Gov't Mule, "Live With a Little Help from Our Friends" (Capricorn, 1999)
Guitarist Warren Haynes has established himself as today's Hardest-Working Man in Show Business. (I doubt if 70-something James Brown is quite as active as he used to be.) At various times in the past few years, he's been a member of the Allman Brothers Band, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Dead (as in Grateful, without Jerry) and doing his own solo act.
And he fronts his own band, Gov't Mule, now well into its second decade of combining quality originals with searing covers that pay tribute to many of Warren's heroes from his formative years.
"Live With a Little Help from Our Friends," recorded in Atlanta to ring in New Year's 1999, presents a good snapshot of Gov't Mule's work, with the added bonus of featuring the late Allen Woody, the band's original bassist.
The "Friends" part refers to guest appearances throughout the evening by talents like guitarists Derek Trucks, Jimmy Herring and Marc Ford; keyboardists Bernie Worrell and Chuck Leavell; and horn player Randall Bramblett. Matt Abts, who's been with Gov't Mule since its inception, holds everything down on drums.
The original two-disc set works in several of Warren's originals, but the band seems to really have fun stretching out on numerous old favorites: Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," Free's "Mr. Big," Humble Pie's "Thirty Days in the Hole" and Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer," among them. There's also a half-hour jam on Mongo Santamaria's "Afro-Blue" that must have been recorded in the wee, wee hours of the morning, but the musicians still are going at it full-throttle.
A "Vol. 2" later was released from the evening, highlighted by smoking covers of Albert King's "The Hunter" and Little Feat's "Spanish Moon" (20 minutes worth). And a studio outtake also hits the mark: an instrumental of Frank Zappa's "Pygmy Twylyte."
As if that weren't enough, a four-disc set of the whole shebang also is available, with the guys going to town on the Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin favorite "Dazed and Confused."
If you like good guitar playing, you'll love Warren Haynes. And if you like good ol' rock 'n' roll ... same deal.
Guitarist Warren Haynes has established himself as today's Hardest-Working Man in Show Business. (I doubt if 70-something James Brown is quite as active as he used to be.) At various times in the past few years, he's been a member of the Allman Brothers Band, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Dead (as in Grateful, without Jerry) and doing his own solo act.
And he fronts his own band, Gov't Mule, now well into its second decade of combining quality originals with searing covers that pay tribute to many of Warren's heroes from his formative years.
"Live With a Little Help from Our Friends," recorded in Atlanta to ring in New Year's 1999, presents a good snapshot of Gov't Mule's work, with the added bonus of featuring the late Allen Woody, the band's original bassist.
The "Friends" part refers to guest appearances throughout the evening by talents like guitarists Derek Trucks, Jimmy Herring and Marc Ford; keyboardists Bernie Worrell and Chuck Leavell; and horn player Randall Bramblett. Matt Abts, who's been with Gov't Mule since its inception, holds everything down on drums.
The original two-disc set works in several of Warren's originals, but the band seems to really have fun stretching out on numerous old favorites: Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," Free's "Mr. Big," Humble Pie's "Thirty Days in the Hole" and Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer," among them. There's also a half-hour jam on Mongo Santamaria's "Afro-Blue" that must have been recorded in the wee, wee hours of the morning, but the musicians still are going at it full-throttle.
A "Vol. 2" later was released from the evening, highlighted by smoking covers of Albert King's "The Hunter" and Little Feat's "Spanish Moon" (20 minutes worth). And a studio outtake also hits the mark: an instrumental of Frank Zappa's "Pygmy Twylyte."
As if that weren't enough, a four-disc set of the whole shebang also is available, with the guys going to town on the Yardbirds/Led Zeppelin favorite "Dazed and Confused."
If you like good guitar playing, you'll love Warren Haynes. And if you like good ol' rock 'n' roll ... same deal.
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