Singer/songwriter Susan Tedeschi is planning a fall release for her fifth studio album, which is being produced by George Drakoulias (Black Crowes, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers). A title and final release date are still being determined by Tedeschi and her label, Verve Records.

Tedeschi tells Billboard.com that it's "a fun record ... actually a little more rock than normal -- not necessarily rock but it's definitely a little bit harder, like a little bit of (Led) Zeppelin mixed in with John Lee Hooker or something. It tried to go country a few times, but I wouldn't go there. People always say Big Brother & the Holding Co., not really screaming but more of that kind of energy behind it."

Tedeschi says there's also a "folky, Bob Dylan kind of direction. I don't mind that if it's songwriter-y, kind of, but I really like to make things have a nice groove and a nice melody. I want it to be soulful, and I want it to have a message."

Tedeschi worked on the album at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, collaborating with her husband, Derek Trucks, Eric Clapton band member Doyle Bramhall II, Gary Louris of the Jayhawks and Golden Smog, NRBQ's Big Al Anderson and Tony Joe White, among others. She and White, in fact, wrote a track called "Back to the River" which Tedeschi favors for the title.

Tedeschi says the album was made quickly, though not necessarily by design. "I did most of my tracks in two days," she recalls. "I had to 'cause I didn't have any time in July and the label wants it for fall, which is insane. I was free all those months -- January, February, March, April I left open to make a record. The label kept putting it off and then finally they got behind it and everything started to flow, but I was already out touring."

Tedeschi spent the summer on the road with Trucks and their Soul Stew Revival band. She plans to tour with her own group after the new album is released.