Hard rock quartet
Gov't Mule emerged at the height of the jam band scene's emergence into the mainstream during the mid-'90s. They have played thousands of shows and been through many changes during that time -- some of them excruciatingly painful. The death of founding bassist
Allen Woody in 2000 was so profound a loss that they didn't replace him with any one bassist for three years. Keyboardist
Danny Louis came aboard in 2002; a year later, bassist
Andy Hess was hired on and remained for five more years. Since 2008,
Jorgen Carlsson has held down the chair.
Bring on the Music: Live at the Capitol Theatre not only acknowledges the band's anniversary but pays homage to their greatest asset: fans.
Gov't Mule is so conscious of them, concerts are delivered with completely different set lists so fans get the
Mule walking a tightrope each night. In addition to the music there is a full-length concert film by veteran
Danny Clinch that also contains interviews and backstage footage and
Clinch's iconic photographs. The set arrives on
Provogue in a variety of configurations: a standard two-CD package, a deluxe, double-CD and DVD set (with very different tracks), and double-vinyl packages (on colored wax).
"Traveling Tune" bookends the set and is delivered like an invocation with the gorgeous twinning of guitarist
Warren Haynes' lead lines and
Louis' electric piano arpeggios. The version of "Railroad Boy" here commences with an edgy Delta blues vibe with ringing slide and fingerpicking guitar vamps before drummer
Matt Abts takes him on during the mid-section.
Louis kicks loose with
Jon Lord-esque organ swells that carry over into the power-riffing of "The Mule." "Drawn That Way" is anthemic blues crunch & roll. The first disc closes on a particularly strong note with a raw, overdriven version of "Mr. Man," followed immediately by a ten-minute jam on
Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground." The second disc, which kicks off with the serpentine blues-rock of "Life Before Insanity" contains more long tunes than its companion, including the raucous "Thorns of Life," with its whomping synth; the razor-wire boogie of "Revolution Come, Revolution Go," the splintered, dubwise "Time to Confess," and the jazzy blues in the title track; all but one is over ten minutes.
Haynes' vocals are better than at any time since his 2011 solo offering
Man in Motion, teasing out the soul, blues, and gospel so deeply carved into his phrasing -- check "Comeback" for a stellar example. Throughout, the sound is raw, warm, and full, and
Gordie Johnson's mix contains no rounded edges. While
Bring on the Music is a gift of gratitude to fans for a quarter-century of devotion, it also makes a fantastic introduction to
Gov't Mule, one of the finest hard rock bands ever. ~ Thom Jurek
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