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Tedeschi Trucks Band/Trey Anastasio – Layla Revisited (Live At LOCKN’) (Concord/Fantasy Records)

Live albums celebrating rock and roll masterworks in their entirety are hardly atypical.

Established artists have always gravitated towards paying tribute to their heroes and forebears.

It’s an opportunity to celebrate the classics and showcase the here and now.

There have been memorable hits and the occasional ill-conceived miss.

But Layla Revisited (Live At LOCKN’) elevates the genre to a steepling new level.

The quality of the musicianship underpinning this 2019 show is a given.

This is, after all, Tedeschi Trucks Band — the insanely talented collective helmed by Susan Tedeschi and partner Derek Trucks.

But it’s the story behind this beautiful collaboration with Phish’s Trey Anastasio that adds a failsafe level of authenticity to a fabulous meeting of musical minds.

The day that Derek And The Dominoes released Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs was the day that Susan Tedeschi was born.

Years later Chris and Debbie Trucks paid their own personal tribute to the Dominoes by naming their newborn son Derek.

It was fate that Susan and Derek would go on to form Tedeschi Trucks Band.

And inevitable that they would one day reimagine the record that remains truest to their hearts to this day.

Layla Revisited…at long last

That Tedeschi Trucks Band would perform Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs in Arrington, VA two summer ago was a closely guarded secret.

Their show with Anastasio hadn’t been billed as a celebration of the Dominoes’ much-loved masterwork.

Far from it.

In fact, it wasn’t until the first notes of I Looked Away rang out over the four-day country festivals that fans got a hint of what was to come.

By the time Keep On Growing (a staple of many a TTB show) had captured the attention of the rapt masses the cat was well and truly out of the bag.

Three songs into this truly special event and Tedeschi and Anastasio were in full swing.

Trucks, meanwhile, was motoring.

Back in the day Duane Allman had a hand in 11 of Layla…’s 14 songs and he turned to his trusty 1957 Gibson Gold Top to lay down those tracks.

Fast forward to 2019 and Trucks used the same model — separated by a single serial number — to recreate Allman’s signature sound.

For TTD fans and Allman afficionados alike a heady mix of bluesy grooves lived long in the memory.

The band behind Tedeschi Trucks Band

Tedeschi and Anastasio might not appear to be the most natural vocal partnership.

And yet throughout Layla Revisited (Live At LOCKN’) there’s a sense that two kindred spiritis have found their perfect calling.

But there are so many more voices to savour on this wild celebration of a standout record.

Doyle Bramhall II and Mike Mattison delight on a soul-soaked version of Big Bill Broonzy’s Key To The Highway.

Elsewhere, Mark Rivers and Alice Chakour add unique layers to a vast vocal tapestry.

But aside from the singers it’s all about the horn section.

Kebbi Williams (sax), Ephraim Owens (Trumpet) and Elizabeth Lea (Trombone) kick Layla… out of the park. 

And their key contribution is a joy to behold.

Tedeschi Trucks Band have always been about the diversity, the jam and the joyous appreciation of blues-soaked Americana.

Layla… has always been at the band’s heart. 

And this is the album where Susan, Derek and co. wear their hearts on their sleeves.