The Tedeschi Trucks Band released their debut album, Revelator, in 2011. After combining two bands and with Derek Trucks playing full-time with the group once he was no longer part of the Allman Brothers Band in 2014, the group did well with their debut album and released their biggest-selling album, Made Up Mind, in 2013.
Both of those albums were released on Sony Masterworks. Let Me Get By, their 2016 debut on Fantasy, continued the group’s winning formula of jammy blues rock. The group just kept building a bigger following with each album and tour. Three years later, on the same day they released Signs, keyboardist Kofi Burbridge died, casting a pall over the release and plans to promote the album.
The band regrouped and, in 2022, released four records that were eventually collected as I Am the Moon. The collective release was their lowest-selling effort, but not for lack of quality. They also released the live album Everybody’s Talkin’ on Sony Masterworks in 2012 and Live from the Fox Oakland in 2017 on Fantasy.
Now, four years later, it looks like Future Soul is the kind of album that reflects all their roots magic while remaining accessible. While it’s the perfect mix and may be their best album, sales have been slow. But the group’s album sales build over time, and their massive tour, which starts at the end of July, will probably increase sales dramatically. This could be the group’s moment, and there’s no question the album will show up on best-of-the-year releases.
As is often the case with great live bands, capturing the magic of live performances for studio tracks can be a challenge. That riddle is solved here with the help of producer Mike Elizondo, who has worked with artists from a variety of genres and as a songwriter. He brings his ear for recording a good tune to this excellent set.
While the obvious influences are still present (the Allmans, Delaney and Bonnie), Sheryl Crow’s helping out on “Hero” showcases a more accessible approach that really works. This is one of those rare albums that doesn’t have one bad track and gets better with repeated listening. The group has always made great albums, but this is the one everyone has been waiting for. The Barnes and Noble Exclusive is a gatefold package pressed on 180-gram sea blue smoke vinyl.
In the late ’60s and early ’70s, a loose aggregate of musicians, often drifting in and out of a handful of groups, live concerts, and recording sessions, culminated in a tour chronicled on the film and album Mad Dogs and Englishmen, which primarily featured Joe Cocker.
In 2015, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, along with their band, joined by some of the musicians from the Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, as well as special guests, performed at the LOCKN’ Festival in Virginia to pay tribute to the tour, the album, and the film. Their set was filmed and recorded. The film has only received a limited run and no physical release, but in the last year, a double album of the concert has been released.
Along with the Tedeschi Trucks Band, there are 10 former members of the original Mad Dogs tour, including most notably Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, Chris Stainton, and Claudia Lennear. The special guests include Dave Mason, Chris Robinson, Warren Haynes, Doyle Bramhall II, Anders Osborne, and others.
Having Mason join was an inspired choice, as he was involved in the other key projects that involved many of the original Mad Dogs cast, including playing with Eric Clapton in Delaney and Bonnie’s band, being part of an early lineup of Derek and the Dominos, performing on All Things Must Pass by George Harrison and writing “Feelin’ Alright,” which was a big hit for Joe Cocker.
There are so many highlights on this double-album set, it’s hard to pick out just a few, but it’s heartbreaking to hear Leon Russell here, as these performances came only several months before his death. Chris Robinson from The Black Crowes turns in more guest vocal spots than anyone here and has such a natural feel for the songs he sings. Susan Tedeschi also tears into her vocals and is central to the success of this concert.
Putting on a tribute show like this is a tricky affair. Albums that attempt to recreate the exact sound of an original performance do not work for many fans, since they can go back and listen to the original album. Also, if the musicians drift too far off the mark or try too hard to reinterpret or reimagine the original music, what made the music so magical the first time around is lost. This album is a case where the approach and results thread the needle, making for a respectful, but fresh, revelatory, and joyous one-off concert.
The Barnes and Noble Exclusive is presented as a gatefold, limited-edition 2-LP set pressed on 180-gram denim-blue vinyl.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band returned to the LOCKN’ festival in 2019 and presented another tribute show to Derek and the Dominos, Layla Revisited. Let’s hope the concert will also be released someday, along with a Blu-Ray of the Mad Dogs concert. I saw the film on a flight on one of my recent trips to London, and it’s a must-see concert film experience.
The Tedeschi Trucks Band US tour began on July 31 at Red Rocks amphitheater in Colorado and goes through October.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
Future Soul
A
Tedeschi Trucks Band and Leon Russell Present: Mad Dogs & Englishmen Revisited (Live at LOCKN’ 2015)
A+
