Gov't Mule - By A Thread [2009][EAC,log,cue. FLAC]

Artist: Gov't Mule
Release: By A Thread
Discogs: 2010705
Released: 2009
Label: Evil Teen / Provogue
Catalog#: 651751-12051-8 / PRD 7294 2
Format: FLAC / Lossless / Log (100%) / Cue / CD
Country: Europe
Style: Rock, Blues Rock, Alternative Rock, Hard Rock



01. Broke Down On The Brazos (6:19)
02. Steppin' Lightly (7:10)
03. Railroad Boy (5:03)
04. Monday Mourning Meltdown (8:08)
05. Gordon James (3:48)
06. Any Open Window (4:45)
07. Frozen Fear (5:48)
08. Forevermore (4:17)
09. Inside Outside Woman Blues #3 (9:04)
10. Scenes From A Troubled Mind (7:27)
11. World Wake Up (5:54)

Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes formed Gov't Mule in 1994 with Allman's bassist Allen Woody and drummer Matt Abts. Launched as a side project for Haynes and friends to pursue a harder-edged blues-rock sound, Gov't Mule was a power-trio masquerading as an early-1990s jam band. Mixing the Southern rock and inspired improvisational jams of the Allman Brothers with the psychedelic-tinged guitar-buzz of British blues bands like Cream, Gov't Mule debuted with its self-titled album in 1995.

Although Woody tragically died in 2000, the core of Haynes and Abts has soldiered on, and almost a decade and a half later Gov't Mule has taken on a life of its own, separate and distinctive from the Allman Brothers. With better than a dozen live and studio albums to their credit, Gov't Mule has become a creative and performance force to be reckoned with. By A Thread, Mule's 13th album and its first studio effort in nearly three years is, by any standards, also the band's best work. Muscular, white hot, and musically more slippery than a snake's belly, with By A Thread bandleader Haynes has finally found the band chemistry he's been looking for since Woodys' death.

Gov't Mule's By A Thread

By A Thread is a stunning return to form for the Mule. The artistic flirtations of the band's last work, 2007's Mighty High, have largely been banished to a few adventuresome moments, while the bulk of the album is pure power trio (plus one) fervor. The ZZ Top-flavored "Broke Down On The Brazos," for instance, is a bone-crunching leviathan of a song, the sort of 1970s classic rock-leaning meat-n-taters that Haynes cut his teeth on. Haynes and the Mule gnaw this one down to the bone, too, with guest guitarslinger Billy Gibbons providing "badass guitar" to the mix. The song provides the perfect measure of Delta grit and Rio Grande mud, with staggering ferocity and soaring fretwork.

Much of the rest of the album follows a similar blues-rock bonfire blueprint, with a few colorful flourishes to lively things up. The heartbroken, star-crossed lover of "Steppin' Lightly" shares his misery through Haynes' mighty soulful vocals and some of the hottest guitar licks you've heard in thirty years. The high lonesome vibe of the traditional "Railroad Boy" is matched by another fine vocal performance and exotic guitarplay, the song's soundtrack a haunting mix of Southern rock bluster and swamp-blues darkness.

Monday Mourning Meltdown

Haynes' "Monday Mourning Meltdown" treads heavily towards the experimental edge of the Hendrix milieu, the guitarist delivering some very cool outer-space guitar noodling, the band spinning out an oppressive, atmospheric backdrop against which Haynes embroiders his imaginative guitar licks. The song features syncopated rhythms, washes of synthesizer/keyboards, and otherworldly six-string oscillation that would stand miles away from the blues if not for Haynes' mournful vocals and his morose lyrics. A dancing keyboard solo around five-minutes into the eight-minute-plus jam opens the door for a jazzy solo that howls and squonks with the best of 'em.

Dedicated to the late Jimi Hendrix drummers Mitch Mitchell and Buddy Miles, "Any Open Window" channels vintage commercial Jimi with reckless aplomb, Abts crashing the cans with manic energy while Haynes' rips off some gorgeous, hard-rocking riffing and the band runs to catch up. Lyrically, the song evokes memories of Hendrix as well, a well-written period piece minus the psychedelic claptrap that Jimi often invested words. The hurricane-force "Inside Out Woman Blues #3" is a blues-rock fan's dream date, a knuckle-dragging, barn-burning, hair-singing guitar showcase where Haynes matches his best Howlin' Wolf vocals with uranium-heavy thunder-n-lightnin' guitarplay that sparks and sizzles as notes fly off the fretboard.

The Reverend's Bottom Line

Although Warren Haynes is typically lauded for his incendiary six-string skills, many overlook the fact that he is a fine vocalist capable of great soul and subtlety as well as blow-the-roof-off-the-juke-joint bluster. Haynes continues to push himself and grow as a songwriter, too, and his lyrics convey strong emotion with often well-drawn imagery and creativity. With the current Gov't Mule line-up he's found an explosive chemistry that allows him to pursue his musical vision without restraint.

By A Thread is Haynes' best work with Gov't Mule, a high-octane headrush of guitar-driven blues-rock that has dragged the beast, screaming and kicking, from the 1970s into the 21st century. (Evil Teen Records, released October 27, 2009)