Customer Reviews

Deepest End (with Bonus DVD)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When the Allman Brothers Band reunited in 1989, one of the main reasons why the band was able to succeed in its comeback was the addition of guitarist and vocalist Warren Haynes. Sometimes when a band adds a new member, that member is able to raise the level of the entire band. When Ron Wood joined the Rolling Stones in 1975 - he just didn't join as a studio musician, but became a major contributor to the musical direction the Rolling Stones would take. In the late 1980s, Missing Persons guitarist Warren Cuccurullo would join Duran Duran and would become a creative force within the band (resulting in the critically acclaimed "Wedding Album"). The same could be said for Haynes relationship with the Allman Brothers. In addition to creative talents, Haynes has a reputation for being one of the hardest working musicians in the industry. During "breaks" between the Allman Brothers, Haynes formed his own band Gov't Mule with fellow Allman Brother bassist Allen Woody and drummer Matt Abts. Haynes and Woody eventually left the Allman Brothers to concentrate on Gov't Mule. Gov't Mule built up their own loyal following. Tragedy would strike when Allen Woody was found dead. Following Woody's death, it was apparent that this took Haynes hard. He began playing with the Allman Brothers again - eventually joining them full-time again while still keeping Gov't Mule alive. Meanwhile as Gov't Mule, Haynes and Abts recorded a two volume set of CDs called "The Deep End" (Vol 1 and Vol 2) using some of the great bass players in the industry (Phish's Mike Gordon, Primus' Les Claypool, and Deep Purple's Roger Glover and many others). Gov't Mule would also tour in support of "The Deep End" using a revolving door of bass players. However it was the May 3, 2003 performance at New Orleans' Saenger Theater that would be the ultimate culmination. For this 6+ hour performance that would end at nearly 4am, Haynes assembled basically a "Super Bowl" of Bass players (and other musicians). These performances are captured on a 2 CD and 1 DVD set entitled "The Deepest End". This validates Haynes' hard working efforts and talents.

One reason why Haynes was able to pull off this "Super Bowl" was that this was the time that "Jazz Fest" was going on in New Orleans. Many of the musicians were already in New Orleans for this festival. At the same time, many of the musicians were playing other gigs that same night. For the most part, since they were only going to be needed for an average of 2 songs, it was possible for the musicians to pull "double duty" with Gov't Mule. Bringing on 20+ musicians made rehearsals very difficult to get accomplished. As a result, many of the songs were not rehearsed and were subject to a great deal of improvising. However to the fans watching this show, you would never know it - this is one terrific effort.

Haynes and Gov't Mule planned on recording the "Deepest End" show. For the most part the entire show is available in either audio format (on the CD) or video format (the DVD). However, the show in its entirety is not available on both. When the Canadian Rock band Rush played in Rio, they recorded their show and released the entire concert on both CD and DVD. "Rush in Rio" was originally intended to be a DVD set, but since the band found some "magic" with the performance, they also decided to release the performance on audio CD. Since both the CD and DVD are being packaged together, it would have been nice if the entire "Deepest End" show was available on both CD and DVD. It would have been nice to see the video performance of "Patchwork Quilt" and it would have been terrific to hear "Greasy Granny's Gopher Gravy (Part 1 and Part 2)" and "Thorazine Shuffle" on the CD portion. There clearly was magic at this May 3rd performance and it would have been terrific to have it captured on both formats.

The only other negative of the performance is the crowd noise is basically neutralized for this recording. While this made for an outstanding recording it didn't allow for the magic of the crowd to be captured.

There are a lot of covers that are included in the collection - particulary in the 2nd half of the concert, Perhaps the most interesting cover occurs in the 1st half when Haynes samples Prince's "When Doves Cry" into his song, "Beautifully Broken". Haynes performs a haunting arrangement of the chorus of "When Doves Cry" and it integrates flawlessly.

