Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
79 Minutes and 47 Seconds of Joy PLUS (If You're Lucky) !!!, January 8, 2002
How cool and consistent can a band get? Despite the untimely death in 2000 of bassist Allen Woody, Government Mule has put out a real whopper with "The Deep End, Volume 1"! Warren Haynes and Matt Abts continue as the vocals/guitar and drums/percussion core of this electric blues band but, they pulled out all the stops in tribute to the beloved Allen by bringing in twelve of the best guest bassists in the known universe including John Entwistle, Flea, Roger Glover, and Jack Bruce on the 13 album tracks. Another 13 players add in their sonic joy on the organ, Wurlitzer, guitars, vocals, and brass including Bootsy Collins, Gregg Allman (of course!), Jerry Cantrell, Little Milton, Page McConnell, John Scofield, and Derek Trucks. As would be hoped for, the result is terrific! The guitars rip, the organ howls, the bass keeps the beat, and the gravelly vocals give you goosebumps oozing heartfelt lyrics and funk. Southern Rock has gracefully and forcefully entered the 21st century!Buy this album if you dig American electric guitar blues! If you can make it happen, get a copy with the bonus disc "Hidden Treasure". It will then make this a "six" star review as it adds over 35 minutes of excellent live material from a recent New York City show including "Blind Man In the Dark", "Fallen Down", a solo acoustic "Soulshine", and a knee-bending KILLER ten minute version of ZZ Top's "Jesus Just Left Chicago". This Mule still KICKS!!!
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All-Star Govt Mule album lives up to its talent., October 26, 2001
When Gov't Mule bassist Allen Woody died in his sleep last year, it seemed that the band, comprised of Woody, formerly of the Allman Brothers Band, ABB guitarist Warren Haynes, and superb rock drummer Matt Abts, was through. Rather than give up on their incredible chemistry, however, Haynes and Abts decided to record a tribute album to Woody, with 25 of Allen's favorite bassists laying down the grooves. The result was a massive collection of amazing music, spanning two volumes.
The Deep End Vol. 1, as with all Mule albums, displays the incredible guitar work and brawny vocals of frontman Warren Haynes, who draws heavily from Duane Allman and Jimi Hendrix in his guitar playing. However, TDE is more ambitious and diverse than Mule's previous efforts, its content ranging from the jazz-rock of "Sco-Mule," featuring legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield, to the funk of "Tear Me Down," starring P-Funk's Bootsy Collins on bass, to the straight-ahead, Who-like hard rock of "Same Price," which features The Who's John Entwistle on bass. Diversity aside, though, it is Mule's trademark brand of Southern Rock that provides TDE's most memorable songs. Epics such as the Neil Young-like (think "Southern Man) "Banks of the Deep End," and the ABB's instantly memorable, feel-good song "Soulshine" provide Haynes plenty of room to sing with all his soul and heart, both with his voice and his guitar. TDE takes its listeners on a musical journey, through good times and bad, that ends with the powerful Grand Funk Railroad cover "Sin's a Good Man's Brother," a sobering reminder of
Allen Woody's greatness, recorded before Woody passed away.Other guests on TDE Vol. 1 include Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Cream bassist Jack Bruce, Black Crowes guitarist Audley Freed, ABB guitarist Derek Trucks, and Gregg Allman. TDE Vol. 2 is scheduled for release in early 2002, featuring guests such as Les Claypool of Primus, Billy Cox from Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsies, and Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh.
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"...Deep End" Indeed!, October 24, 2001
Fantastic "comeback" of sorts for Gov't Mule. I never doubted the musical expertise of Warren Haynes and Matt Abts, but I did question how much spirit they would be able to infuse into the album, right after the death of their brother Allen Woody.All questions, however, were put to rest when the opening riff of "Life On The Outside", the 2nd cut, blared out of my speakers. The song flies off the disc like no Gov't Mule track since "Mother Earth"... The whole album is wonderfully dynamic, and for the first time, Warren Haynes' lyrics match the intensity of the music. Still, even as these songs are extremely personal for Haynes, the ability of he and Abts to fit in the seemingly endless array of guests into those songs is what makes the album truely remarkable. "Fool's Moon" would have made a great track had Haynes and Abts performed it alone with a session bassist. But, when Jack Bruce's voice comes in on the 2nd verse, you wonder how the tune could ever survive without him. "Banks of the Deep End", "Same Price" and "Beautifully Broken" are 3 tracks that cover some new ground for the Mule. All 3 of theose tunes have FM radio potential, while still maitning the high musical standards that Gov't Mule has laid out for themselves. "Same Price", may start out poppy, but the middle section is deeply reminiscent of the great middle sections that made the Who famous in the early 70's. No mistake, seeing as how John Entwhistle plays on the tune. "Down and Out In NYC" and "Tear me Down" are out and out FUNK tunes, supplanted by the grandmasters of funk bass themselves, Flea and Bootsy Collins. The guitar work in both tunes are vintage Haynes, especially on "Down and Out In NYC". Haynes, who has stayed mostly in the jam-rock genre since his debut with the Allmans in 1989, fits seemlessly into the wall of horns and organ. The coda at the end is one the Mule's most satisfying musical moments. "Sco-Mule" is a great instrumental tune, reminiscent of "Trane" from the band's debut album, and acts as a bridge between the jam-happy tunes of the first 2 albums to the meaty material of "Deep End"... "Maybe I'm A Leo", "Effigy" and "Sin is a Good Man's Brother", 3 of the 4 covers on the album, stay true to the original versions, but are unmistakably Mule tracks. The latter is Allen Woody's last recorded studio cut. "Maybe I'm A Leo", an Allen Woody favorite, blisters as it fades with a meaty Haynes solo. "Soulshine" and "Worried Down With the Blues" (featuring the Allman Brothers' Gregg Allman, Otiel Burbridge and Derek Trucks) come off wonderfully as good-old-time southern blues/R&B. "Soulshine", in particular, sounds wonderful with the funky arrangement it's given. As a longtime Mule fan, I wouldn't hesitate to call this the Mule's most complete album to date. There is a depth the the songs, and the lyrics, that just weren't there before. The first 2 Gov't Mule albums, while wonderful in their own rite, were merely comprised of jam-riffs turned into songs. Haynes and Abts choose their spots more finely now, but when they do, the results are absolutely chilling. Truely a wonderful album.
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