San Antonio, Texas native Alejandro Escovedo has come a long way from his early punk rock roots. Like many of the artists who started with punk rock, he has evolved over time to go well beyond his beginnings, but you can definitely hear its influence on his new album Big Station. He leads off with a track that puts a modern twist on his early upbringing. “Man Of The World” sounds like a song straight out of the late 70s or early 80s, but it has a terrific modern twist. Escovedo’s lyrical talents are clear on “Bottom Of The World” where he not only goes over the changes across the globe, he reference changes he’s seen in his own life over the years. His honesty is loud and clear as he’s not afraid to pull punches through his words. He combines both his punk roots and strong lyrics on “Common Mistake” as he delves into some of his more complex day-to-day thoughts. One of the great parts of looking back at a musicians’ careers is seeing their roots and also seeing how they have evolved over time. Even more impressive is when an artist like Escovedo is able to take his lifelong experiences and integrate his past into his present work like he did here.

When husband and wife Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi formed Tedeschi Trucks band last year, no one was surprised that they created a formidable duo on their debut record Revelation. For anyone lucky enough to have seen either in concert, you can probably guess their combined ability is just as incredible on stage. On their new live album Everybody’s Talkin’, Trucks and Tedeschi not only bring to life the songs that made their album such a success, they cover a few blues heavy hitters along the way. This album leads off with Fred Neil’s classic “Everybody’s Talkin’”, which really highlights Tedeschi’s powerful live vocals and gets you in the mood to get up and get moving. “Bound For Glory” leads of with delicately played guitar by one of the true masters of this generation in Trucks before rest of the band joins in. Three minutes in the song seems to be wrapped up before the band launches into an extended jam session of top notch blues rock. Overall, the band sounds just as good live as they do in the studio, a feat that has always been hard to come by for most musicians. Fortunately Tedeschi and Trucks both have the chops to put on a great live show and the backing band only adds to their collective talents. This live performance only makes you appreciate the unique relationship of Tedeschi and Trucks and how they have used to it create one of the most talented blues rock acts around.