The liner notes are outstanding. There is a brief introduction by Warren Haynes. Each song is then listed with the songwriting credits; musician credits; whether it appears on the CD, the DVD, or both; and comments by Haynes himself. This really gives some more insight into the performance. From the liner notes we get insight into two incredible moments during the performance. The first moment occurs just before the band is going to play a cover of Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf". In the liner notes, Haynes admits to forgetting the lyrics. While he has the backstage crew looking for the lyrics - he launches into an unplanned guitar solo. When he finishes his solo, he still doesn't have the lyrics so he shouts over to Abts to go into a drum solo. The entire moment is captured on the DVD. The second moment occurs during the first encore of "Greasy Granny's Gopher Gravy". During that performance, Haynes breaks a guitar string - so he has Abts use the drums to bring "Part 1" of the song to an end so he can switch guitars. This is also captured on the DVD. This really gives good insight into the improvising that occurred that night.

It would have been perfect if they included all of the songs on audio and video, but otherwise I'd still recommend this set.

This is a 2CD/1DVD Set of Gov't Mule (& Friends)'s brilliant May 3, 2003 concert at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans during the time of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Between the 2 CD's and the DVD, there is over 6 hours of material in this package. This concert is a culmination of sorts of the "Deep End" project, which was a tribute to the band's original bassist, Allen Woody who tragically passed away in Ausust 2000. Over a dozen of the world's greatest bass players contributed to this concert,as well as over ten musicians playing instruments other than bass. With little, or in some cases, no rehearsal, this stalwart group pulled off one of the most varied, greatest concerts ever staged. From Gov't Mule's Cream & Hendrix inspired power trio material, through Allman Brothers Southern rock, to gut bucket blues, New Orleans' R&B & dixieland, straight jazz, country rock, and all points in between, these guys pull it off with absolute authenticity and conviction. The sound is well balanced and punchy; the material and performances are incredible; the camera-work is first rate; the documentary portion informative, entertaining and fascinating. An absolutely top notch package in every way. There are 20 songs / almost 160 minutes between the 2 CD's, and 19 songs (many not on the CD's) totalling about 3 hours on the DVD. All this material for about the price of one DVD alone makes this a real bargain package. Anyone enjoying guitar-rock, great bass playing, phenominal drumming, southern rock, or just good music should be thrilled with this package. For fans of Gov't Mule, Warren Haynes & the Allman Brothers, this is a NO BRAINER! I wish I could give it more than 5 stars!!! It gets no better than this!

I'm amazed to see anybody badmouth this multi-media discount extraveganza. Comparing this to A Little Help From our Friends is almost like comparing applea to oranges. A Little Help was made by an extrodinary tight core of three guys with some friends, and yeah maybe it has some better qualities, but the Deepest is a celebration of friends and fans coming together sharing themselves in love and respect. I was so blown away by the raw emotion hammering through my headset. I don't care what my mood is, I play this and it's better. I played this all day November 3rd and most of the fourth. If I move to Mexico, I'm taking a couple of copies of this with me. This is just my opinion, and it may only have some value to me, but I think all of Gov't Mules recordings should be live. I try to buy live whenever I can. Matt is one serious drummer. He just keeps getting better. Oh yeah, the DVD is awesome. I'm one that seldom watches the music DVDs, but this one kept me glued to the screen. I don't know what it was, but having a group of musicians coming together for an event must be exciting for them. I could feel that excitement. It's cool to see how much respect Warren and Matt get and give. They are so humble. I'm trying to think of a bad cut. I come up dry. When I try to think of a favorite, others keep jumping into my mind. If you do not like Gov't Mule, do not bother buying this. If you do not like live music, don't buy this album.

Can you ever really go wrong with a jam band? Gov't Mule has great studio albums, but it's their live work that really shows Warren Haynes and Matt Abts to be the top-notch musicians that they are. "The Deepest End" is the culmination of their Deep End project, the Gov't Mule concert to remember for decades.

