Revelator is the debut studio album from the 11-piece
Tedeschi-Trucks Band, who already have a reputation as a wildly exciting live jam group. That said, the record that
Susan Tedeschi and husband
Derek Trucks have recorded proves something beyond their well-founded reputation as a live unit: that they can write, perform, and produce great songs that capture the authentic, emotional fire and original arrangements that so many modern blues and roots recordings lack. The duo forged their two individual solo bands (
Trucks remains with the
Allman Brothers Band) and added some other players.
Oteil and
Kofi Burbridge and
Mike Mattison, as well as drummers
Tyler Greenwell and
J.J. Johnson are on board, as well as backing vocalists and a horn section. Produced by
Trucks and
Jim Scott, these 12 songs seamlessly meld blues, rock, Southern soul, gospel, and funk traditions into a heady, seductive, spine-slipping stew. The record also showcases
Tedeschi as one of the finest vocal stylists in roots music, and
Trucks, has become the only true heir of
Duane Allman's bell-like slide guitar tone, his taste and restraint. More than this,
Revelator offers proof that this pair and their bandmates are serious songwriters as well as players--anyone remember the original
Little Feat? It's like that, but with a woman up front. While the single,
"Midnight in Harlem," highlights the softer,side of the band with
Tedeschi's soulful croon and
Trucks' swooning slide, it's the harder numbers that fill out the story. The sexy opener
"Come See About Me," the bluesy, gospelized
"Don't Let Me Slide" (one of two cuts written by
Trucks and
Tedeschi with
Jayhawk Gary Louris), the second-line funk-blues of
"Bound for Glory" with its punchy horns; all of these offer evidence of the real depth that this band abundantly possesses. There's the skittering, slow-tempo guitar and B-3 soul-blues of
"Simple Things," and the New Orleans-style horns introducing
"Until You Remember," which can distract the listener for a moment from experiencing these songs for what they are-- until
Tedeschi opens her mouth and lets the lyrics come up from her belly and drip from her lips and
Trucks matches her emotion in his solo-- love songs; the likes of which we haven't heard since
Delaney & Bonnie. The Eastern modal tinge in
Trucks' playing and tablas dustinguishes
"These Walls," tempered by the quiet conviction in the grain of Tedeschi's vocal would have made for a better single. The nasty, funky,
Hendrixian droning blues of
"Learn How to Love" is textured by
Kofi's funky clavinet and Wurlitzer. Speaking of funk,
Tedeschi takes her own smoking guitar break in
"Love Has Something Else to Say," a slamming, break-ridden funk tune that quakes. It combines hard Southern
Stax-styled rhythm, soul, blues, and nasty-ass rock.
Revelator is a roots record that sets a modern standard even as it draws its inspiration from the past. It's got everything a listener could want: grit, groove, raw, spiritual emotion, and expert-level musical truth. ~ Thom Jurek
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