Gov't Mule

Gov’t Mule have been around for 20 years and in that time they have become one of THE jamming bands on the circuit in the US – little wonder that lead man Warren Haynes has been part of the Allman Brothers and guested with The Dead time and again.

To celebrate they have released these 4 sets, all utterly unique and all showing talents and the strengths of Gov’t Mule.

Dark Side of the Mule features – across 3CDs – The Mule covering Pink Floyd through the Meddle, Animals, DSOTM and Wish You Were Here albums and what, for me, is remarkable, is that the music stands up brilliantly to the treatment. Floyd cover bands are everywhere and include the Australian Pink Floyd Show and Think Floyd among others but they all play music that sounds exactly like Pink Floyd. What Gov’t Mule do is to add a large element of funk to their songs, keeping the spirit of the original but loosening it enough so that it develops a new life. ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ find the loss and heartbreak around Syd Barret’s breakdown in a new and heartwrenching vein while the Mule version of ‘Comfortably Numb’ gains emotion and insight. You also get a live jam of ‘Trane/Eternity’s Breath/St Stephen Jam’ that shows exactly why Gov’t Mule are kings of the scene.

Dub Side of the Mule adds vocals by the legendary Toots Hibbert to the Mule playing some stunning reggae tinged soul music and Greg Allman and Friends on a set of Allman Brothers style jams. This is a 3Cd and a DVD set but if the rest were rubbish it would be worth buying for a stonking version of ‘Pressure Drop’ with Toots and an incredibly soulful and deep version of Dylan’s ‘Just Like A Woman’ featuring Greg Allman. There isn’t any rubbish but another standout is their version of ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World’.

Sco-Mule is about as different as you might ever imagine. They had been collaborating with John Scofield (Charles Mingus, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Chet Baker) on jazz and fusion tinged material for around 15 years and this was their only full rehearsal before they launched the material live in Atlanta and Athens Georgia. Jazz is a brilliant medium for their jamming style and Scofield’s harder edged guitar gives another dimension to the music. It is entirely instrumental but the music is exceptional; intense, complex and fluid – you can sense the musicians playing games and testing each other but the whole comes together brilliantly.

Finally there is Stoned Side of the Mule – a vinyl only release of Gov’t Mule covering a baker’s dozen of tracks by the Rolling Stones. From ‘Under My Thumb’, through ‘Monkey Man’, ‘Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)’ and all the other classics here it feels as though the Mule have found a natural home in these tracks. A little of Mick Jagger’s swagger is lost but the looser drumming of Matt Abs give the songs a different feel to the originals and Haynes guitar is steeped in a different side of the Blues to Jones or Taylor so that you get a less familiar edge to the music. ‘Angie’ is almost Eagles-like musically but the vocal has a full depth of emotion without Jagger’s mannerisms. ‘Slave’ is probably the best number on the album with real raunch and punch

Gov't Mule are special talents with a raft of albums behind them. That they have chosen to release these albums to celebrate 20 years as a working, jamming and creating band shows just how special they are.