Personnel: Derek Trucks (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums); Doyle Bramhall II (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Mike Mattison (vocals, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Kofi Burbridge (vocals, piano, Clavinet, Wurlitzer organ); Yonrico Scott (vocals, drums, percussion); Count Mbutu (vocals, percussion); Todd Smallie, Susan Tedeschi (vocals); Eric Krasno (guitar); Mace Hibbard (tenor saxophone); Paul Garrett (trumpet); Kevin Hyde (trombone); Tyler Greenwell (drums, percussion); Duane Trucks, Bob Tis (percussion); Chris Shaw (sound effects).

Audio Mixer: Chris Shaw .

Audio Remasterer: George Marino.

Liner Note Authors: John Snyder; Ashley Kahn.

Recording information: Bakos Amp Works, Atlanta, GA; Swamp Raga Studios, Jacksonville, FL.

Author: Ali Akbar Khan.

Photographers: Derek Trucks; Vincent Tseng; Blake Budney; Erica Trucks; Mike Schmelling.

Derek Trucks started out as a young guitar prodigy playing alongside his uncle Butch in the Allman Brothers Band, but began following his own path in the late 1990s. ALREADY FREE is the result of a decade-plus spent sharpening his skills and growing his soul. It's probably his loosest, warmest, funkiest offering to date. While it's not markedly different from the Southern-tinged blues-rock of his earlier albums, ALREADY FREE nevertheless mines an altogether greasier groove. The album leans heavily on an old-school Southern soul aesthetic, and the spirit of both Memphis and Muscle Shoals can be heard in much of the material here, whether Trucks and company are adding some Southern grit to Bob Dylan's "Down in the Flood" or getting down the to the groove of one of their blues-rocking originals.

Rolling Stone (p.68) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Trucks hones the R&B, jazz and Middle Eastern influences of his previous outings into a tight groove on ALREADY FREE."

Entertainment Weekly (p.67) - "Trucks' bluesy playing is excellent throughout, though he knows when to cede space to vocalist Mike Mattison or guest Doyle Bramhall II..." -- Grade: B+

Down Beat (p.84) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Trucks' consistently questing music is as rooted in Mumbai as it is Macon, as he deftly incorporates international influences and core Americana attitudes to create a fusion unlike any other."

Dirty Linen (p.37) - "Trucks and his bandmates go beyond the Southern rock on which he's built his reputation. Though he has plenty of opportunity to showcase his chops, the album is strengthened by Trucks' willingness to share the spotlight..."

Living Blues (p.38) - "Especially chilling is the churchy title tune, on which composers Trucks and Mattison conjure up the ghost of Blind Willie Johnson with their overdubbed guitars and vocals..."