I Am The Moon: IV. Farewell＜限定盤＞

『いとしのレイラ』を越え、TTBの新たなストーリーが始まる―
パンデミックの中、バンド全員が同じストーリーを読み、つながり、創り上げた壮大なプロジェクト

昨年リリースの『レイラ・リヴィジテッド』が好評を博した、新世代3大ロック・ギタリストのひとりであるデレク・トラックスと、5度のグラミー賞ノミネート歴のあるシンガー&ギタリストのスーザン・テデスキが率いる大所帯ブルース・ロック・バンド、テデスキ・トラックス・バンドの全4章に及ぶ新プロジェクトの最終章。

ツアーができずパンデミックに伴う孤立の中、メンバーが互いにつながりを保つ方法として、「いとしのレイラ」の出典元、ペルシャの12世紀の詩人、ニザーミーによる詩「ライラとマジュヌーン」を深く掘り下げようとヴォーカルのマイク・マティソンが提案。全員が同じ詩を読み、原作に描かれているさまざまなテーマからインスパイアされ曲作りに取り組み、セッションを重ねた中、彼らのキャリアで最も野心的なプロジェクトへと変化したという超大作。

スタジオ作品としては2019年発表の『サインズ』以来3年ぶり5作目。バンド全員で一つの普遍的なテーマに取り組み、共同作業で創り上げた本作は、ロック、ブルース、ニューオリンズ・ソウル、サイケデリア、ルーツ・ミュージックからフリー・ジャズまでTTBが誘う広大で刺激的、そして野心的な音楽の旅。ギターはもちろんのこと"世界最高のライヴ・バンド"TTBにしか成しえないサウンドが満載!
ほぼ4ヶ月間にわたって連続発売される本プロジェクトは「I. クレッセント」、「II. アセンション」、「III. ザ・フォール」 「IV. フェアウェル」の全4章から成る。

I Am the Moon: IV. Farewell is the fourth and final installment in Tedeschi Trucks Bands 2022 bimonthly summer releases inspired by the epic 12th century Persian love poem The Story of Layla and Majnun by Nizami Ganjavi. Each volume is accompanied by its own film from director Alix Lambert. (The poem also provided inspiration for Derek and the Dominos 1970 double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.) Five of TTBs 12 members collaborated in the songwriting. Farewells six songs are the most intimate in the series. It underscores the existential question at the heart of the poems tragic narrative: Are we really just in love with the dream of love rather than what love demands? Opener "Last Night in the Rain" weds punchy guitars, sweeping soulful horns, and a soaring backing chorus; Susan Tedeschi delivers a brokenhearted vocal: "Got a letter from nowhere/Got a letter from you/It was already opened/Addressed to somebody new." "Soul Sweet Song" starts with rumbling congas, Gabe Dixons piano, and Derek Trucks slide guitar. Tedeschi and Mike Mattison sing in resonant harmony about how the spirits of the dead leave indelible marks on those who remain, as lithe horns frame them. "DGary" is titled after the stage name of acoustic guitarist Ernest Randrianasolo (aka DGary) from Madagascar. Trucks employs a version of his uncommonly rhythmic playing style in the melody. Tedeschi, framed by the guitar and supported by Dixons Rhodes piano, digs deep into the ache of separation, loss, and grief, as ambient horns and percussion underscore each line: "Up the creek without a paddle/Down the street without a name/Lying eyes are wicked/I will never be the same/Loneliness is hollow...Tired bones lay dying/As it all goes down the drain." Mattisons lead vocal on "Where Are My Friends?" offers a rootsy Americana ballad as he trades poignant sung lines with biting slide fills from Trucks and a backing chorus led by Tedeschi. His lyrics reflect the depths of the poems narrative while also admonishing us for complicity in our loneliness. "I Can Feel You Smiling" is a ballad with gorgeous acoustic and slide guitar interplay from Trucks as Dixons B-3 adds depth and dimension to Tedeschis throaty, country-soul vocal. The cycle is brought to a close on the passionate, anthemic "Another Day." Led by Trucks slide and Mattisons acoustic guitar, Dixons keyboards introduce Tedeschis voice amid horns and drummers shuffling underneath. Her strident lyric, amplified by a backing chorus, depicts the power of love from beyond the bounds of human existence. The four volumes that make up I Am the Moon offer an uncommon achievement in popular music. While lyric themes dont strictly adhere to the poem, they do offer pointed, wonderfully allegorical and metaphorical illustrations of the most universal of its tenets in 24 intricately linked songs. This ambitious, literary, and musically rich presentation is as illuminating spiritually and emotionally as it is wildly satisfying. ~ Thom Jurek