by Derek Trucks is a guitar player in the Allman Brothers Band with Warren Haynes. Derek is also the nephew of Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks. Derek Trucks is a SuperGenius musician. Hey may not have an effervescent facial expression on stage, but his magnificent fingers prove the magic and the methodology of his work. Derek is married to singer Susan Tedeschi and, together, they have formed the Tedeschi Trucks Band and their first album released dropped yesterday: Revelator.
I find it unfortunate that the true genius in the Tedeschi Trucks Band is given second billing. Sure, Susan sing, but the motor behind every song is Derek Trucks. His guitar sings and whistles and thumps. Derek is an inspiration. His talent is unbound and boundless as you can see starting at 4:06 in “Learn How to Love:”
Derek bursts your breath away with his playing and it clearly becomes plain and true that, in a direct comparison of talent — Susan Tedeschi is a poor man’s Bonnie Raitt, while Derek is in his own glorious atmosphere far apart from her — and that’s the most frustrating thing about Revelator. There’s too much mediocre Tedeschi and not enough exceptional Trucks.
Once you’ve heard Tedeschi’s gravelly voice for the first time, you’ve heard everything there is to know about her. She sings one way and one way only. There’s no softness. There’s no screaming for high notes. There’s nothing surprising or raw about her delivery. It’s all one morass of bland emotion.
Derek, however, leads and saves Revelator. Song after song his guitar inspires and coaxes and sings in a way that Tedeschi should follow instead of fight.
Revelator is actually a pretty great album. The band is tight and hot. The energy of the music is a fast-forward into a raw, modern country, blues jangle — and that is the spinning delight of the Revelator experience.
You never quite know where Derek and the band will lead you, but you follow with a gleeful heart because to do otherwise is to refuse to experience the unexplored, but newly ignited, greatness within you.
Here’s my iTunes Ping! proof of purchase so you know I put my money where my review stands:
I have already inhaled and eaten up Revelator and I want more! I hope the Trucks Tedeschi Band will hurry up and strike gold for us again because the waiting for the next slew of songs is already killing me!
Sounds interesting. I hear what you mean about the gravelly voice but I may pick it up just because the guitar playing is superb!
It’s a good album. I do wish I could filter out the singing, though. That would make Revelator an instrumental masterpiece.
As another “guitar head” I get what you are saying. Had I just read this review I’d still get this album. But then I’ve got allthe danny Gatton stuff that almost nobody bought too.
then my son and I went to see the band the other nightand learned that this review doesnt tell the story. I’ve seen Bonnie and let me say that she is no Susan. The range of emotions and types of music kept the sell-out crowd on their feet most of the show.
After revisiting my Derek Trucks band albums again its easy to see that the sum is greater than the parts of this CD and this band. He migt be a guitar great but the music coming from the pair beats what either made separately. I hope it sells well and can’t wait for the next one!!!