Tedeschi Trucks Band featuring Trey Anastasio – Layla Revisited (Live at LOCKN’)

I am a long time fan of Derek Trucks and the Tedeschi Trucks Band (TTB). Derek and the Dominos’ Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is the perfect album for TTB to cover. Derek Trucks is the rightful heir to Duane Allman (the secret sauce on the original album). Derek was named after this album and Susan was born on the original album’s release date. Layla Revisited is a live show by the TTB with Phish’s guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio and longtime TTB collaborator guitarist Doyle Bramhall II. It was recorded August 24, 2019. The performance of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs was kept secret until the moment the band took stage – I can’t imagine how amazing an experience that must of been for the unsuspecting audience. I have chatted with a few people on the internet who were there and it was a mind blowing experience.

Layla Revisited is fantastic – do I dare say better than the original? The vocals are better, the recording, mix and mastering are better, the guitar is at least on par and TTB is a tighter band. I am not dissing the original – it is a classic, but this cover is next level. This is not a novelty or a tacky tribute band. The TTB and friends are faithful to the original, but they make the material their own like a great singer whose interpretation of a song makes it theirs, TTB and friends own Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.

Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs is the only studio album by Derek and the Dominos and was released in November 1970 as a double album. It is best known for its titular track, “Layla” that is often regarded as Eric Clapton’s greatest musical achievement. In addition to Clapton, Duane Allman played lead and slide guitar on 11 of the 14 songs.

Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs was a commercial failure and critical disappointment when it was released, but it has grown in stature over the years and is regarded by most classic rock fans as a hall of fame recording. Personally, beyond “Bell Bottom Blues” and the titular track the rest of the album has never really resonated with me. But on the first listen of this cover version I was hooked. I now appreciate the original more – what more can you ask from a tribute album? I have re-listened to the original and now I love every song and not just the hits ( “Bell Bottom Blues” and “Layla”). Layla Revisited benefits from the fact the TTB is a cohesive and road tested “big band” (the base TTB is an 11 piece with multiple vocalists, a horn section, etc.) and Derek, Trey, Doyle and Susan are simpatico guitarists with each other. The original Layla album was a jam and TTB and Trey are the ultimate players on the jam band scene – this is the perfect group of musicians to perform this classic album. TTB has never disappointed me and Layla Revisited exceeds even my high expectations of them.

PS – the vinyl edition sounds fantastic. It is pressed on 180g vinyl and was mastered and cut by Chris Bellman (a vinyl mastering rockstar) from analog tapes. It is a reasonable price for a 3 LP audiophile release.