At this concert (which I wish I could have seen first hand), the Mule jams with the best. Abts easily adapts to each bassist to maintain the rhythm of the songs. Haynes makes the songs works of art. His playing is effortless; his voice powerful and seductive. Listening to this cd and watching the dvd will make you absolutely burn to see them live.

Aside from "Greasy Granny's Gopher Gravy," which I think Les Claypool botches, all of the songs are performed with so much talent, heart, and soul that they'll stick with you for a long time afterwards. Then, next time they come to your area, go catch their concert.

I was starting to become a fan of Gov't Mule. I had a few of there cd's, but when I purchased this one "on a chance", I was amazed! This cd(s) is great! Then I watched the DVD. I agree with some of the other reviewers that the DVD is worth the price of the whole set and the cd's are a bonus. Usually my attention span will not keep me watching a concert video, but this one is amazing. They have alot of great talent they bring on stage to play with them. Fun to watch and great sound. I don't get to see many concerts anymore(raising kids), but I will go out of my way to see Gov't mule if I get the chance. I've seen The Allman Brothers twice and they were excellent, but I think I will enjoy Gov't mule even more. This cd has made its way into my top ten and I have hundreds of cd's. Hope this helps.

Obviously if you are reading this you're at least somewhat familiar, or at least interested, by Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule. The CD alone is incredible, however, the accompanying DVD is worth every second of thought and every key-stroke involved to assist your interest in this "album".
From his incorporation of Prince's "When The Doves Cry" with their popular song "Beautifully Broken" to the ever-impressive collaboration of musical accompaniment such as The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Victor Wooten, and many others, this CD/DVD package is likely to bring you to adding a "Review" of your own. Don't believe me? See for yourself.

The DVD is amazing. The picture and sound mix is top notch. I have read a lot about these multi-bass player Mule shows and this DVD demonstrates how great they were. Warren can (and does) play with anyone and adjust his playing style. I also enjoyed the backstage extras and the personalized liner notes by Warren. Oh yeah...and the CD is great too!

I have a few hundred CDs, and this is in my top 10.

Guitar and Drums dominate, as they usually do in American Rock Music but if you are a lover of the bass you must have this album. You will never get sick of the Victor Wooten track (also with Bernie Worrell from Sly) or Les Claypool funky jam session (only on the DVD). You must watch the DVD to see the track GUITAR SOLO/DRUM SOLO (Don't miss the little story in the book). Instrumental. Bela Fleck sounds great on the electric banjo, there is a brass track (New Orleans). If you love instruments, you must buy this. I saw the Mule in New York City recently and Warren Haynes was the best guitar player I've seen in my six year concert career. Matt Abts probably second to Carter Beaufort for drummers I've seen.

This album is a celebration of America Rock. Warren Haynes truly goes from Hank to Hendrix on his guitar.

If you are a lover of American Rock, or the Skillfull playing of guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards, this album is for you. The Musicianship is unparalleled.

If you tried to classify it it'd be Blues/Rock, Funk, Jam, Heavy Metal, or Jazz.

I think the cds are bonus on this pack. The dvd itself worth the whole price. When you watch the dvd you feel like if you are
in the concert hall . The boys are at the peak of art of playing. They so easily give you this feeling. They get you in.
Besides the sound , colors , close-ups and zooms and everything else is also perfect. This concert dvd means a lot to me being a fan of Gov't Mule and located at Istanbul where we do not have any chance to see these guys on live stage . Thanks a lot to Gov't Mule ; for producing/playing good music and sharing it with us and their musician friends.
Regards/Murat

Comparible to the 'Last Waltz'. This 2CD 1DVD Live concert is breathe taking. A base players dream, a true music lovers must.
This is the most comprehensive release I've ever seen. This great musicianship at it's very best. Live, unscprited improvisational respect for one another. The number of artists joining Gov't Mule on this night was amazing. Yet it seems if they had played together for years. One must read the inner cover to find out how truly amazing this concert was. I only wish I had been there. This is by far the best Live release ever done.