While most of today’s fans know Susan Tedeschi as the vocalist and guitarist in The Tedeschi Trucks Band, Tedeschi exploded seemingly out of nowhere (Boston) to the blues world 25 years ago. As they say, timing can often be the key to success and Tedeschi’s powerful half Bonnie Raitt/half Janis Joplin vocals coupled with her fiery guitar playing and songwriting introduced her to the world around the same time when Raitt was riding high with her 1998 Platinum Fundamental but was moving more toward singer-songwriter and away from a fierce blues mode. So, the ferocity of Tedeschi’s Just Won’t Burn on the now-defunct Tone Cool label, filled in that gap, and then some. It didn’t hurt that Tedeschi cut her own version of the Raitt staple, John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery.” Listening to these tracks now, the unleased power and passion of Tedeschi’s force-of-nature vocals still seem revelatory. She caught enough attention to earn a 2000 Grammy nomination for Best New Artist when artists like Britney Spears and Kid Rock were the rage no less. Just Won’t Burn eventually went Platinum too.
Drummer and mega blues producer and songwriter Tom Hambridge was at the helm even then and penned two songs. Some may not realize that Tedeschi didn’t play all the guitar parts either. She featured the late Sean Costello, then only 18 years old as lead guitarist on four tracks as well as songwriter and guitarist Adrienne Hayes on others. Familiar Boston area mainstays such as Gordon “Sax” Beadle and harmonicist Annie Raines appear as well. There are two originals from Hambridge, a Hambridge/Tedeschi co-write, and one from Hayes. Tedeschi penned four and mixed them with the Prine tune, and material popularized by Ruth Brown and Junior Wells. The set features the 11 original album tracks with an alternate take on “Looking for Answers,” outtakes of Koko Taylor’s “Voodoo Woman” and “Waste of Time” with live versions from The Tedeschi Trucks Band in October of 2022 at The Beacon for “Looking for Answers” and “Just Won’t Burn.”
Hambridge’s rousing Little Richard-like “Rock Me Right” kicks it off, with Tedeschi’s take-no-prisoners vocal and stinging guitar igniting the proceedings. Her own “You Need to Be With Me” lightens up the touch a bit, veering more in a melodic pop direction but as the first of her four originals, proving her songwriting talents, with the added bonus of her sharp, crisp guitar solo. She commands the Chicago shuffle of Jr. Wells’ standard “Little by Little,” accenting the indelible “whoah, ah whoah” chorus, ceding space for Raines’ blues harp. Hambridge’s mid-tempo “It Hurt So Bad” introduces Costello’s scorching fretwork and along with the title track, Tedeschi’s gutsiest vocal on the album. Costello stays with the guitar as Tedeschi moves to the piano (a move that may surprise some) for her flowing ballad “Found Someone New.” Slow, simmering blues imbues Tedeschi’s “Looking for Answers,” another of her poignant, heartfelt vocals buoyed by electric fiddle from Ian Kennedy coupled with her own slide guitar. The stomper “Can’t Leave You Alone” was penned by Hayes who also takes the blazing guitar solo. The smoldering, raw title track unequivocally features Tedeschi reaching deepest both vocally and with her axe. Costello returns to accompany Tedeschi’s roaring vocal on the blues staple “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean” before rendering a respectful, blues-tinged version of Prine’s tune. The closing collaboration between Tedeschi and Hambridge, Friar’s Point” features Raines, Costello, and Hayes in a strong, authentic blues shuffle.
In terms of the bonus material, the alternate and outtakes are as worthy as the original tracks, especially “Voodoo Woman,” but the Tedeschi Trucks Band are the draw. Derek Trucks mimics Kennedy’s spooky fiddle with his slide guitar on “Looking for Answers” and along with the band, adds greater intensity to Tedeschi’s own fine guitar work on “Just Won’t Burn,” seven and half minutes of pure white guitar and Tedeschi’s full throated wailing.
Twenty-five years later Just Won’t Burn easily remains among the very best blues releases in the past three decades.
