The Derek Trucks Band Songlines (CD)

(Music On CD) 12 tracks

"Songlines" is perhaps the most accessible album by the Derek Trucks Band, capturing the diverse strengths of the group and its leader. One of the most outstanding assets of Songlines (the title was taken from a Native American story) is the down-to-earth presence of vocalist Mike Mattison.

His normally somewhat gruff tone can give way to a soulful falsetto, as on "Crow Jane," but either way Mattison's vocals are free of affectation and full of focused emotion. Together with producer Jay Joyce, the original songs like the understated closing track "This Sky" were carefully crafted.