well, it’s early, but this is the best thing i have heard this year. their first studio release in three years, ‘signs’ is chock full of song material that is destined to be part of their live repertoire for years to come. they opened up their shows this weekend playing the album in it’s entirety. this is a must see tour this year. i saw them in november and hope they come this way again later this fall. they are simply one of the best touring acts in the country. this album seems to try and capture that magic in the studio, but that is a high bar to reach. my only complaint is that the twelve piece band sometimes sounds a bit compressed, but you can only fit so much raw power into a digital disc. my solution to this was to just turn it up louder, which works for the most part. this is a selection for your drive home from work on a friday afternoon. it also doesn’t hurt that warren haynes and doyle bramhall are guest guitarists.

sadly, the album was released last friday, the same day they learned of the death of longtime multi-instrumentalist kofi burbridge. he finally succumbed to the heart issues he had been dealing with over the last few years, but luckily he is featured quite prominently on many of the tunes, including songwriting credits. trucks had played with him for twenty years and he was a founding member of this band. he was an amazing talent and human being, and he will be missed.

as soulful and uplifting most of the material can be, there is also an undercurrent of grief and loss on many cuts. much of the recording had been done while dealing with the loss of gregg allman, and then butch trucks – derek’s uncle and one the the allman brother’s drummers. the final song, ‘the ending’, is about bruce hampton, longtime mentor and musician. he collapsed on stage at his 70th birthday concert (trucks and tedeschi both performed there), and then died shortly thereafter. but, as always, music has tremendous healing qualities, and this album is all about that. you have two homework assignments: buy this now and then go see them live as soon as you can.

here is ‘midnight in harlem’ from last night’s show. go ahead and try to tell me that derek doesn’t have kofi on his mind…..