Originally released in 1995, Better Days was re-released after the success of Just Won't Burn created a legion of blues fans wanting more of Susan Tedeschi.
This record finds Tedeschi's
guitar prowess and eminent vocals proliferating the musical landscape
in the same manner of blues legends who have gone before her. The tracks
"It Hurts Me Too" and "Ain't Nobody's Business" are classic slow,
bluesy songs complete with emotional vocal wailings that are sure to
bring the house down when performed in a live arena.
She picks up the
pace with "Locomotive" and "I Don't Want Nobody," showing off her
six-string skills. While there is no question that Tedeschi
is a true talent and a blues force to be reckoned with, the musical
arrangements could be improved by using a less-formulaic blues structure
and attempting to offer something more contemporary.
She has proven
herself worthy of sharing the stage with the masters; her next challenge
should be to break away and create her own sound.
Personnel: Mike Aiello (drums) Adrienne Hayes (guitar, slide-guitar) Jim Lamond (bass) Annie Raines (harmonica) Susan Tedeschi (guitar, vocals) Tracklist: 01. It´s Up To You (Lamond/Tedeschi) 4.19 02. Gonna Write Him A Letter (Tedeschi) 3.05 03. Love Never Treats Me Right (Tedeschi) 2.11 04. It Hurts Me Too (James/Robinson) 5.04 05. Locomotive (Tedeschi) 4.28 06. You´re On My Hair (Tedeschi) 4.12 07. Better Days (Hayes) 6.40 08. Hound Dog (Leiber/Stoller) 4.03 09. I Don´t Want Nobody (Robey) 2.58 10. Ain´t Nobody Business (Grainger/Robbins) 7.33
Be warned -- this is an album that will grow on you very quickly.
Jesse Cook
is a Canadian flamenco guitarist who took the world fusion route at
some point, basing his playing against a wonderful mix and match of
percussion, synthesizers and samplers. It's easy to spot some of the
artificial elements, but many more of them have been blurred into the
total sound, making it impossible to separate live players from the
computer-driven tracks -- excellent work indeed (Cook also produced and engineered the tracks, which makes the result all the more impressive).
Tempest
is a subtle album, very seductive, getting one's attention without
demanding it, through a clever phrase, a particularly soulful vibrato, a
nice effect in the rhythm tracks, and so on. Intent listening to this
album is a very rewarding experience indeed. (by Steven McDonald) A substantial part of the album's publicity was gained after the tracks
Tempest and Breeze from Saintes Maries were used by a local Ontario
cable TV operator as a background music for their 'TV Guide' listing
channel. The tracks were played in a loop for many months "growing" on
many viewers to the point they called the cable operator to inquire
about it. (by wikipedia)
Personnel: Jesse Cook (guitar, palmas, synthesizer, percussion) Blake Manning (percussion) Mario Melo (percussion) Andrew Morales (bass, palmas)
