Tedeschi Trucks Band "Revelator"

Ladies and gentlemen, now that's a band. Count 'em...eleven members! And only two or three who are holdovers from Derek's previous ensemble. Husband Trucks and semi-cougar wife Susan Tedeschi (she nine years his senior and started dating him before he reached legal drinking age) have hit on a winning combination that didn't exist for me with their respective solo careers. In the Music 4 Less days, I gave their promos away to staffers, never keeping an entire record from either. Sure, there were a couple of keeper tracks, but the albums as a whole were too uneven for me. But that has all changed with "Revelator." 

I'll be honest...first spin found the "uneven" aspect still in play, with the record seemingly front and back heavy with a soft middle.  Great start with the opener coming out with a Little Feat vibe.  And then track #3 has to be the smoothest, sexiest tune in recent memory, suitable for airplay while doing your spouse, boy/girlfriend, right/left hand, whatever.  See if you agree...

(Well, you can't as the video has been deleted. Sorry. 1/9/14)

 Man, I can't stop that song...I get chills every time it plays.  Susan in all her Tina Fey-like hotness, that funky bass line, and of course, Derek's uncanny, emotional slide guitar.  Be sure to read some of the comments if you decide to watch on YouTube.  This could be a world-wide smash! The next three tracks were the soft middle I referred to, but after the third spin, they melted into the fabric of this album, seamlessly fitting in on spins 4 & 5 (yep, couldn't pull it from rotation...could've written this post weeks ago).  I had to sneak a peek at the author for track #7 because I would have sworn it was written by Warren Haynes of Gov't Mule.  Nope.  For the remainder of the record I jotted down 70's-era AWB and War as additional references.  There are a couple of segments which are most likely just snippets of studio jams, along the lines of what Frank Zappa would do on his albums, and these come off as fusion jazz, Billy Cobham-like pieces.  Amazing...

My buddy, Bob K., said it best; "This is the best Bonnie Raitt album in years, and she isn't on it."  I had this CD on low volume in a full automobile headed for the Frampton Comes Alive 35th Anniversary concert, when the girl in the back stops in mid-sentence and asks, "Is this Bonnie Raitt?"  This coming from a HUGE Raitt fan... 

Well, I can't admit to being a big follower of Bonnie's, but I have enjoyed the Brothers Allman and their expanded family tree for decades, and that's where this lovely piece of musical fruit falls for me.