First riff off the album was a good start for me. As a long time enthusiast of Gov't Mule, I still have little no idea of their background and previous work. While working at the record shop during my high school days, this band was a staple of our store. Being played on Sunday mornings after our hangovers or even on a random Wednesday afternoon/evening for some groove before the end of your shift. Ahhh, good times.
OK, so now back to the album on hand. Going through the 15 studio (and live) albums they have released thus far, I chose to write about their 2006 "High & Mighty" album. Not for any particular purpose, but found it to be a point in their career where the albums will be met with mixed messages. Some long time fans had mixed feelings on the album. I personally thought it to be a great mix of rock, psychedelic, funk, groove, blues (and more) all piled into one LP.
1. Mr. High & Mighty
2. Brand New Angel
3. So Weak, So Strong
4. Streamline Woman
5. Child of the Earth
6. Like Flies
7. Unring the Bell
8. Nothing Again
9. Million Miles from Yesterday
10. Brighter Days
11. Endless Parade
12. 3 String George (bonus track)
So upon entering the words "Gov't Mule" into the search engine, I instantly got Warren Haynes. He is the founding member and has a long time history as The Allman Brothers main guitarist. He has also worked with The Grateful Dead and also has his own record label (Evil Teen Records). Other major musician Allen Woody had met an untimely death in 2000 (which was quite the setback for the group), but still has Matt Abts on drums since the inception in 1994. The current line up for the group is:
Warren Haynes – guitar, vocals, production | Matt Abts – drums, percussion | Danny Louis – keyboards, guitar, background vocals | Andy Hess – bass
(Gordie Johnson – production, mixing, engineering, background vocals, tambourine)
(Ruthie Foster, Sonia Moore, Sheree Smith – background vocals)
Highlight tracks that really stuck out from the get go were (of course) "Mr. High & Mighty", "Brand New Angel", and of course the Muddy Waters' rendition of "Streamline Woman" all makes up for a top notch album that old fans (and new) can easily enjoy. The one track that really enjoyed Haynes' vocals were the more mellowed down track "So Weak, So Strong", where I can ultimately feel the emotional tag that comes along with the song. It's slow but keeps you interested at the same time. It's down but the soft guitars and the harmony keep you perked through the 5+ minute song.
"Like Flies" was one that I enjoyed because of the song structure and the bare basics of it, while other critics found it to be a downer of a song in this album. It's not much of a song I will agree, but I'm sure there have been many other hits in the rock world that work with less structure, material and instruments. For example...
"'Like Flies' is a low point. With clichéd and precious lyrics like 'art has no place in the world of supersize' and 'they would not know the difference between Vin Diesel and Van Gogh', set to a dark riff, heavy drums, and distorted vocals." -Pop Matters
So not much else to divulge from the album as I myself am still checking out more and more material from these guys. It's all about opinion and personal thought so give the album a spin or take it on a test drive on Amazon/YouTube and see what you think. A true rock enthusiast would very much enjoy "High & Mighty".
Other GM links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gov't_Mule
http://www.mule.net
http://www.myspace.com/govtmule
http://www.last.fm/music/Gov't+Mule
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