Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, depicted on their forthcoming album as the superheroes they are

My favorite band of the 21st century has a new record coming out next month. The official release date is March 20th for “Future Soul,” the sixth studio album by the incomparable Tedeschi Trucks Band. This has me very excited.

Whereas all prior TTB works have been produced solely or primarily by bandleader Derek Trucks himself, the news of this upcoming release has highlighted the fact that the album was produced by Mike Elizondo, described as a “hitmaker” and protégé of Dr. Dre, whose most prominent prior producing credits are with Eminem, 50 Cent, and Twenty One Pilots. Hip-hop and electro-pop acts are far from my cup of tea. This had me very concerned.

It’s an age-old dilemma for fans of successful bands who’ve been around for a while. Sure, we understand that they eventually may want to branch out in a new direction, modernize their sound, heaven forbid even grow as artists. But at the same time, we like what we (already) like. That’s why we’re fans. Obviously. And the oversight, if not command, of the sound of this singularly incredible band being handed off to someone known for producing such foreign styles of music was immeasurably hard to square. To be more accurate, I’d say it left me very alarmed.

A single track entitled ‘I Got You’ has been issued prior to the full album release. Based on the above information, I queued it up this week with tremendous trepidation. And as I began my initial listen my fears had not been allayed. Maybe it was colored by these pre-conceptions, a self-fulfilling prophecy, but it sounded to me unnaturally “poppy,” overly hook-seeking, like they were trying to design a hit – no crime in the brutally competitive modern music business, certainly, but seemingly entirely alien, maybe even degrading, to a band with the reputation and resumé of Tedeschi Trucks.

Then, midway through the song, something different clicked. Some things, really. Enter the rousing punch of the three-piece horn section, cleverly syncing up with four-part vocals (three designated backing vocalists, plus keyboardist Gabe Dixon¹) singing a bopping, gospel-y “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo, Doo-doo-doo-doo-doooooo.” And, following another couple runs through the chorus – already beginning to grow on me, especially with Susan Tedeschi punctuating a little variation into the section with her customary smooth growl, came the moment I was waiting for, when my fanboy fears were put to rest. At 2:58 into the tune, to be exact: Derek Trucks has entered the chat.

And off we go, on a short but thrilling and, importantly, beautifully familiar ride, piloted by a guitarist whose extraordinary virtuosity simply has no equal. Trucks is finally letting his hair down (literally, too, in a rarity, in the accompanying video), evoking the ever-magical amalgamation of both Allman Brothers forerunners, Dickie Betts and Duane Allman, that only he can manifest, as the towering 12-piece band swells triumphantly around him. It is, in a word, vintage Tedeschi Trucks Band. I’ve since listened to it nearly on repeat for days, with its now-welcome, hit-worthy catchiness unmistakably and irreversibly stuck in my head, even after I stop. That’s a mark of some fine production work.

Afterward, reading Trucks’s own description of this new tune – “’I Got You’ is a breath of fresh air and pretty different for us. It feels like the band, but it doesn’t feel like anything we’ve done before” – I already feel quite silly for my initial fretting. About the forthcoming full release, Trucks adds that it’s “My favorite collection of songs we’ve ever put on a record.” I no longer carry any doubt or reservations, neither about the album nor its noteworthy change in helmsmanship. Maybe I should even go back and listen to some Dr. Dre and Eminem (nah).

¹Fronting his own trio, my wife and I just saw Gabe Dixon this past weekend at Portland, ME’s tidy little venue One Longfellow Square. Though I’ve long been aware of Dixon’s standout skills as keyboardist and backing singer in TTB, I was completely taken by his talents as a songwriter. While some were propulsive and toe-tapping, several enchanting Randy Newman-esque tunes seemed destined for placement over emotional, climactic movie scenes.

Here’s one taste.