Ascension is the second album of four in the
Tedeschi Trucks Band's
I Am the Moon project of monthly releases over the summer of 2022. Each album's release is preceded by a different film premiere from documentary director and creative arts polymath Alix Lambert. The concept behind
I Am the Moon is the 12th century poem Layla and Majnun by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. It also provided title inspiration for
Derek and the Dominos' 1970 album
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
TTB issued their own interpretive version of that classic in 2021.
I Am the Moon was written collaboratively; each member of this 12-piece collective read the work and contributed to its interpretation.
Ascension deliberately picks up where
Crescent left off. Whereas the former explored attraction, infatuation, insecurity, and fear,
Ascension outlines and underscores love and pain as inseparable. More R&B-centric than its predecessor, it kicks off with the funky soul of "Playing with My Emotions."
Susan Tedeschi -- who is one of the great R&B singers of this era -- sings both gender roles with authority and empathy. The horns and backing chorus buoy her, adding emphasis and emotional depth to each line, as
Derek Trucks delivers stinging, bluesy fills. Organist
Gabe Dixon handles the lead vocal on "Ain't That Something," a slippery, NOLA-inspired R&B groover about being abandoned. The intricate horn charts intersect with his Hammond B-3 along with
Trucks' slide and
Tedeschi's elevated vocal leading the chorus. "All the Love" is a nine-minute, jazz-tinged ballad about humanity's careless regard for love.
Trucks' modal leads intersect with muted horns before they gel, swell, and drift under
Tedeschi's vocal. "So Long Savior" is a short, choogling Delta-inspired gospel-blues that moves from acoustic to electric.
Tedeschi and chorus soar above guitars and drums in equating spirituality and desire. "Rainy Day" begins with
Trucks in raga mode before
Dixon's B-3 and the Muscle Shoals-inspired horn section expand the frame toward progressive R&B. They outline
Tedeschi's probing, emotionally resonant lyric that offers commitment and steadfast faith; she proves love's patience in the face of fear and doubt. It's followed by the rootsy, soul-drenched Americana waltz "La Di Da," and the record closes with "Hold That Line." On the latter,
Trucks enters with relaxed blues as
Tedeschi and drums slide in unobtrusively. She sings with quiet conviction about love's holistic, interdependent nature; it holds us tight in its grasp alongside those we've loved and lost, and those who've loved and lost us. Flutes and horns join
Trucks in dialogue, framing the deeply poetic lyrics.
Ascension is more laid-back than its predecessor. It more prominently features
Tedeschi and
Trucks as focal points, in contrast to the band's more prevalent presence on
Crescent. That said,
TTB expertly and profoundly frame this more intimate dialogue. Collectively, they extend the source poem's inspiration as well as its allegorical narrative; they project in real time the poignant spiritual and emotional truths it addresses. ~ Thom Jurek