There hasn't been much going on in the way of big-time album releases this month, but that turned out to be a good thing. It allowed this gem in the sand to slip through without being overshadowed by hype.
Already Free is the newest album from The Derek Trucks Band, which has been around for more than a decade. On their previous albums (1997's The Derek Trucks Band and 2006's Songlines), they had delved into Indian techniques and sounds, but this album is an anthology of national pride.
There is rough rock of The Allman Brothers Band era, pure and simple blues and heartfelt country. Much of it is the sound from the cramped, hazy bars and clubs where great music is born.
There is nothing like the chugging, addictive soul of Don't Miss Me. On this song and throughout the album, Trucks' husky, intense voice pulls the rest of the music along, leading the journey through Kansas City, Memphis, Mississippi and the Americana that is the origins of rock.
Trucks allows Susan Tedeschi to take over the singing role for Back Where I Started
and that adds to the authenticity of this album. A steel guitar and a righteous singer don't make a country song, but the authenticity of the feeling does. When you can picture them singing behind a steel fence with the whistling of satisfied drinkers behind you, that's the real deal.
I Know is superb in its simplicity, with just the plucking guitar, keyboard and ting-ting of the high hat carting the blues line along. Even with the lack of production and very little in the way of polish, it has a depth and tonal quality that makes listeners hit the repeat button more than a few times.
The next few weeks should prove interesting, with well-known releases coming out quickly. But for now, The Derek Trucks Band brings nostalgia to the scene that is nothing like the kind Springsteen will bring. It makes you wonder where the days of so-rough-it's-great music went. Plus, it brings to mind the question: Why isn't a slide guitar used more often?
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Culture
Susan Tebben
