After their Grammy for their debut album 'Revelator", the 11-member band led by Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks will release their new album "Made Up Mind" on August 16, 2013.
How can a band that is only three years old sound so timeless? This question inevitably arises when listening to the new album Made Up Mind by the Tedeschi Trucks Band, which Sony Masterworks will release on August 16. Made Up Mind is the highly anticipated follow-up to the debut album Revelator, which won a Grammy in 2011, and the hot live recording Everybody’s Talkin’ from 2012.
The question can be easily answered, however. When the dynamic singer and guitarist Susan Tedeschi and her husband, guitar virtuoso Derek Trucks, combined their talents to form a new eleven-member group, they were already drawing from years of experience and extensive musical know-how. Derek had been a key member of the legendary Allman Brothers for more than ten years and the leader of the Derek Trucks Band, picked up his first guitar at the age of nine, and ranks 16th on the Rolling Stone list of the "One Hundred Greatest Guitarists of All Time." Susan is a musical powerhouse and was nominated for a Grammy five times even before the founding of TTB, as fans now call their band (including in 2000 as "Best New Artist"). Made Up Mind is now a production where all instrumental, vocal, and compositional skills of the incredibly strong musician couple and their outstanding colleagues come together magnificently.
"For us, it was clear that we wanted to take a bit more risk with this record to create something that we think is really good," says Susan Tedeschi, who met her husband in 1999 in New Orleans when she opened for an Allman Brothers tour with her then band: "We are all friends and like a family. Now we are finally making the music we want to make. A really great time."
Trucks adds: "During the recordings, I felt a greater sense of security. With Revelator, we all had to adjust to each other. After a few years on the road, during which a live recording was also released, we have all become a bit more relaxed and carefree. We didn’t want to force a sound or pre-determine how something should sound. We wanted to see where the music would take us. And when we went into the studio for Made Up Mind, we didn’t even have to think about it anymore."
Made Up Mind is a significant step forward for TTB. While Revelator and Everybody’s Talkin’ were about finding their own path, the new album shows that a band has emerged that has found itself. When Susan Tedeschi demonstrates her immense vocal power in outstanding tracks like the more than funky "Misunderstood" or loses herself in emotional, moving ballads like "Calling Out to You" and "Idle Wind" – it becomes increasingly clear that she has developed into one of the dominant singers in the contemporary music scene. On the other hand, Derek Trucks has matured into one of today’s most influential guitarists, executing his licks with masterful slides and leads in grand pieces like the title track "Made Up Mind," while also showing a more relaxed, subtle side in the bluesy "Do I Look Worried."
Made Up Mind was co-produced by Jim Scott (Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wilco) and Derek Trucks in Jacksonville, the band’s hometown. The setting was the Swamp Raga Studios owned by Susan and Derek, where Scott had already co-produced the album Revelator. While Jim Scott also served as the sound engineer and took care of the mixing of the new album, Trucks continuously developed his studio skills through close collaboration, as evidenced by the decisions he made throughout the sessions. The studio became a new instrument for him to master, and Made Up Mind confirms that he is now as capable as a producer as he is as an instrumentalist and songwriter.
Although the Tedeschi Trucks Band is named after its two founders and leaders, all members of the group – Kofi Burbridge (Keyboards, Flute), Tyler Greenwell and J.J. Johnson (Drums & Percussion), Kebbi Williams (Saxophone), Maurice Brown (Trumpet), Saunders Sermons (Trombone and Vocals), as well as Mike Mattison and Mark Rivers (Harmony Vocals) – worked on Made Up Mind with complete dedication, which is why there are no weak points. Those who do the math will notice that the number of musicians only adds up to ten: The new release is the first recording of TTB since the departure of their original bassist Oteil Burbridge. Instead of replacing him immediately, the group utilized the services of several bassists (Pino Palladino, Bakithi Kumalo, George Reiff, and Dave Monsey) for their new album. They are also currently playing with different bassists at their gigs.
Most of the songs on Made Up Mind come from Tedeschi and Trucks. Additional authors include Doyle Bramhall II, Eric Krasno, Gary Louris, and John Leventhal, all of whom had also contributed to the TTB debut Revelator. A special highlight is the single "Part of Me," a vocal duet by Susan Tedeschi and trombonist Saunders Sermons: It recalls the classic R&B that emerged from the soul of Memphis and Muscle Shoals in the sixties and seventies. The title track "Made Up Mind" by Tedeschi, Trucks, and Oliver Wood is a high-caliber soul-rock in the style of early Bonnie Raitt or the duo Delaney & Bonnie. According to Susan, "It’s a song that gives you power: I know you want to see me, you want to do this and that, but I have become independent and broken free. It can be anything – a child growing up, or a woman who has gone through a change. It’s a kind of rebirth."
But it could also, as Derek suggests, describe the current state of TTB: "The song shows that the band knows what it wants and that it will endure. Make your choices – that’s what it’s about."
An always moving, always direct and skillful singing, a unique musicality, an honest, bold sound that shows many stylistic influences and can only be the result of hard work and open-mindedness: There’s no question that far more people will choose Made Up Mind than against it.
http://www.tedeschitrucksband.com
http://www.facebook.com/derekandsusan
Tedeschi Trucks Band live in Germany:
April 23, 2014, Cologne - E-Werk
April 25, 2014, Munich - Tonhalle (new)
April 26, 2014, Berlin - Postbahnhof
(Pre-sale starts in August 2013)
The Tedeschi Trucks Band consists of:
Derek Trucks – Guitar
Susan Tedeschi - Guitar & Vocals
Oteil Burbridge - Bass Guitar
Kofi Burbridge - Keyboards & Flute
Tyler Greenwell - Drums & Percussion
J.J. Johnson - Drums & Percussion
Mike Mattison - Harmony Vocals
Mark Rivers - Harmony Vocals
Kebbi Williams – Saxophone
Maurice Brown – Trumpet
Saunders Sermons – Trombone
This article was automatically translated by AI.
