The second volume of Susan Tedeschi's best work in many ways turns out to be better than the first. The reason for this is simply that the compilers at Sheridan Square Records reached deeper into her early catalog for material. While both volumes come from the same recordings, the choices here seem to be less carefully picked and offer a more immediate and versatile view of the performer. Most of the material on Episode Two comes from Tedeschi's first and third albums for Tone Cool, 1998's Just Won't Burn and 2002's Wait ...
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The second volume of Susan Tedeschi's best work in many ways turns out to be better than the first. The reason for this is simply that the compilers at Sheridan Square Records reached deeper into her early catalog for material. While both volumes come from the same recordings, the choices here seem to be less carefully picked and offer a more immediate and versatile view of the performer. Most of the material on Episode Two comes from Tedeschi's first and third albums for Tone Cool, 1998's Just Won't Burn and 2002's Wait for Me, respectively. There are also a pair of tracks from her Live from Austin, TX disc issued in 2004. Perfect examples of this are in the compilation's first three cuts. The opening "Can't Leave You Alone," which is self-penned, and the third track, an excellent cover of John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery," come from her debut. The former is a burning wail of a blues cut, and the latter -- while not as fine as Bonnie Raitt's signature reading -- is different and emotive enough to be a truly moving version graced by her slide work, which sets it apart. "I Fell in Love," written by Tom Hambridge, one of her bandmates from the period, is a roiling boogie-woogie blues with a killer vocal by Tedeschi; the track crackles with a pumping piano line that invokes the influences of both Professor Longhair and Marcia Ball and a pair of electric guitars in the red zone. Jason Crosby's "Hampmotized" has a funky Headhunters-esque keyboard line and slippery guitar work that snakes around it. Again, it's Tedeschi's voice that's the primary attraction, but the music cooks. Of the live tracks, "Voodoo Woman" is a cover of the Koko Taylor classic that does the original proud, and "Lost Lover Blues" (written by Don Robey) is a slow, B-3 and guitar-driven Chicago blues that brings out all the melancholy and moan in the grain of the singer's voice. In fact, the only major tune from her early records that isn't here is Paul Pena's "Gonna Move," which Tedeschi rescued from the obscurity file. But herein lies the rub. Given that there are two volumes of this "best-of" that encompass virtually every track from Just Won't Burn and Wait for Me, why not just license and reissue the albums themselves in a double pack? None of the Verve material is here and the Live from Austin, TX volume is out there on its own, so this makes no aesthetic sense at all. Nonetheless, as an introduction, pick Episode Two -- it has no meandering moments, just a solid scoop of Tedeschi's musical magnetism and roadhouse grit. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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