This album is a recreation of Joe Cocker's original Mad Dogs & Englishmen live album from 1970. Recorded as a tribute to the then recently departed Joe Cocker on September 11th, 2015 for the 45th anniversary of that legendary concert film and live album, now being issued for the 55th anniversary of that gig. The Tedeschi Trucks band got as many of the original surviving band members as they could find, along with special guests managed to have 29 performers onstage at the Lockn' festival in Arrington VA. The Mad Dogs & Englishmen this time around were Leon Russell, Rita Cooldge, Chris Stainton, Claudia Lennear, Pamela Polland, Chuck Blackwell, Daniel and Matthew Moore, Bobby Torres, Bobbby Jones, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Kofi Burbridge, Mike Mattison, Tyler Greenwell, J.J. Johnson, Kebbie Williams, Mark Rivers, Tim Lefebvre, Alecia Chakour, Elizabeth Lea, Ephraim Owens, Chris Robinson, John Bell, Warren Haynes, Dave Mason, Anders Osbourne, Doyle Bramhall II, and Shannon McNally. Music direction by Leon Russelll and Derek Trucks, Produced by Leon Russell, Derek Trucks, Bobby Tis and Brian Speiser. There is also an accompanying documentary of the creation of this concert Learning To Live Together: The Return Of Mad Dogs & Englishmen that came out in 2021.
The album opens with the Memphis soul style piano intro to The Letter with Susan Tedeschi doing her best to sound, even more deeply blue eyed soul stirring a singer than Alex Chilton was on the Box Tops Original, that is one of the first songs I fell in love with as a 3 year old kid, this version is stunning, with great ballsy brass and a delicate guitar solo, they totally get to the magical core of this staple heartbroken song of loss for a love that left town.
Darling Be Home Soon takes John Sebastian's monument into deep gospel blues territory, complete with the backing of the Space Choir emphasizing Susan's main vocals, making it seem like you really will be home real soon.
Dixie Lullaby features Leon Russell on lead vocals and piano sounding like a cross between Joe Cocker and Dr John with the spry guitars and backing being deeply soulful, complete with pinpoint brass stabs working with the piano magic, this is as tight as can be, while still sounding laid back and loose.
Sticks And Stones has Chris Robinson barking out the vocals urgently, with the gospel space choir urging him on, along with a brilliant trombone solo. This is deep down dirty down-home blues hollering and wailing with all sorts of guitar histrionics, it's magnificently over the top.
Bob Dylans Girl from The North Country is played as a piano ballad with Leon Russell and Claudia Lennear sharing the vocals, adding layers of meaning and sadness to this classic.
They take Ashford & Simpsons brilliant Let's Go Get Stoned to the church of drinking and drugging to get by, this has a deep down-home spirit encouraging everyone to toke away their pains and sorrows of living hard scrabble lives, this rises and falls and should leave your room cloudier than before, at this soul stirring rendition with some supple organ playing.
Feelin' Alright oh yeah if you're not Feelin' Alright by this point in the album, you ain't got no soul, Dave Mason gets deep down and dirty on his own song and Leon goes the full Allen Toussaint on his piano solo.
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is the first of two Beatles covers on the album, thankfully both way better than the originals, this has a cool laid back blues rock feel, it also benefits from being a Beatles song that isn't covered very much, the woozy brass accompanies the moment you have to settle down, Warren Haynes burnished vocals work a treat.
Rita Coolidge then steps up to take Leonard Cohens brilliant Bird On A Wire to the church and beyond, this is a timeless slow building gospel belter, the Space choir adding layers of heartfelt angelic voices.
The Weight is another much covered classic, they take The Band's total monument as far to the church as they can get it, with Rita Coolidge trading vocal lines with Pamela Polland and Susan Tedeschi with the gospel backing bringing out the hymnal qualities, to give this a real chance at being one of the best covers you'll hear of this song.
Amazingly the intro to Delta Lady sounds more like the theme tune to Minder, that aside Leon Russell really amps up his classic, the gently tinkled ivories and searing guitar lines joined by the ever-wondrous choir.
Space Captain is the one song on the album I don't know hardly at all, this is another gospel-tinged blues trying to get us all to live together peacefully, a message that's even more important than it was in 1970, the communal spirit of co-operation and unity shines through.
With A Little Help From My Friends is a song that Joe Cocker pretty much owned after Woodstock, having shown just how much better it could be than the original, this version tries to get just as deeply soulful as that historic performance, but probably with fewer drugs and more backing singers, with Chris Robinson and Susan Tedeschi wringing every ounce of emotion they can, Susan sounds remarkably like Janis Joplin in places, the arrangement is pinpoint and this builds magnificently to a huge climax with everyone joining in.
The album and concert closes with The Ballad Of Mad Dogs And Englishmen that is totally stripped back with Leon at the piano, singing the bands theme tune like he is at some smokey bar reminiscing on the good old days of the 1960's. Easily helping to make this quite possibly the best live album to be released in 2025.
Find out more at https://ffm.to/ttb_lr_maddogs https://www.concordrecords.com/collections/tedeschi-trucks-band/products/tedeschi-trucks-band-mad-dogs-englishmen-revisited-live-at-lockn-cd https://www.concordrecords.com/collections/tedeschi-trucks-band/products/mad-dogs-englishmen-revisited-live-at-lockn-black-vinyl-2lp https://www.facebook.com/DerekAndSusan
