Happy 15th Anniversary to The Derek Trucks Band’s sixth studio album Already Free, originally released January 13, 2009.
Sometimes a thing peaks, and then you walk away.
For about a decade, the Derek Trucks Band wandered between soul, the blues, and world music, putting out some exploratory and sometimes revelatory records throughout the 2000s. These records always put Trucks’ rock-solid guitar chops on full display, but never pulled together these disparate influences into coherent, focused projects. The exploration on those records posed the question: what are we exploring from? What’s at the center of this?
By 2010, the band was on hiatus. Trucks combined a few of his forces—vocalist Mike Mattison and keyboardist/flautist Kofi Burbridge—with members from his wife Susan Tedeschi’s band, forming the blues powerhouse Tedeschi Trucks Band. The Derek Trucks Band was never heard from again, and since that time, three members (Burbridge, as well as drummer Yonrico Scott and percussionist Count M’butntu) have passed away. It’s over.
Which means that 2009’s Already Free is truly a perfect record: the moment that the band found its central core, latched onto it, and then let it go. On no other record is this group as concise and expressive as they are here. Already Free loses all of the high-minded exploration of the group’s earlier work and forgoes the thrilling enormity of the Tedeschi Trucks Band sound for a grounded and beautiful blues record.
The success of Already Free comes from three places: Trucks’ revised role in the band, Mike Mattison’s standout vocal performance, and the joyful arranging and songwriting that courses through these fifty-five minutes.
For some of the early records, Trucks’ guitar is ever-present. Virtuoso though he is, it sometimes feels unnecessary. On Joyful Noise’s “Maki Madni,” for example, Trucks doubles Rahat Ali Khan’s vocals and sounds more like an interloper, a bandleader with nothing to do. In some ways, it makes sense: having Derek Trucks lay out for long stretches of a tune wouldn’t be a very Derek Trucks Band thing to do, at least not until the Derek Trucks Band finds a coherent sense of self outside of the fact that it’s a Band with Derek Trucks.
Listen to the Album:
Already Free finds Trucks more organically playing a supporting role, offering foundational riffs on tunes like “Don’t Miss Me” and “Something To Make You Happy,” and strong rhythm guitar throughout. These aren’t the kinds of tiffs that made Derek Trucks one of the best-regarded guitar players in rock music, but they are the exact things that the band needs on those songs—and Trucks selflessly delivers.
Still, his guitar playing has plenty of moments to shine. Album opener “Down in the Flood” finds his SG stomping onto the scene at the start of the second verse, and the thick, dripping sound is exactly the thing for such a dramatic moment. After the verse, Trucks offers a floating, enigmatic solo that turns on a dime, crashing into the finale and weaving around Mattison’s vocals expertly before lending drama to the instrumental outro. It’s impressive not only in its technical mastery, but also its musicality.
If Already Free features an all-time great guitar player, the same can be said for Mike Mattison’s deeply underrated vocals. His work is ferocious (“Down in the Flood”), yearning (“Sweet Inspiration”), spiritual (“Already Free”) and blues-ridden (“Down Don’t Bother Me”), with each song offering new sides to his emotion and technique. His standout performance is “Days Is Almost Gone,” co-written with Trucks, in which the simple, pleading chorus becomes an idea you can live inside. A moment and feeling perfectly captured.
But a singer and guitarist are nothing without a great band and arrangements. Scott, Burbridge, Count M’buntu, and bassist Todd Smallie create a vivid, shapeshifting tapestry that blankets each of these tracks. Despite their different forms and genres, each song shares the same feeling and character. The record is then cohesive while still offering variation.
One full-band highlight is “I Know,” in which the group subtly shifts in-and-out of half time to reflect the changes in sentiment expressed by Mattison, building on the feel of the original Big Maybelle version. Another is “Maybe This Time,” in which the band builds at the end of the verses (thanks for Smallie’s thumping bass part and Burbridge’s organ), and masterfully backs off the gas to re-enter the groove. A band in full control of their powers gives life to the songs and offers Trucks, Mattison, and their cadre of guests room to breathe.
Already Free is a perfect moment in time. With the loss of half the band, we know that even if Trucks were to revive the project, it wouldn’t be the same. I am grateful that he and Mattison are making incredible music in the Tedeschi Trucks band, but something keeps pulling me back to the beautiful, sunlit sounds of this humble record.
Listen: