of his uncommonly rhythmic playing style in the melody. Tedeschi, framed by the guitar and supported by Dixon's Rhodes piano, digs deep into the ache of separation, loss, and grief, as ambient horns and percussion underscore each line: "Up the creek without a paddle/Down the street without a name/Lying eyes are wicked/I will never be the same/Loneliness is hollow...Tired bones lay dying/As it all goes down the drain." Mattison's lead vocal on "Where Are My Friends?" offers a rootsy Americana ballad as he trades poignant sung lines with biting slide fills from Trucks and a backing chorus led by Tedeschi. His lyrics reflect the depths of the poem's narrative while also admonishing us for complicity in our loneliness. "I Can Feel You Smiling" is a ballad with gorgeous acoustic and slide guitar interplay from Trucks as Dixon's B-3 adds depth and dimension to Tedeschi's throaty, country-soul vocal. The cycle is brought to a close on the passionate, anthemic "Another Day." Led by Trucks' slide and Mattison's acoustic guitar, Dixon's keyboards introduce Tedeschi's voice amid horns and drummers shuffling underneath. Her strident lyric, amplified by a backing chorus, depicts the power of love from beyond the bounds of human existence. The four volumes that make up I Am the Moon offer an uncommon achievement in popular music. While lyric themes don't strictly adhere to the poem, they do offer pointed, wonderfully allegorical and metaphorical illustrations of the most universal of its tenets in 24 intricately linked songs. This ambitious, literary, and musically rich presentation is as illuminating spiritually and emotionally as it is wildly satisfying. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	08/26/2022
Label:	Fantasy
UPC:	0888072434486

Tracks

1. Last Night in the Rain
2. Soul Sweet Song
3. D'Gary
4. Where Are My Friends?
5. I Can Feel You Smiling
6. Another Day

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Tedeschi Trucks Band   Primary Artist
Gabe Dixon   Melodica,Clavichord,Organ (Hammond),Piano (Electric),Horn,Piano,Vocals,Clavinet
Tyler Greenwell   Drums,Percussion
Marc Quinones   Congas
Mark Rivers   Vocals,Percussion
Mike Mattison   Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic)
Alecia Chakour   Vocals,Percussion
Paul Olsen   Guitar (Acoustic)
Brandon Boone   Guitar (Bass)
Jud Strickland   Sequencing
Isaac Eady   Drums,Percussion
Ephraim Owens   Horn,Trumpet
Susan Tedeschi   Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Rhythm)
Eric Krasno   Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
Derek Trucks   Horn,Guitar,Percussion,Guitar (Rhythm),Guitar (Acoustic)
Elizabeth Lea   Horn,Trombone
Kebbi Williams   Horn,Saxophone

Technical Credits

Gabe Dixon   Composer,Arranger
Tyler Greenwell   Composer
Mike Mattison   Composer,Album Concept
Bobby Tis   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Blake Budney   Management
Daniel Bacigalupi   Assistant
Oliver Wasow   Artwork
Ryan Murphy   Instrument Technician
Marc Lowenstein   Producer
Lizzie Minges   Editing
Bradley Strickland   Mixing Assistant
Derek Trucks   Recording Producer,Arranger,Composer,Producer
Ephraim Owens   Arranger
Pete Lyman   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Susan Tedeschi   Composer
Elizabeth Lea   Arranger
Kebbi Williams   Arranger
Oliver Wood   Composer