Page 49 - BiTS_10_OCTOBER_2022

'Why Why Why' is a nice melodic country-flavoured ballad and 'Fried Catfish and Bibles' is a
rocking Cajun romp with fiddle and accordion.

The title track is a semi-acoustic slow blues where Shemekia shares the vocals with Cedric
Burnside, Ray Wylie Hubbard’s 'Barefoot in Heaven' is a mid-tempo song with some nice slide
guitar and the country song 'Fell in Love with a Honky' could be autobiographical as Shemekia
has an interracial marriage - except that her actual husband is a metal head! - complete with
pedal steel from Fats Kaplan. 'Dolls Are Sleeping' is a stark acoustic song on the uncomfortable
subject of child abuse, and there is more topical commentary in 'Dumb it Down' a critique of
celebrity culture - "don't get all profound, if you want to move on up - dumb it down". And as
usual we finish with a blues by Shemekia's father Johnny - 'Nobody But You' - a down and
dirty take on the 'I'm a Man' riff.

This is a fine album with great playing and production throughout, with serious themes and
lots of musical variety but with Shemekia's peerless voice to tie it all together, however going

forward I'd like to see her move on and explore new sounds with a different producer.
Graham Harrison

Tedeschi Trucks Band I Am The Moon: IV. Farewell
Fantasy ASIN : ‎B09XVCWQGL

And so we have the final part of the four-part album series “I
Am the Moon - Episode IV. Farewell” —'Last Night in the Rain'

by drummer Tyler Greenwell and keyboard player Gabe
Dixon is the soulful opener featuring the brass section and
Susan's vocals, while 'Soul Sweet Song' is a country-flavoured

ballad with Derek's slide guitar and Dixon's Floyd Cramer-
style piano licks.

'D'Gary' is by Susan and Derek and is a melodic ballad with a
hypnotic groove that is a tribute to a Madagascan acoustic guitarist who Derek is a fan of - we
get a sax solo in the middle and Derek's lovely African-inspired guitar solo at the end.

Mike Mattinson and Derek wrote the bluesy 'Where Are My Friends' and Mike takes the lead
vocal backed up by Susan with some nice slide fills from Derek, 'I Can Feel You Smiling' is a

semi-acoustic song with Susan's vocals out front written by Trucks and Dixon with words by
friend of the band Oliver Wood (and more superb slide fills from Derek). The album (and

series) finishes with 'Another Day' an anthemic gospel song with Susan's vocals soaring over
the band providing a backing choir, with brass and Hammond organ and Derek's plaintive
slide on the runout.

I must admit that I preferred Episode III which I thought had better songs and was more
bluesy but this record does run it close, again with variety provided by the brass sitting out on

some tracks.
Graham Harrison