(Artemis Records)
Susan Tedeschi's sophomore album, Wait for Me, marks the point where she changes from an opening act to the main attraction. While she has opened for the Allman Brothers Band and B.B. King, Tedeschi's performances were typically remembered with the hopeful anticipation that she would step out on her own. Her first album, Just Won't Burn, brought her attention, but not quite enough. Wait for Me more or less guarantees that the long-remembered anticipation has come to fruition and Tedeschi will be selling out shows for days to come.
The album falls somewhere in the lush valley bordered by blues, rock and folk. It takes a riff from one, some energy from the next and the quiet sensibility of the last. The combination of the three draws the listener into a place where dusty jukeboxes seem more appropriate than downloaded music. It evokes old time rock 'n' roll, whose purpose is to provide a feel-good atmosphere without sacrificing artistic integrity.
Susan Tedeschi's voice reaches out with range and strength that startles and surprises as much as it soars and serenades. She can capture a lover's affirmation as well as she belts out a strain of blues. At points she suggests a mystical allure but does not let that allure turn into a distracting sort of sultriness. Instead she turns it into tempered and fiery proclamations that evoke Janis Joplin if Janis could ever sand down her rough edges. With those edges filed down, Tedeschi's voice is as charming as she is, attractive but personable in a friend-you-went-to-prom-with way.
The album consists of equal time paid to original material and wonderfully reworked old musical gems. \Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"" from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is polished with Tedeschi's breath and elbow grease. She gets that little bit of a mumble that jumps across the phrase ""it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe,"" making it an acceptably melancholic version of the classic. The feeling remains, heightened with a certain irresistible sensitivity that is at once both beguiling and empathetic.
Taking a minor liberty, the song is retooled to a woman's perspective, changing an occasional pronoun but keeping the song full and rich in meaning. The ""babe"" remains at the end of a few lines, finishing it with a word that has changed from sweet to bitter. After two verses a short organ solo throws emphasis on the ""ain't no use"" side of the song, fulfilling it as the cathartic fare thee well to a lost love. It is in this surprisingly fresh and reverent cover that Tedeschi displays her influences, while her originals exhibit her talent.
The originals resonate with an undeniable and charming optimism throughout, rocking and rollicking in every track. In ""The Feeling Music Brings"" Tedeschi lets loose with a soaring song of praise for the elation that comes from letting a CD spin. The union of Tedeschi's voice to the instrumental accompaniment that seems to nod with notes to everything she sings reinforces this. The music is joyful; that's its great strength.
The summary of the album, ""Blues on Holiday,"" provides an appropriate finale. With just a slow and soulful acoustic guitar, a calmly expressive harmonica and Tedeschi's positively enticing voice, the song feels like a well-colored sunset. It brings the album, like a great day, to a fine conclusion. It fades with suitable grace and closes with a fine feeling of warmth.
