Other Side of the Tracks 11/19/2008: Susan Tedeschi Back To The River Review

November 19th, 2008 by Mark | Filed under Column.

Susan Tedeschi – Back To The River

Genre – Blues

Label – Verve

Quick Take: River of filler

Get it if: Your mom wants a blues album for Christmas.

Don’t get it if: You can’t take happy blues.

Sometime in 1998, I just happened to wander into Manny’s Car Wash (R.I.P.) on the upper east side of NYC. There I heard the most blistering female blues voice this side of Bonnie Raitt. Seeing Susan Tedeschi that night made me an instant fan and soon she became the next big up and coming blues star. Since that time 10 years ago, Tedeschi’s star didn’t rise as high as expected, but she is nonetheless and incredible blues woman. In her latest offering, Back To The River, I wanted to see if marriage and motherhood had dulled her edge at all.

Unfortunately, I’d say there has been some dulling of something (Not a knock against marriage or motherhood). I had high hopes after hearing the opening track Talking About, a 12-bar groove spiced up with a unison riffed break that took me right back to that night in New York. Things immediately slowed down with 700 Houses a ballad about post-Katrina New Orleans, which although decent musically, the melody seemed an afterthought, with the lyrics trying to convey the devastation of the city. The same can be said for People, an ode to making your own political decisions. Wrapped in a saccharine-sweet package, the message just comes off flat.

Overall, the album does a good job of spanning the different corners of blues and you can even hear influences of other guitar greats throughout the album. A little Stevie Ray Vaughn here (Can’t Sleep At Night), a little Carlos Santana there (Learning The Hard Way) all makes for a good “soft-blues” experience, however there are just too many unremarkable songs for this album to be a keeper.

Note: I know you’ll all be concerned when there’s no column next week, but I’ll be taking the week off for the holiday. Have a good TG everyone.

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