- Tedeschi Trucks Band - Revelator (Sony Masterworks) Rating: 9 (out of 10) Revelator is a revelation from a newly formed band with an old school way of doing things.
The husband and wife team of Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks have been around for a while but have never recorded before as a bona fide tandem.
On paper a collaboration between Tedeschi, an R&B singer in the Bonnie Raitt mold, with guitar-slinger Trucks, known for jam band pyrotechnics, looks like a disaster. Their musical universes are almost diametrically opposed with Tedeschi's soulful vibe in complete contrast to the technical dynamics championed in a jam band setting.
Somehow they make it work. The Tedeschi-Trucks Band is an 11-piece southern funk unit that goes from strength to strength seamlessly weaving through different styles of music.
Trucks' bands have never had a singer like Tedeschi fronting them and she has never sounded better. Each complements the other without losing any of their distinctive identities.
It's hard to believe that all 12 tracks are new tunes as they sound like they could have been done at Muscle Shoals' Fame Studios back in the late '60s.
Revelator's soulful reach is reminiscent of Delaney and Bonnie's Stax and Atlantic albums or any of Raitt's definitive Warner Bros. work. That it has come out on Sony Masterworks classical label adds even more mysterious mojo to the chemical equation. The Tedeschi-Trucks Band is all about finding the right mix no matter what's thrown in front of you. This thing just rocks beginning to end.
- Jimmie Vaughan Plays More Blues, Ballads & Favorites featuring Lou Ann Barton (Shout! Factory Records) Rating: 8 (out of 10)
Lou Ann Barton's Wikipedia entry describes her as "a roadhouse blues" singer from Austin, Texas. That's about right. Roadhouse has a more of a piquant edge to it than other descriptive terms that might apply to a roots musician. If you are from Texas you might not even need to aspire to be a roadhouse singer. In certain circumstances it could be a given.
Alcohol is probably involved, electric instrumentation is a must and everything's got to stay loose.
Barton's the perfect foil for Jimmie Vaughan, one of the original Fabulous Thunderbirds and brother of the late, great Stevie Ray. She's crossed paths with Vaughan many times over the years and has recently become a regular member of his touring band. Even though Barton's only heard on three tracks on the latest disc her presence is crucial to Vaughan's party aesthetic. Let the good times roll again.
Vaughan's new release is a rock hard party album - 14 lost gems, worthy of any roadhouse jukebox, recorded in mono live off the floor in the studio. Nothing sounds familiar but everything brings you closer to the sound.
