Already Free by The Derek Trucks Band

The first time I ever heard The Derek Trucks Band was a few summers ago when I saw them open for the Allman Brothers Band at the Plain Dealer Pavillion in Cleveland, Ohio. They were already onstage when we arrived at the venue and I just remember being enveloped by the sound of this singing slide guitar. At first it sounded like the ghost of Duane Allman risen from the dead but as I found my seat and settled in to the music, it started to feel like a completely different thing. The band had elements of blues, jazz, world music, jam band music and pretty much any other style you can think of. At one point, they played a version of the John Coltrane arrangement of "My Favorite Things" that changed the way I looked at that song. The next time I listened to Coltrane play it, I found myself thinking about that live rendition, with Derek Trucks' slide guitar taking role of Coltrane's saxophone.

The next day I bought "Songlines," which was their current album at the time, and was pretty much astounded by it. I had heard Trucks play with the Allman Brothers many years before - I think he was still a teenager - and he sounded good but his playing was a little immature. Young musicians, especially those roaming into blues and jazz territory, often sound like they need to live a little bit to flesh out the blood and guts in their playing. By the time "Songlines" came out, which was 2006, Trucks had been on the road as a member of the Allman Brothers for ten years or so, first sharing guitar duties with Dickey Betts and later with Warren Haynes. His playing had not only matured, it had moved far beyond his early musings as a near perfect imitator of Duane Allman into a full throated, distinct voice to be reckoned with.

Two years later, we have "Already Free," which takes the passionate, unique jazz and blues of "Songlines" many steps further and sees the band developing into a force to be reckoned with. The album was recorded in Trucks' home studio, with the whole band playing together in one room. From the opening cover of Bob Dylan's "Down In The Flood" through the deep south gospel groove of "Sweet Inspiration" and the introspective, funk/blues of "Get What You Deserve" this album positively crackles with electricity. The record is a bit of a mixed bag of blues, jazz, gospel, alt country etc., but the distinct personality of the band and that slide guitar somehow hold it together as a cohesive listening experience that works best when taken as a whole, as opposed to playing just a song or two.

2008: A Look Back At My Year In Blogging

At the beginning of 2008, I decided that I wanted to write more and I thought that this blog would be as good a place as any to get that ball rolling. Because I've always loved to read, it made sense to write about the books I read on my blog. Before this year, activity on this blog was sporadic at best but, in '08 I wrote here more regularly than ever before and also began co-authoring the Subject To Debate blog with my friend John Bertosa.

I read, and wrote about, 18 books in the past year, which is actually a little less than I thought I would. I was hoping to be in the neighborhood of two per month. I've never kept track of the number of books that I read in any other year so, I really don't have anything to compare that number with. I also wrote four additional posts that weren't about books. This year, I plan to continue writing about each book I read but I also plan to write about each new album I purchase. I think I'll probably stick to new releases but, who knows, I may try to write about every piece of music I buy. Over the course of any given year, I buy a lot of music so, that would be a tall task.

In terms of sheer numbers, I wrote 22 posts on this blog in 2008, which is ten more than I've ever written in a single year before. I also wrote twelve posts over at Subject To Debate. So, a total of 34 posts in one year isn't too bad. I know there are plenty of people who write on their blogs once a day, sometimes two or three times a day but, as I said, my history has been pretty sporadic so, I feel good that I've kept it up a bit more regular this year.

I'm hoping that I can continue writing steadily in 2009. Actually, I'd like to get on more of a weekly schedule with this blog. Maybe having a deadline will help keep me focussed. Anyway, however it goes for me blogging this year, I want to thank anyone who has taken the time to read some of my writing in the past twelve months. I hope you've enjoyed and I'd love to hear from you.