Already Free

The best album in Derek Trucks Band’s discography

Derek Trucks is one of the most talented guitarists not only in the US but also in the world famous for both playing a slide guitar and mixing most varied styles in his creations from blues to the Indian ethnic music. His collective Derek Trucks Band often performs with tours around America and Europe gathering crowds of fans each time never leaving them disappointed as this band really can play well and charge the audience with its positive attitude. Most probably the point is that Derek Trucks has selected the members relying exclusively on his intuition and has guessed right as they have made a really great team. Together with Derek the band includes keyboardist Kofi Burbridge, bassist Todd Smallie, drummers Yonrico Scott and Count M'Butu and vocalist Mike Mattison. Besides absolutely all the members perform vocal parties, too. This beginning year Derek Trucks Band releases its sixth studio album Already Free that judging by everything proves to be the best in its discography and promises to become one of the year’s leaders as well.

Covers and original material on Already Free

The album Already Free was recorded in a home studio with the participation of several guests such musicians as Doyle Bramhall II, Oteil Burbridge, Derek Trucks’ wife Susan Tedeschi and Warren Haynes. The album opens with the first single Down In The Flood, a Bob Dylan’s song cover refined with a beautifully matched sounding of acoustic and electric guitars combining greatly with Mattison’s vocals. This cover is not the only one here the others being a more eclectic Something To Make You Happy (Paul Pena's song) and a gospel-blues interpretation of Sweet Inspiration (Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn’s composition) but the original material is no worse than that. Doyle Bramhall II performs the leading vocals on Maybe This Time, another great blues number while Don't Miss Me is remarkable for an outstanding guitars sounding. A more rock’n’roll flavor of Get What You Deserve reminds of the band’s earlier works whereas Our Love is a contagious blues ballad and the longest track here but by no means boring. The brightest example of Trucks’ outstanding guitar playing is one of the album’s highlights Days Is Almost Gone perfect in every respect and proving that the real talent gets only polished as time passes. Susan Tedeschi performs the leading vocals on Back Where I Started, a deeply felt love confession to a long-term partner and I Know is another highlight refined with an unforgettable vocal performance from Mattison and Trucks’ playing on a rare Indian stringed instrument called sarod. The album closes with the title track, the shortest song sounding rather laconic in its message as nothing actually needs to be said after such a wonderful collection as this album.

A wonderfully harmonious and stylish collection

Undoubtedly the music created by Derek Trucks Band is as interesting and varied as is rich its members’ internal world. Take for instance the story of Derek Trucks’, a guy who began performing with the band The Allman Brothers Band, the drummer of which was his uncle, at the age of 11. He did not even turn 20 when the idea of making his own collective got firmly into his mind and soon the same talented personalities joined him to make Derek Trucks Band. Certainly it is Truck’s interest to the world’s most different genres that has defined the collective’s basic repertoire and all the albums’ main ideas starting from 1999 are mostly his but the contribution of each of the participants should not be underestimated. As for Already Free friends and relatives have been involved in working on it so this is really the result of some joint efforts. You are sure to discover more new nuances with every listening on each of the record’s 12 tracks and on the whole this creation is a wonderfully harmonious and stylish collection suggesting that we enjoy the playing and performance of people who really love doing it.