[rating=3.50]
Derek Trucks is considered by most as one of the best slide guitarists of our generation and for many (including Rolling Stone magazine) one of the greatest of all time. Roadsongs is a two disc live set recorded with Derek Trucks Band in Chicago after release of their most recent 2009 studio album, Already Free. This live recording captures the band fresh from the studio with increased energy and fluidness complete with Trucks’ staggering solos and New Orleans style horn section. Roadsongs captures some of the best of Trucks’ bluesy slide work such as the incendiary covers of "Key to the Highway": and Dylan’s "Down in the Flood" that rival the originals with their intensity and freshness.
Trucks’ bandmates each get a chance to shine on the funky "Sailing On" which features the incredible vocal range of vocalist, Mike Mattison and the interplay between Kofi Burbride’s flute and Trucks’ guitar on a jazzy cover of Coltrane’s "Afro Blue." Some of the other highlights include the subtle title track from the prior mentioned Already Free that features a duet between Mattison’s bluesy vocal with Truck’s complimentary slide work singing along with the melody. As the band remains on an indefinite hiatus, Roadsongs is a documented testament of The Derek Trucks Band’s growth over the past 15 years
