Tedeschi Trucks Band I Am The Moon: II. Ascension 180g LP

TAS Rated 4.5/5 Music, 4/5 Sonics in the December 2022 Issue of The Absolute Sound!

Ascension is the second in the four-album I Am The Moon series from Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Inspired by an epic tale of star-crossed lovers, and emotionally driven by the isolation of the pandemic era, I Am The Moon is TTB's most ambitious, and at the same time, intimate recording. Their fifth studio release, I Am The Moon captures the band at its creative best - with 24 original songs that explore the universal experience of love's trial and urgency across a robust tapestry of blues, funk, country, jazz and gospel - all with luminous singing and the instant fire of improvisation.

The decision to sequence and release I Am The Moon in four distinct episodes came "when we started thinking of records we love," Derek Trucks says, citing Axis: Bold as Love, the 1967 LP by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. "It's 36 minutes long. That's the way to digest a record."

Ascension is more laid-back than its predecessor. It more prominently features Tedeschi and Trucks as focal points, in contrast to the band's more prevalent presence on Crescent. That said, TTB expertly and profoundly frame this more intimate dialogue. Collectively, they extend the source poem's inspiration as well as its allegorical narrative; they project in real time the poignant spiritual and emotional truths it addresses.

Tedeschi's goosebump-intensity, gospel-tinged vocals uplift pieces like 'Hear My Dear,' 'So Long Savior,' and 'Take Me as I Am' while her soulful R&B delivery on 'Playing with My Emotions,' 'Rainy Day,' and the gritty 'Somehow' recalls Bonnie Raitt. Truck's ripping slide guitar stretches the boundaries on the horn-driven 'Circles 'Round the Sun,' the instrumental 'Pasaquan,' and the raga-flavored 'Hold the Line.' 'Fall In' and 'Gravity' both fall in The Band camp while the minor key anthem 'Yes We Will' recalls B.B. King's 'The Thrill Is Gone.'