Hope and Desire
Susan Tedeschi
release date 10/11/2005
Verve Forecast
Twangville Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
These days we find Tedeschi busy raising her young children (I wonder if they’ll inherit her voice? No pressure!). Thankfully, she’s found the time to release a new album albeit not all the material is original. Her fourth album, Hope and Desire is a mix of original songs and remakes of classics by Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones and more. Frankly, I don’t care what she sings as long as she keeps making records. Her husband, Derek Trucks (Derek Trucks Band & Allman Brother’s Band) keeps it a family affair on three of the album’s tracks.
Among my favorites, You Got The Silver is a Stones remake. Her voice is outstanding as usual, but what really makes this song great is the incredible guitar work. On Lord Protect My Child, a Bob Dylan remake you’ll hear Tedeschi’s gospel trained vocals shine accompanied by a beautiful blues guitar. One of my favorite songs on the album is Evidence, a song about a lover getting busted for infidelity.
All being said, I prefer the remakes on this album over the original songs. It just goes to show the magical combination of classic songwriting and amazing vocals. We’ll forgive her songwriting as she’s busy these days trying to raise a family. Perhaps, she’s holding on to her more treasured work for future releases. Even still this album packs a wallop of soul and is outstanding from start to finish. It strongly benefits from the production by Joe Henry, known previously for work with Solomon Burke and Aimee Mann. Also impressive is the guitar work by Doyle Bramhall II on six-string.
About the author: Washington, D.C. area creative by day. Music is my muse. I host Twangville’s weekly Readers‘ Pick.